Where Are They Now: 40 Under 40

These 12 alumni were featured in one of our 40 Under 40 issues (2015 and 2017) as up-and-coming innovators, trailblazers, and difference-makers. Here’s the latest on their career moves and growing list of accomplishments.

Chike Aguh WG12

Chike Aguh WG12

YEAR FEATURED: 2017

THEN: At age 34, Aguh was CEO of EveryoneOn, a nonprofit that has provided internet access to more than 500,000 low-income Americans. (He credited his time as a second-grade teacher in Brooklyn and his Nigerian parents — who had the opportunity to study in America — as his inspiration.)

NOW: President Biden appointed Aguh the chief innovation officer for the Department of Labor in 2021 — the first Black man to hold the position. One of his many responsibilities: advising the government on how cutting-edge technology (blockchain, quantum computing, AI, etc.) will impact the American workforce.

6.6 MILLION: The number of unemployment claims in a single week at the height of the pandemic. Aguh started his Department of Labor job just around that time.

Mona Bijoor C98 WG05

Mona Bijoor C98 WG05

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: Bijoor, who was 38, was working on Joor, her B2B platform that helps fashion brands manage and sell inventory. (Harrods, Neiman Marcus, and Shopbop are only a few clients.)

NOW: Since stepping away from Joor in 2017, Bijoor has become a partner at Kings Circle Capital investment firm; is a board advisor to many organizations and institutions; authored the book Startups and Downs; and in 2021 founded Sol TV, a platform where those seeking personal development can connect with creators full of advice.

$190: The cost of a three-part master class, plus personal coaching, with one of Sol’s top creators, who teaches healing through poetry.

Jordan Lloyd Bookey WG07

Jordan Lloyd Bookey WG07

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: A former teacher who headed K-12 Educational Outreach at Google, Bookey, then 36, in 2013 founded D.C.-based Zoobean, a children’s book-of-the-month club that showcased diversity. Mark Cuban invested after Bookey and her husband appeared on Shark Tank.

NOW: Zoobean grew into Beanstack, a web-based platform that motivates children to read. Beanstack’s products do everything from structuring summer reading programs to collecting reading data. “Reading is to the brain as exercise is the body. For kids in particular, appreciating the pace and layers of a good book is like a deep breath for the mind,” Bookey said in The Reading Culture, a podcast on children’s book authors that she launched in 2022.

180+: School districts using Beanstack’s products, along with more than 2,400 libraries.

Benjamin Williams ENG01 WG13 & Pete Borum WG13

Benjamin Williams ENG01 WG13 & Pete Borum WG13

YEAR FEATURED: 2017

THEN: The duo — Borum was 33; Williams was 38 — were three years into building Reelio, a platform on the forefront of influencer marketing, connecting brands with creators. (Clients included Target, Taco Bell, and more.)

NOW: After Reelio was acquired in 2018, Borum founded Squint Labs, which invests in technology that battles media misinformation (a.k.a. fake news). Williams, who has an engineering background, became the COO of Exyn Technologies, a company that builds autonomous drones and robots for tasks like creating 3-D maps of unsafe and difficult-to-reach places, including underground mines and construction sites.

177: Exyn’s rank on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2022.

Stephan Jacob G11 WG11 & Davis Smith G11 WG11

Stephan Jacob G11 WG11 & Davis Smith G11 WG11

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: Jacob and Smith, who were 34 and 36, respectively, were nearly two years into founding Utah-based Cotopaxi, a B-Corp — it prioritizes sustainability and charitable giving — that sells high-end outdoorsy apparel. Cotopaxi has delivered on its “Gear for Good” tagline: Inc. Magazine named the company to its “Best Business” list, and Yahoo! Finance honored it as one of the country’s “Most Charitable Companies” last year.

NOW: Smith plans on stepping down as CEO of Cotopaxi this year to serve as a mission leader for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil. Jacob will continue as COO.

$110,400: Value of sleeping bags donated by Cotopaxi in February to aid earthquake survivors in Turkey. The company also announced $90,000 in matching donations for Syrian relief efforts.

Jeff McLean WG16

Jeff McLean WG16

YEAR FEATURED: 2017

THEN: At 35, McLean was a White House Fellow and senior policy advisor in the Office of American Innovation, where he focused on modernizing the government’s technology and more. Before that, he was a department head and pilot for the Navy.

NOW: In 2019, McLean joined ghSmart, where he’s now president. The global consulting firm focuses on executive-level guidance on CEO successions, board performance, and M&A transitions and has worked with everyone from Madeline Bell, CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, to Kenneth Griffin of Citadel. McLean is an outspoken supporter of veterans in the workforce, telling Wharton Business Daily that their capabilities and benefits can often be overlooked by HR managers.

FIFTY: Combat missions completed by McLean as a fighter pilot.

Slava Rubin W00

Slava Rubin W00

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: Rubin, then 36, was seven years into building Indiegogo, a pioneer in the crowdfunding space. The website connects entrepreneurs and creatives with anyone interested in financially supporting their ideas. (One recent funding opportunity: a portable sauna that raised over $550,000.)

NOW: Rubin co-founded investment platform Vincent in 2019. Vincent is looking to democratize alternative investments by giving anyone — not just the ultrawealthy or in-the-know bankers — access to financial opportunities in sectors like real estate, art, pre-IPO, and crypto.

$117.3B: The amount Vincent spent on shares of SpaceX (which is still a private company) for its clients.

Shuchi Pandya WG12

Shuchi Pandya WG12

YEAR FEATURED: 2017

THEN: Pandya, then 34, was four years into running Pipa Bella, an India-based e-commerce company selling fashion jewelry. The site has been featured in Vogue and Cosmo and received numerous startup and business awards.

NOW: Nykaa Fashion, a major clothing and beauty company (and India’s first unicorn startup headed by a woman), acquired Pandya’s site in 2021. She now serves as business head and entrepreneur-in-residence for Nykaa, where she continues to launch successful direct-to-consumer brands. “When I started Pipa Bella … my goal was to offer top-quality, well-designed [jewelry] at affordable prices. India was undergoing an internet revolution, and women were (and still are) an increasingly important player in the e-commerce landscape,” Pandya wrote on LinkedIn.

THREE: Fashion brands launched by Pandya in her first year working for Nykaa.

Tom vonReichbauer W04 WG05

Tom vonReichbauer W04 WG05

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: At 33, vonReichbauer was CFO at Nest and played a key role in Google’s acquisition of the company in 2014. (Before that, he was director of finance at Tesla.)

NOW: After some time at Google and Sunrun — a clean energy tech company — vonReichbauer joined Icon as CFO in 2022. This Texas-based startup is tackling some massive global issues (housing shortages, environmental impact): Its 46-foot-wide 3-D printers use a proprietary concrete blend to create houses that are energy-efficient and can withstand extreme weather. Icon’s first planned 100-home community is being built outside Austin.

$57.2 MILLION: Size of the grant Icon received from NASA last year to develop a way to build structures on the moon.

Jason Wiley W03

Jason Wiley W03

YEAR FEATURED: 2015

THEN: At the age of 34, Wiley had co-founded marketing and branding firm Bridge Agency after having been VP of marketing at Bad Boy.

NOW: Combining his experience in marketing, entertainment, and sports — he also worked for the Philadelphia 76ers — Wiley in 2018 joined NYC-based experiential marketing and PR firm TID, where he’s now a partner. TID (it stands for This Is Dope) helps record labels launch and provides big brands (McDonald’s, Crown Royal) with immersive marketing setups at major events.

15 CENTS: The price to purchase wings, burgers and more at TID’s multiday Get Out the Vote campaign in Atlanta in 2021. Why? That’s how much food items cost in 1965, the year the Voting Rights Act passed.

Published as “40 Under 40 Update: Stargazing” in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of Wharton Magazine. This piece and “Where Are They Now: More Innovators and Newsmakers” are part of the “Where Are They Now?” feature.