John Swan Email & Phone Number

Silicon Valley in the early 1990s was very dysfunctional. Thanks to the then CEO of Applied Materials, Jim Morgan and his wife, CA State Senator Becky Morgan, they promoted a public-private partnership model that Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International had developed for the 1997 transfer of Hong Kong from British rule to Chinese. The original Joint Venture: Silicon Valley (JV:SV) effort proved to be highly successful. JV:SV helped ensure that Silicon Valley remained a leader in innovation that we still enjoy today.Today we are highly polarized and dysfunctional at a national level. Let’s apply the lessons learned from the original JV:SV and apply it nationally. I am referring to this model as Joint Venture America (JVA). The original JV:SV model became a national demonstration project under the Clinton Administration. I see some strong parallels between what JV:SV did in the early 1990s and what JVA could evolve into for America. JVA will take the form of a Public-Private Partnership (P3). This P3 will have organizational and funding attributes similar to the NCAA’s efforts to foster competition between schools for sports, the Olympics effort to foster competition between countries for sports and from the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). JVA will encourage and organize innovation challenges and then help the entrepreneurs commercialize their ideas. THE OPPORTUNITYAmerica’s finest hours are when the public and private sectors work as partners. The Transcontinental Railroad, the mobilization for World War II , the Apollo Space Program, the creation of the Internet are just a few examples.Let’s promote collaboration instead of confrontation! I co-founded a public-private consortium with the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand international high technology businesses. Represented GE and the large Japanese Trading Company, Mitsui & Co in many high tech joint ventures. Worked with a variety of start-ups and small cap companies. Was on the foundation board of West Valley-Mission Community College District and the Community Technology Alliance, a nonprofit focused on providing IT solutions to other nonprofits. Held board seats on the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), San Jose State University Foundation, NASA Ames Technology Commercialization Center, plus others. Helped run Business Plan competitions for San Jose State University and a mentor in Clean Tech Open.

• Co-Founder

  Business Development Accelerators

  Los Altos, Ca, Us