Jean Egmon

Jean's work focuses on spotting & leveraging interdependencies and complementary interests and expertise  across value networks. This means synthesizing information and ideas from diverse sources, working with companies to spot the "third angle," i.e., a higher order concept of simple elegance that enables companies and individuals to meet multiple needs of multiple stakeholders at once. From there, she works with companies to design strategies and environments to innovate and make decisions that create a pull for participation across the networks.

Applications of this expertise include: uncovering and exploring new market niches; engaging cross-boundary collaboration for invention and innovation; designing new things to be more easily adopted & viral across customers and employees; employing a design method where interdisciplinary teams approach a variety of business questions with a design mindset and iterate with end users; and designing work to be done by networks.

Jean relies heavily on her interdisciplinary background, and that of her team, in cognition, management, and complexity sciences, marketing and literature to develop frameworks, approaches and tools that help business leaders and scientists see the world with a more connective lens and actively build their own capabilities and applications in these areas.

Jean's work as founder and director of the Kellogg Action Lab Experience (KALE) focuses on translating knowledge and expertise from research to practice and across industries, companies and functions with the goal of innovation and successful intrapreneurial ventures.

Organizations with which Jean has worked include: Abbott, Accenture, Bank of America, Boeing, Equity Office Properties, Exelon Corporation, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Kraft, Merck, Proctor & Gamble, Raytheon, Unilever, United Airlines & US Intelligence.

Prior positions included the founder and director of the Complexity in Action Network (CANet), translating complexity and network science to practice.  She was also a clinical faculty member, founder and director of the Learning & Organizational Change program at Northwestern.  Prior to her roles at Northwestern, Jean translated research and designed programs for Business, Communication, Engineering, and Education on behalf of the University of Illinois.  In addition to practical experience across industries as a business advisor, Jean has worked as an investment advisor in the financial services industry.

Jean's Ed.D. and M.A. are from the University of Illinois in management and cognition. Jean's B.A from Monmouth College is in business administration and English.

Academic Positions Clinical Prof of Management; Director Collaborative Practices, (KACI), Architectures of Collaboration Initiative, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2014-present

Executive Director, Ford Center for Global Citzenship Network, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2009-present

Other Professional Experience CEO, Third Angle, Inc., 2001-present

Honors and Awards Silver Medal for Kellogg Action Lab Experience, Edison Awards for Innovation, 2014-2015

Editorial Positions Editor, Ford Center Expertise @ Work (pilot), 2013-2014

Academic Positions Other Professional Experience Honors and Awards Editorial Positions