Angelos Angelou is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of International Accelerator. He is an angel investor and a world-renowned economic development speaker.
Before founding the International Accelerator (IA) in 2014, Angelos spent nearly 12 years with the Austin Chamber of Commerce as Vice President of Economic Development and Chief Economist. During his time at the Chamber, he led the recruitment of 800 technology companies and approximately 70,000 employees, including major corporations like IBM, Apple, Samsung, Motorola, AMD, Cypress Semiconductor, Applied Materials, and Tokyo Electron. His achievements include attracting $26 billion in capital investments and creating over 285,000 direct and indirect jobs in Austin and Texas.
A highly visible leader in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, Angelos is widely regarded as an expert on startups in Technology, AI, Life Sciences, Ecommerce, Education, Fintech, and SaaS. He is frequently sought by national and international media for his insights on the startup sector and economic development issues. Angelos is recognized as the chief architect behind Austin's emergence as a nationally recognized high-tech center.
Angelos recently received a Proclamation from the Texas Governor and the Mayor of Austin, honoring his 30-year leadership and contributions to economic development in Texas and Austin. He was also awarded the US Economic Developer of the Year award by Site Selection Magazine.
In addition to his role at IA, Angelos is the President of Schoox and Gridmates, portfolio companies of the International Accelerator. He has held board and advisory positions at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Social Sciences Department at St. Edward’s University, and the World Information Technology Conference. Angelos also serves as a board member (appointed by the Texas Governor) of the oversight committee of CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas), a $3 billion program that grants over $250 million annually for tech initiatives aimed at cancer prevention and cure.