John Kao (born 1950) is an author and strategic advisor based in San Francisco. His work concentrates on issues of innovation and organizational transformation. Life and career Kao was born in 1950 to Chinese immigrant parents. An accomplished jazz pianist, he spent the summer of 1969 playing keyboards for Frank Zappa. Kao studied philosophy at Yale College, received an MD from Yale Medical School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He taught at Harvard Business School from 1982 to 1996, where he specialized in innovation and entrepreneurship. He has also held faculty appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, Yale College, and the Naval Postgraduate School. His advisory work for Senator Hillary Clinton, including his ideas on innovation and transformation, was described in The New York Times as "out of the box". In 2000, Kao became CEO of Ealing Films. He also founded Kao Ventures, and San Francisco-based The Idea Factory, working with Internet-related startups. He also shared producer credits for Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Mr. Baseball. Publications Key publications include: References External links Official website 1950 births Living people American business writers American people of Chinese descent Harvard Business School alumni Harvard University faculty MIT School of Architecture and Planning faculty Naval Postgraduate School faculty Science and technology studies scholars Writers from California Yale School of Medicine alumni Yale University faculty Yale College alumni American chief executives