Damion Shelton

Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board Agility Robotics

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Damion Shelton is co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Agility Robotics, the company that builds Digit, a humanoid robot deployed for warehouse and logistics work. He was Agility’s chief executive from its founding in 2015 until 2024, and Peggy Johnson is now CEO; he moved first to Chief Engagement Officer and later to a board and advisory role. A Carnegie Mellon robotics Ph.D. and second-time founder, he returned to Carnegie Mellon in August 2026 as Associate Vice President and Executive Director of its Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, while remaining Agility’s chairman.

Career Highlights

• Co-founded Agility Robotics in 2015 and was its CEO from 2015 to 2024.
• Became Chief Engagement Officer in December 2024, leading Agility’s commercial and investor engagements, and now serves as Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board.
• Earlier co-founded threeRivers 3D in Pittsburgh as CTO, designing a low-cost laser scanner for healthcare users; the company was acquired in 2012.
• Named Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship in August 2026, reporting to the university’s vice president for research.
• Holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute.

Professional Journey

Shelton came to robotics through bioengineering. He earned a B.S. in Bioengineering and a B.A. in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, then a master’s and Ph.D. in robotics at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute. His first company was threeRivers 3D, a Pittsburgh 3D imaging startup that he co-founded and where, as CTO, he designed a low-cost, high-volume laser scanner aimed at novice users in healthcare. It was acquired in 2012.

In 2015 he co-founded Agility Robotics with Jonathan Hurst, now its Chief Robot Officer, and served as CEO from 2015 to 2024. Over that period the company developed Digit, a humanoid robot built for logistics and manufacturing work, and Agility describes itself as the only company with a humanoid robot commercially deployed to perform real work for customers. Carnegie Mellon credits him with leading it “from an emerging robotics startup to one of the world’s leading developers of humanoid robots”. The company keeps a significant engineering and testing presence in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Leadership then changed. Agility is now led by CEO Peggy Johnson, who spent 24 years in leadership roles at Qualcomm, and in December 2024 the company announced that Shelton was becoming Chief Engagement Officer, shifting his focus to commercial and investor engagements as Agility concentrated on productization and commercialization. Agility now lists him as Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, serving as a board member and advisor on the company’s growth, commercialization and long-term direction.

On 13 August 2026 Carnegie Mellon announced his appointment as Associate Vice President and Executive Director of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, effective 17 August. The center, founded with a $31 million gift from Accel founder James R. Swartz, supports venture creation across the university, and CMU says it and related programs have helped launch more than 400 startups. In the role he reports to Theresa Mayer, vice president for research. “I’ve been fortunate to experience that firsthand as a student, entrepreneur and founder,” he said on his appointment. “I’m excited to return and help more members of the CMU community take great ideas beyond the lab.”

Education

University of Pittsburgh

Bachelor of Science, Bioengineering

University of Pittsburgh

Bachelor of Arts, History and Philosophy of Science

Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Institute

Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy, Robotics