CFTC Appoints Ted Kaouk as Chief Data and AI Officer

(US and Canada) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has recently appointed Ted Kaouk, PhD, as Chief Data and AI Officer and Director of the Division of Data. Prior to this, he served as Chief Data Officer and Director of the Division of Data at the agency.

Kaouk shared his enthusiasm about his new role In a LinkedIn post saying, “It will be exciting to explore how an integrated data and AI strategy can expand our horizons for market oversight, surveillance, and enforcement. Thanks to the many in the Division of Data and across CFTC who have already been great partners in our shared data and AI work at the commission.”

Prior to his role at the CFTC, Kaouk served as the Chief Data Officer at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where he developed the agency’s inaugural government-wide human capital data strategy and data products. Before his tenure at OPM, he was the Chief Data Officer at the Department of Agriculture, where he established the agency’s first enterprise data analytics platform and formulated a data strategy to enhance organizational decision-making and citizen outcomes. Dr. Kaouk also served as the inaugural Chair of the Federal Chief Data Officers Council.

Kaouk began his career as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy. In this role, he served as a communications officer, managing a guided missile destroyer’s computer network, satellite communications suite, and cryptographic program. As a damage control officer, he was responsible for overseeing crew readiness programs for various threats to normal shipboard operations and stability.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree from the University of Virginia, and a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park.