John was the former Managing Director with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®). He led the largest of ten global sites with bottom-line responsibility for achieving the organization’s strategic vision of leadership research and education. He also consulted with major clients to include Fortune 500 CEOs, executive teams, Ambassadors, and Generals. Before joining CCL in 2008, John spent 24 years in government, education, and corporate leadership positions. He served three years in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan overseeing Department of State nation building programs in police training, rule of law institutions, drug eradication, mine clearance, air support, and diplomatic personal security. He gained educational institution experience as an Associate Dean at Duke University and Chief Business Officer of a major medical research center. During ten years in California John cofounded a venture capital backed Internet advertising startup, was a senior strategy management consultant with a Big 4 professional services firm, and worked in strategic planning for two Fortune 500 companies. He has advised on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions in the billions of dollars. John’s leadership journey began as a U.S. Army officer leading tank and infantry units in the Korean De-Militarized Zone and along the East-West German border.
John also was the Americas Director of Vertical Markets. He oversaw the synergy between CCL research and deep market knowledge to produce leadership solutions that address industry specific business challenges. Current vertical market expertise extends to healthcare, pharmaceuticals, legal, energy, government, and financial services with more in development. John combined his strategy consulting and leadership application experience with C-suite clients to assess, design, and deliver solutions that achieve strategic results. He also coached executives and senior teams to enhance their individual and group performance.
John earned an MBA from Duke University and a BS in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is currently in the dissertation phase of his PhD in Economics at SMC University in Switzerland.
John is certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt with Lean and DFSS and in project management (PMI). He is also a certified executive leadership coach (ICF) and credentialed in numerous psychometric assessments from CCL, CPP, Hogan, CentACS, and Discovery Learning. John’s publications include white papers and articles in various print and online media outlets, and he has been a speaker for business, government, and higher education organizations.