Ted Kaouk

Ted Kaouk is a Senior Fellow at the Data Foundation, where he focuses on how generative AI is reshaping the future of work. He is the Founder of Generative Work, an organization that helps organizations and individuals harness AI thoughtfully to achieve novel and superior outcomes while fostering human development. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Generative Work, which advances this mission. Dr. Kaouk is a three-time Chief Data and AI Officer and the Founding Chair of the Federal Chief Data Officers Council, the largest organizational network of chief data officers in the world. 

His leadership roles include: 

• Founding Chair, Federal Chief Data Officers Council – United more than 80 agencies to build the CDO profession in government while transforming how government leverages data as a strategic asset, driving enterprise analytics programs, spearheading government-wide analytics solutions, piloting one of the first federal AI use cases for public comment analysis, and establishing new standards for data skills, sharing, and public engagement.
• Chief Data Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Led one of the largest enterprise analytics and AI programs in government at a 100,000-person organization, establishing USDA’s first enterprise analytics platform and data strategy to improve decision-making and mission outcomes.
• Chief Data Officer, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – Developed the federal government’s first human capital data strategy and enterprise-wide data products to support the largest workforce in the country.
• Chief Data and AI Officer, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – Directed advanced analytics and AI strategies to strengthen oversight of U.S. derivatives markets.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Kaouk served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, where he oversaw shipboard computer networks, satellite communications, and damage control readiness programs. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, earned a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia, and holds a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. Through Generative Work, his mission is to bridge disciplines, art, science, and the humanities, to equip organizations and individuals with human-centered strategies for thoughtful and innovative AI adoption. His work emphasizes that the most enduring competitive advantage in the age of AI is not simply more data or more code, but the thoughtful integration of technology with human judgment, creativity, and workforce development.