John Danner

John Danner has extensive experience advising and managing both large, complex organizations and emerging startup ventures. As a management consultant, he worked in a diverse array of industry settings, from energy and healthcare to consumer products and multimedia. John teaches several MBA courses in venture development and business model innovation at the Haas Business School, University of California, Berkeley. He also launched a popular campus-wide undergraduate course on entrepreneurship to address global poverty. Additionally, he serves as a Visiting Professor at Princeton University, where he created an interdisciplinary course on social entrepreneurship and launched a pilot venture development program for student entrepreneurs. He serves on the global faculty for an Intel-sponsored global seminar program on technology entrepreneurship and innovation. He also conducts seminars for Haas’ international Executive Education program; and serves as a senior moderator for the Aspen Institute. In addition to his consulting and teaching activities, John’s professional career includes prior experience as an entrepreneur, corporate lawyer and senior policy advisor at both the state and federal government levels. He co-founded a national business newspaper covering the U.S. healthcare industry, and a market research company in his college days. His legal work for a leading international law firm included major client representations in electricity, telecommunications, oil and gas, real estate and investment industries. His public service includes work as a senior aide to then-Governor Bill Clinton, and to U.S. Secretary of Education Shirley Hufstedler in establishing the U.S. Department of Education. He volunteers for a wide variety of organizations and initiatives, which currently include a nonprofit effort to deliver solar-powered light to maternal clinics in Nigeria, Haiti, and elsewhere; a venture piloting a new approach to offer clean, affordable drinking water to millions of people living on $1-2/day; and an innovative technology approach to helping homeowners manage energy usage. In addition, he serves on the National Advisory Council on Technology and Aging; and is the “grandfather” of TED University. John holds J.D., M.P.H. and M.A.Ed. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley; and served as Assistant Editor of the California Law Review. He received his A.B. cum laude from Harvard College, where he sang with the Harvard Krokodiloes and performed in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. John has been married for 41 years, has 3 sons and makes his home in Berkeley, CA and New York City.