For Samir Mayekar, the 2016 national election was a “call to action.” At the time, he was CEO of the six-year-old lithium-ion battery company, NanoGraf Corporation, which he founded and lovingly referred to as his “baby.” After the election, despite holding the roles of president of the Northwestern Alumni Association and trustee of Northwestern University, Samir poured his personal time into supporting candidates that he believed in at the local and federal levels.
In 2018, Samir met Lori Lightfoot who was considering a run for mayor of Chicago. “She just blew me away,” he said. One year later, in the spring of 2019 after a run-off election, Lightfoot was Chicago’s new mayor. Samir took part in the transition team and, at the age of 35, was asked to join the Lightfoot administration as deputy mayor of economic and neighborhood development.
“Getting back into public service was an easy decision,” Samir, a child of Indian immigrants, said as he reflected on his decision to transition from his role as CEO of his company.
Samir was no stranger to politics. Before pursuing an MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management as a 2011 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow and founding his company, Samir had worked for President Barack Obama’s campaign and in the White House as the director of national security personnel.
In his new role working for the City of Chicago, Samir is one of four deputy mayors and oversees a portfolio of Chicago departments engaged in economic and neighborhood development. He’s responsible for maintaining Chicago’s downtown growth, while also working with communities across the city, with a focus on those that are struggling economically.