Brigham Young University–Hawaii President John S.K. Kauwe III announced today that Scott Stiles will serve as the president’s chief of staff. Stiles will begin working in this new role on August 1.
“I am delighted to have Scott serve as my chief of staff, a position that will play an important role in advancing the priorities and initiatives of the university,” President Kauwe said. “Scott will continue to be focused on making BYU–Hawaii the capstone experience that strengthens our students, so they can be leaders in their communities and the Church. This new role will allow Scott to bring his uniquely strategic perspective informed by more than a decade of executive leadership in Oceania and the Asian Rim.”
Reporting to the president, the chief of staff is a new leadership role focused on creating strategic alignment across the university in support of institutional priorities. The chief of staff serves as a member of the President’s Council and will help lead institutional projects and manage high-profile initiatives on behalf of the Office of the President. Keni Reid will continue with his current duties in the Office of the President with the title of assistant chief of staff.
Most recently, Stiles served as chief customer experience officer at BYU–Hawaii. The Office of Customer Experience was created in November 2023 to amplify students' voices and find creative solutions to the pain points in the lives of BYU–Hawaii's diverse students. Stiles will continue to lead this initiative in his new assignment.
“I am thrilled to assume this new position, working closely with President Kauwe and his leadership team,” said Stiles. “I am inspired by BYU–Hawaii's potential to be a force for good as we continue to focus on preparing students to be leaders in communities and the Church in Asia and the Pacific.”
Stiles graduated from BYU–Hawaii with a bachelor’s in business management. While a student, he wrote a business plan for BYUH’s Empower Your Dreams Competition to disrupt the exploitative migrant recruitment industry across Asia. After graduation, he and his family moved to Hong Kong, where he launched Fair Employment Agency. The agency has now placed nearly 10,000 people in safe jobs and set new ethical standards, some of which have been adopted regionally. Based on Fair Employment Agency’s success, they expanded their work to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Following his time at Fair, Scott was the head of fair hiring at SEEK, a leading employment marketplace across Asia Pacific. He has received several awards, including Forbes 30 Under 30, and Hong Kong’s first Ashoka Fellow.