John Pittenger was the leader of strategy and innovation at Koch Industries until his retirement in 2020.  He led and supported various businesses over a 29-year career and was a senior officer of the company for 25 years.   He was on the Board of Directors of Georgia Pacific, INVISTA and Molex.  He was also a member of Koch’s Development Board reviewing investments and acquisitions from its inception for 15 years until his retirement.  He developed and participated in Koch's Discovery Board for more than 25 years.  The Discovery Board was a primary knowledge sharing vehicle amongst the leaders of Koch's diverse businesses and capabilities.     

During his tenure at Koch, the company grew more than 30-fold and acquired companies worth more than 50 billion dollars.   John sponsored and led the development of capabilities including commercial excellence and innovation that contributed great value to these acquisitions as well as the core business. 

John also developed Koch's "point of view" capability for understanding the global environment and translating that understanding into practical implications to specific companies and businesses. 

He was a frequent teacher and speaker across Koch companies and events, as well as affiliates and associated suppliers and customers. 

John earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1978, summa cum laude.  He worked on complex process economic analysis at Amoco Oil before attending Harvard's joint business and law program.  He is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and was selected as a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School, earning both degrees in 1984.  Before joining Koch in 1991, he was one of earliest employees of Monitor Company, a consultancy putting the strategy insights of Michael Porter into practice.  He joined Monitor in 1984 and was elected a Director (partner) in 1987.