Rising ICON #57: Jeff Aguy
photo credit: Jasmine Nieves
What name do you prefer to be called?
Jeff Aguy
What are your pronouns?
He, His, Him
Where did you grow up?
I'm from a small village in Haiti but spent most of my formative years growing up in Tampa, Florida.
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Hi I'm Jeff Aguy Aguy. The mission is to move humanity forward by transforming global financial systems and economic structures.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I'm not sure where my work ends and my hobbies begin. I love what I do!
Who do you help?
Cross-sector executive leaders looking to hypercharge economic growth.
What are you building now?
Expanding our Strategic Advisory practice
What were you building ten years ago today?
Developing our strategic advisory practice
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Managing over $3 Billion in private investments where half will represent my family's net worth.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Even the very best fail so you truly have to be great to even survive.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Moving humanity forward by transforming global financial systems is the most significant work of our lifetime. Everyone participates in a form of connected economy.
Who is your mentor, and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I would say I have four people that I look up to and have the privilege of interacting with. Tonya Allen reminds me to rewrite the rules. Kara Carlisle tells me to think big. Karla Henderson encourages me to be bold. Jason Sole checks me to ensure my heart is always in the right place.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Our research on scaling innovation ecosystems with the University of Chicago which included contributions from industry experts. Unpublished to the public, the work serves as our secret sauce.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
Front of Time magazine towards the beginning of the next decade.
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
I'm not sure but hopefully, my work attracts audiences from across the industry.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
Unlocking Greatness
What award would mean the most to win?
I don't think awards at all. I think those things are lagging indicators when the work has a meaningful impact.
What makes zero sense to you?
Our local entrepreneurial ecosystem's previous obsession with indicators that have no correlation to growth and the unwillingness to effectively pivot when it is clear a solution is having no effect.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Risk
What game are you changing?
Financial Systems
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
GroundBreak Coalition comes to mind.
Where can we follow you online?
Instagram: @jeffreyaguy and Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffaguy/
https://groundbreakcoalition.org/about-us/
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Self-awareness and intellectual curiosity.
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your story!
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“Moving humanity forward by transforming global financial systems is the most significant work of our lifetime. Everyone participates in a form of connected economy.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
