DR. JOHN KAO Founder & Chairman Institute for Large Scale Innovation

Dubbed “Mr. Creativity” by The Economist, John Kao is considered a leading authority on the subjects of innovation, organizational transformation, and new technologies. Over the past two decades, John has been regularly sought out by senior leaders of both public and private sector organizations as a trusted advisor in the development of innovation strategies and internal capabilities. He has advised the governments of Finland and Singapore on their innovation strategies, for example as well as leading firms such as Intel, BASF and Deloitte.  John is particularly known for his practical and pragmatic approach to getting innovation “done,” hence his nickname, the “innovation sherpa.”

In addition to leading his advisory firm, Kao & Company, John is a serial entrepreneur and venture catalyst.  He is also founder and Chairman of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation, which focuses on the dynamics of innovation in societies and which held a global innovation summit of innovation leaders in June, 2009.  His thought leadership is expressed as author of Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek best-seller that has been published in a dozen languages, and Innovation Nation, published in October, 2007, in addition to articles for Harvard Business Review and an invited blog for Huffington Post.

By training, Dr. Kao has a BA from Yale College, an MD from Yale Medical School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was a member of the Harvard Business School faculty from 1982-96 where his elective on innovation drew 2000 MBA students and his executive program ‘Enhancing Corporate Creativity’ drew top executives from companies such as AT&T, Merck, and Merrill Lynch.  He has also taught at the University of Copenhagen, Stanford and Yale University.  Presently he is senior advisor to the president of Finland’s newly established Aalto (innovation)university.
 
John has also been a serial entrepreneur, an angel investor in emerging technology companies, and a Tony-nominated producer of film and stage. He was producer of the Broadway play, Golden Child and production executive on “sex, lies and videotape.”  He is a board member of the Bay Area Science and Innovation Council, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Singapore Civil Service College and an advisor to Sitra, the Finnish National Innovation Fund, among others. He is a founding member of the Transformation Advisory Group of the US Department of Defense.  He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art and an honorary Vice President of the Arts & Business in the UK. A jazz pianist at heart, he apprenticed to rock legend Frank Zappa in the summer of 1969.