John's background involved a twenty-year career in equity investing, venture capital, consulting and investment banking. His work has had a particular focus on Employee Stock Ownership Plans. As founder and CEO of his own investment banking firm, he helped employees buy and manage approximately $2.2 billion worth of ESOP stock. He sold his firm to American Capital, which then went public.

John left American Capital as Senior Investment Officer when the company reached $1 billion in assets. After leaving American Capital, John was Vice President at Ampersand Ventures, formerly Paine Webber's private equity group. Earlier in his career, after he finished his Ph.D. at Stanford University, he was a consultant at Bain & Company. John created the first known Employee Stock Ownership Plan for a microfinance institution when he helped the employees of K-REP buy part of their bank in 2001.

John is Chair of a 14 office international non-profit, Progress Through Business, that focuses on building entrepreneurship opportunities and that runs innovative financial literacy, tax form preparation and benefit enrollment projects. He has through his for-profit and non-profit career helped to start and grow 35 companies in addition to the hundreds of firms he has either financed or advised. He directs the Saïd Global Entrepreneurship Network and the Center on Business and Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves on the board of directors of two companies in the media and finance industries.