John Kao is a leading authority on innovation, business creativity, organizational transformation, and emerging technologies who has been dubbed “Mr. Creativity” and “a serial innovator” by The Economist. John has been a trusted advisor to senior leaders of both public and private sector organizations; he has advised numerous countries including Finland and Singapore on their innovation strategies as well as leading firms such as Nike, Intel, and BASF. He is the author of the best-selling books Innovation Nation and Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity. By training, Dr. Kao has a BA from Yale College, an MD from Yale Medical School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He taught at HBS from 1982-96, where he specialized in innovation and entrepreneurship. He has also held faculty appointments at the MIT Media Lab, Yale College, and the US Naval Postgraduate School. John is also a jazz pianist and a Tony-nominated producer on film and stage: he was producer of the Broadway play, Golden Child, and executive producer of Mr. Baseball
There is a growing sense something is amiss with the U.S. innovation system. It’s time for a vigorous initiative to restore belief in innovation’s potential as a force for social and economic progress, for the benefit of America and the world.