Jon Katzenbach

Jon R. Katzenbach is a published author and consultant who is best known for his work on the informal organization.
Jon R. Katzenbach is a leading practitioner in organizational strategies for Strategy&. He is a managing director with PwC U.S., based in New York. He is also founder of the Katzenbach Center at Strategy&, a center of excellence in the areas of organizational culture, leadership, informal organization and motivation.
Over the course of his career, Katzenbach has become a recognized leader in counseling high-profile CEOs and corporate leaders. His work in CEO successions includes facilitating transitions for a number of leading businesses.

Before founding Katzenbach Partners LLC, Katzenbach was a director with McKinsey & Company. Over more than 35 years at McKinsey, he led the firm’s San Francisco and New York offices and also served on many of the firm’s governance bodies. Specifically, he served as Chairman of several governance committees and was elected for multiple terms to the Shareholders’ Committee, the firm’s senior policy and governance body. He served on that committee for nearly 20 years. He was a senior leader of the firm’s organization practice. While with McKinsey, Jon served executives of leading companies in consumer products, energy, electronics, forest products, industrial products, medical products, and financial services. He also served many public institutions, including Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, the Columbia Business School Advisory Council, and was instrumental in launching both the New York City Partnership and Miami 2000.

Katzenbach attended Brigham Young University and graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He obtained his MBA from Harvard University in 1959 where he was a Baker Scholar. Jon also served in the Navy during the Korean War as a Lt (jg) in the Pacific on the USS Whetstone (LSD 27) and on the USS Nicholas (DDE 449).

Katzenbach has authored several leading articles and books, including Why Pride Matters More Than Money, Peak Performance, Teams at the Top, Real Change Leaders, The Myth of the Top Management Team, Firing Up the Front Line (with Jason A. Santamaria), The Discipline of Teams (with Douglas K. Smith) and the bestseller The Wisdom of Teams (also with Douglas K. Smith). Jon (with Booz & Company Partner Zia Khan) is currently writing The Informal Advantage, a book that discusses how leading organizations mobilize their informal organization to realize performance advantages.