Chuck Vallurupalli

Chuck Vallurupalli is a seasoned business executive, engineer, and entrepreneur, known for his expertise in deep tech and consumer startups. He has worked with over 250 startups, providing them with deep mentorship, guidance and investments to achieve critical milestones. His contributions have been pivotal to the success of entrepreneurship and innovation programs at premier universities and economic development organizations. Over the years, Chuck has also held leadership roles in growth-stage companies catering to both Fortune 500 firms and SMBs in the auto, aero, tech, health, and wellness sectors. Recently, Chuck served on the executive leadership team at UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He was the inaugural senior director of Duality, the nation’s first quantum startup accelerator, and also undertook responsibilities as an entrepreneur-in-residence for Chicago Booth, mentoring faculty, students, and alumni. Earlier in his career, Chuck was a senior entrepreneur-in-residence at ITEN, playing a key role in the success of technology startups in the St. Louis region. He also held significant positions at MSC Software, acquired for $360 million, and Mechanical Dynamics, which had an IPO and was subsequently acquired by MSC Software for $120 million. Chuck is deeply committed to mentoring entrepreneurs at the University of Arizona FORGE, guiding them to scale their ventures and achieve a profound societal impact. Chuck received his MBA from Chicago Booth, and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.