OUR FOUNDER AND CO-CREATORS
John Kao, Chairman
Called “Mr. Creativity” and a “serial innovator” by The Economist, John is a thought leader, practitioner and activist. He is chair of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation, whose i20 group is an association of 39 national ‘chief innovation officers.’ He is an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative and a White House commission on US-China innovation policy. John is a director of the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium. He has served as a founding member of the transformation Advisory Group of the US Department of Defense. John has also started and invested in a series of technology companies and is also a Tony nominated and Palme d’Or winning producer of film (sex, lies and videotape, Mr. baseball) and theater (Golden Child, Flower Drum Song, Jitney). He was a key advisor to both Singapore and Abu Dhabi in the development of their national media strategies. John has also worked with some of the world’s leading designers and has chaired the Aspen Design Conference around the topic of “reinventing the relationship of design and business.” John was a Harvard Business School professor from 1982-96, where he taught innovation and entrepreneurship. He authored Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity and Innovation Nation. John also recently wrote a six-part series titled, China as an Innovation Nation, on CNN's Global Public Sqaure. You can follow John on Twitter, Facebook and at www.johnkao.com.
"Wealth should be defined as the capability to continuously realize the future you want, and therefore should not be measured on a balance sheet. In my view, wealth is the sum of innovation muscle, foresight, leadership, agility, risk appetite and our ability to experiment. The mission of ILSI is to contribute to building the wealth of the 21st century."
Rod Glover, Senior Fellow
Rod joins ILSI from Melbourne, Australia to lend his expertise in Innovation Policy. He was most recently Deputy Secretary, Innovation and Projects, in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet. In this role, he led work on innovation policy and the liveability of Melbourne. In 2008, Rod was the Prime Minister’s Senior Adviser on intergovernmental relations, strategic policy and health reform. From 2005 to 2007, Rod led the Victorian Government’s the development of Australia’s National Reform Agenda and directed the Government’s strategic policy branch. Rod manages his own consulting firm, with projects including Malaysia’s economic strategy (with the Boston Consulting Group), Australia’s international economic engagement, Australia’s innovation agenda and design-driven innovation. Rod previously worked as Senior Economic Adviser to Australia’s Shadow Treasurer, and also for the Australian Treasury, the Melbourne Business School and The Allen Consulting Group. Rod's qualifications are in economics, finance and moral philosophy. Rod is an Executive Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, and advises various policy think tanks.