John Kania

Managing Director john.kania@fsg.org

Overview

With twenty-five years of experience advising senior management on issues of strategy, leadership, assessment, and organizational development, John oversees FSG's consulting practice.

Role at FSG

As a Board member and Managing Director at FSG for the past nine years, John focuses on inspiring FSG’s Leadership Team, consultants, and operations staff to achieve excellence in their work. John has led dozens of strategic planning and evaluation efforts for foundations, nonprofits, and corporations. Client activity includes significant experience in education, economic and community development, health care, and the environment. He has also been a leader in FSG’s intellectual capital development related to Catalytic Philanthropy, Collective Impact, Shared Value, and community foundation sustainability.

Before FSG

Prior to joining FSG, John was a partner at both Mercer Management Consulting and Corporate Decisions, Inc., where he led strategy engagements with clients in education, health care, and media. He began his professional career at Leo Burnett Company, a global advertising agency.

Education

• Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, MBA
• Dartmouth College, BA, cum laude

On Working at FSG

"What floats my boat is getting people, organizations, and communities to change for the better. It’s a privilege to be at an organization like FSG that stakes its success on helping great leaders develop strategies to change their corner of the world – whatever that corner may be.

"100% of our people have a passion for social change. They also love to work on big, hairy, gnarly problems. It’s a rare combination that – when fueled by smarts, tenacity, and good humor – makes for an incredibly stimulating work environment. I am constantly 'blown away' by the quality of thought and action from my colleagues."

Publications

Stanford Social Innovation Review:

• Fay Hanleybrown, John Kania, Mark Kramer, Channeling Change, Winter 2012
• John Kania & Mark Kramer, Collective Impact, Winter 2010
• Ronald Heifetz, John Kania, Mark Kramer, Leading Boldly: How Foundations can Move Past Traditional Approaches to Create Social Change Through Imaginative – and Even Controversial Leadership, Summer 2004
• John Kania & Mark Kramer, Changing the Game: Leading Corporations are Switching from Defense to Offense in Solving Global Problems, Spring 2006

Books & Book Chapters:

• Leslie Crutchfield, John Kania & Mark Kramer, Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World, Wiley & Sons (2011)
• John Kania, Customer Driven Scenario Planning, Learning From the Future: Competitive Foresight Scenarios, edited by Fahey and Randall, Wiley & Sons (1998)

FSG Publications:

• Raising Money While Raising Hell: Catalytic Community Leadership and Successful Fundraising for Community Foundations (2009) 
• Best In Class: How Top Corporations can Help Transform Public Education (2007) 
• Strengthening Community Foundations: Redefining Opportunities (2003)

See all publications for John Kania >