John Thode

Background

About John Thode

John is an intra/entrepreneur and has successfully built technology businesses, by creating innovative products/services in mobility, computing, security and imaging for the consumer and enterprise markets. Currently, John is Clinical Professor of Innovation, Leadership, and Engineering Entrepreneurship at the Technology Entrepreneur Center of the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. John continues as the Founder & Chairman of Thode Residential Rental Properties, LLC. Recognizing a significant opportunity in the real-estate market, John founded a multi-million-dollar start-up focused on monetizing distressed properties using big data and proprietary modeling. At DOC, John led a significant turnaround. The company was burning >$250m annually with minimal revenue and significant liabilities. Within 18 months, and during a proxy battle, he was able to reengineer the business and led the subsequent sale of it for >$100m. Over the period, the valuation of the parent company doubled. At Dell, John was recruited by the CEO to bootstrap a new division to develop non-conventional PC products. There he led the commercialization of dozens of award-winning products including the industry's 1st phablet (Streak), 1st convertible PC (Duo) and the thinnest full-size PC (Adamo). At ISCO, as CEO, John led a public company on the brink of bankruptcy and built it into a profitable, growing business selling software enabled spectrum conditioning products for the telecom’s infrastructure market. The company continues to thrive. At Motorola, John led successful businesses in 3G mobile, broadband fixed wireless, and cellular infrastructure. He also served as a Director on the Symbian BOD and played in a key role in the Freescale spinoff. Currently, John serves on several advisory and non-profit BODs. He is also an active investor with Hyde Park Angels, the most active early-stage investors in the Midwest.