John Okenwa

John is a Principal at ghSMART. He believes in the transformational power of great leadership and human capital management in driving sustained value creation and outsized positive impact. He brings this conviction to his work at ghSMART, where he advises CEOs and senior executives, private equity investors, and boards to help them harness the full potential of their greatest asset – people.

John’s focus areas include executive talent assessment and selection, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching.

Before joining ghSMART, John was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company. In this role, he led teams of consultants to address pressing challenges at top organizations. As a core member of both McKinsey’s Transformation and People and Organizational Performance practices, he served clients on a broad range of topics including large-scale transformations, strategy, culture and change management, organizational health, leadership, and linking talent to value. John led several practice-building efforts at McKinsey and co-authored published knowledge documents on Leadership and Organizational Health. He began his career at Goldman Sachs and his professional experience spans Financial Services, Technology and Internet Startups, and Private Equity.

John earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was awarded a merit-based full-tuition scholarship. He also holds an MPA from The Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S., with honors, in Electrical Engineering from The University of Maryland, College Park. John enjoys mentoring young professionals, disc jockeying, trying new food recipes, and weight training. He lives near Washington D.C. with his family.