“If Orsen Welles and Peter Drucker were somehow to mate, the resulting progeny might resemble John Kao, a serial innovator.”
The Economist

John Kao is known as an authority on the intersecting subjects of corporate innovation and transformation, national innovation strategy, digital technology’s impact on the enterprise, and the future of business. The Economist dubbed him Mr. Creativity. Born in Chicago, Illinois, John was trained in philosophy (Yale College) psychiatry (Yale Medical School, Harvard Medical School) and business (Harvard Business School).

John has just published a book with the Free Press – Innovation Nation - that describes the global innovation race toward a new competitive high ground and what America’s innovation posture must be in light of both unprecedented challenges and opportunities.

Currently John is CEO of Kao & Company, a firm that develops innovation strategies, supports innovation execution, designs innovation training programs and develops innovation centers and on-line collaboration environments. Kao & Company’s professional staff includes experts in such areas as customer experience, strategic communications, brand strategy, corporate ventures, internet community design, film production, graphic and experience design, and digital media. Its client base includes both leading corporations and government agencies.

John served as a member of the faculty of the Harvard Business School from 1982-1996, where he developed courses on innovation and entrepreneurship, and taught in the MBA, AMP, PMD, and OMP executive programs. He has been a visiting professor at the MIT Media Lab and also served as chair of the 45th International Design Conference in Aspen (IDCA), which took up the challenge of reframing design in light of new business needs. He has also taught at Yale College, the University of Copenhagen, and the US Naval Postgraduate School where he served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Innovation.

John is author of Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek best-seller that has been published in a dozen languages. His most recent publications include a series of books including: The Innovation Manifesto, The Transformation Manifesto and the Leadership Manifesto. John is also a serial entrepreneur with previous startups in biotechnology, health services and digital media.

After apprenticing to rock legend Frank Zappa, Kao continues to be active in the entertainment industry as a producer and entrepreneur. He served as production executive on sex, lies, and videotape (Miramax. Steven Soderbergh director, Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival), executive producer Mr. Baseball (MCA/Universal, Fred Schepisi director), and producer of Golden Child, which was produced on Broadway and nominated for three Tony awards, including Best Play.

John is an Honorary Vice-president of Arts and Business in the UK as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art. He also serves as a senior visiting fellow to the Civil Service College of Singapore.

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