John Kao

John provides ThayerMahan’s leadership team with strategic direction. Dubbed “Mr. Creativity” and a “serial innovator” by The Economist, John is highly-regarded innovation thought leader, practitioner and activist. He has served as a trusted advisor to many companies, startups and nations on innovation strategy, implementation, and future trends.

John’s long association with the US Navy has included membership on the CNO’s Advisory Board. He has advised PEO Carriers, ONR, PACOM, NETWARCOM, as well as the undersea warfare community. He served as a founding member of the Transformation Advisory Group of the US Department of Defense along with then Senator Hillary Clinton and Andy Krepinevich of IDA. From 2004-2006 he served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Innovation at the US Naval Postgraduate School. John is past chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovation Council, has advised the Clinton Global Initiative, and serves on a White House expert panel on US-China innovation policy.

John is also well-known for a broad range of business, academic, and artistic pursuits, including: a “venture catalyst” behind a number of technology companies; a Tony-nominated producer of film (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Mr. Baseball) and theater (Golden Child, Flower Drum Song, Jitney); a Harvard Business School professor, where he taught innovation and entrepreneurship; author of Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek best-seller, and Innovation Nation, a treatise on America’s growing innovation challenge; and a musical apprentice to rock legend Frank Zappa.

John was recently named a Yamaha concert artist, and continues to play jazz piano in his spare time.