John S Thode

John Thode is a technology executive, entrepreneur, investor and educator with extensive experience building and transforming businesses in mobility, computing, cybersecurity, imaging and advanced materials. He held senior leadership roles at Motorola, Dell, McAfee, ISCO, DigitalOptics and AKHAN Semiconductor, including successful exits at ISCO and DigitalOptics. His career has included pioneering work in cellular, smartphone, mobile-computing and imaging technologies.

In 2019, John joined The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is the Richard and Gayle Landuyt Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Landuyt Center for Entrepreneurship and Director of Entrepreneurship at Discovery Partners Institute, helping students, researchers and founders translate technical innovation into scalable ventures.

John earned electrical engineering degrees from Illinois and Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA with Distinction from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He received Illinois ECE’s 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award and is an active angel investor and committed marathoner.