BIO
John Wilson is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor through First Ignition LLC who cofounded the flexible display firm NanoLumens and was the founding chairman of Share Rocket, a social media analytics firm. He is currently an Advisor to Johnson Energy Storage, a company created to commercialize two advanced lithium battery technologies developed by famed Atlanta inventor, Dr. Lonnie Johnson. In 2022 he was named a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a non-partisan, independent national security think-tank in Arlington, Virginia.
Previously he served for four years as Board Advisor and then Chief Strategy Officer to a publicly traded SaaS delivery management firm. He helped recruit an independent board and helped build out and implement the company’s policies to meet disclosure and governance requirements while working to move the firm’s equity listing from Australia to North America.
In 2012 he became a venture partner with Paladin Capital Group -- a leading global investor in cyber security, telecom, life sciences, structured finance and alternative energy.
In 2011, he helped launch and run the inaugural cohort for GigTank, a global accelerator for startups on Chattanooga’s Gigabit-fiber network. For over a decade he has co-chaired the Technology Association of Georgia's annual Top-40 innovative company competition. He has also served as an investor, mentor and/or judge with Techstars, Georgia Tech’s Flashpoint, CyberLaunch and NeuroLaunch accelerators, Emory University’s Excellerator and Valor Venture’s Startup Runway.
Early in his career, he worked for two members of the US Congress from California and Maryland, and helped shape emerging incentives for renewable energy development. He helped defend and expand them as Legislative Coordinator for the Solar Lobby then as founding director of the Renewable Energy Institute.
For eight years he helped accelerate US development of electric-drive vehicles as the founding director of an Atlanta-based DARPA consortium on transportation advances, now known as the Center for Transportation and the Environment. He then led the eMotion Mobility venture funded by American Le Mans racing magnate Donald Panoz and Daimler to develop an electric Smart car for a novel electric car-sharing business.
While working at the US Congress, Wilson co-chaired a staff working group between the Congress and White House to speed the digital transition of legislative and regulatory information across government. He later founded the Washington office for the Southern Legislative Conference and Southern Governors Association, which he directed for three years.
John Wilson is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor through First Ignition LLC who cofounded the flexible display firm NanoLumens and was the founding chairman of Share Rocket, a social media analytics firm. He is currently an Advisor to Johnson Energy Storage, a company created to commercialize two advanced lithium battery technologies developed by famed Atlanta inventor, Dr. Lonnie Johnson. In 2022 he was named a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a non-partisan, independent national security think-tank in Arlington, Virginia.
Previously he served for four years as Board Advisor and then Chief Strategy Officer to a publicly traded SaaS delivery management firm. He helped recruit an independent board and helped build out and implement the company’s policies to meet disclosure and governance requirements while working to move the firm’s equity listing from Australia to North America.
In 2012 he became a venture partner with Paladin Capital Group -- a leading global investor in cyber security, telecom, life sciences, structured finance and alternative energy.
In 2011, he helped launch and run the inaugural cohort for GigTank, a global accelerator for startups on Chattanooga’s Gigabit-fiber network. For over a decade he has co-chaired the Technology Association of Georgia's annual Top-40 innovative company competition. He has also served as an investor, mentor and/or judge with Techstars, Georgia Tech’s Flashpoint, CyberLaunch and NeuroLaunch accelerators, Emory University’s Excellerator and Valor Venture’s Startup Runway.
Early in his career, he worked for two members of the US Congress from California and Maryland, and helped shape emerging incentives for renewable energy development. He helped defend and expand them as Legislative Coordinator for the Solar Lobby then as founding director of the Renewable Energy Institute.
For eight years he helped accelerate US development of electric-drive vehicles as the founding director of an Atlanta-based DARPA consortium on transportation advances, now known as the Center for Transportation and the Environment. He then led the eMotion Mobility venture funded by American Le Mans racing magnate Donald Panoz and Daimler to develop an electric Smart car for a novel electric car-sharing business.
While working at the US Congress, Wilson co-chaired a staff working group between the Congress and White House to speed the digital transition of legislative and regulatory information across government. He later founded the Washington office for the Southern Legislative Conference and Southern Governors Association, which he directed for three years.
