John Bremen

John Bremen helps companies see the future and get there when it comes to people, risk, and capital. He is a recognized global business leader, C-suite and board advisor, and thought leader. He is Managing Director, Board Advisor, and Chief Innovation & Acceleration Officer for Willis Towers Watson.

John advises on complex people, risk, and capital issues to the world’s largest organizations, as well as high-performing mid-size firms and high-growth early-stage enterprises. He leads multi-year research efforts on people, risk, and capital issues and the future of these topics, including the impact of new technologies such as AI, the metaverse, and quantum computing. He also looks after Willis Towers Watson’s various Thinking Ahead Groups, which were established to provide a forum for innovative, disruptive, and early-adopting executives and board members to share perspectives, conduct research, challenge the status quo, and prioritize and collaborate on topics that are driving their global business agendas.

John brings to boards, investors, and c-suite executives insights that come from multi-billion dollar P&L operating leadership, start-up founder experience, strategy and innovation leadership, corporate function leadership, global consulting practice leadership, and decades of direct consulting and thought leadership across industries. At WTW, John has led multiple growth-oriented businesses and practice areas across disciplines. Before joining the company, John was a management consultant at Johnson & Higgins’ Sibson Consulting, then worked at The Walt Disney Company’s new business incubator Disney Design & Development, and was a Partner at the Center for Workforce Effectiveness, advising senior leaders on issues related to people performance and risk.

John has been a featured speaker at global and industry conferences, is a frequent author and has been quoted in the business press in EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s, The South China Morning Post, CFO Magazine, São Paulo Valor Econômico, and the Singapore Straits-Times. He also has appeared on numerous TV and radio broadcasts. He is a regular contributor to Forbes and has lectured on topics related to his field at numerous graduate schools of business.

John was honored in both the 2024 and 2025 NACD Directorship 100 Awards that recognize the most influential directors and leaders in the corporate governance community who have demonstrated excellence in the boardroom through innovation, courage, and integrity.

John received an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management with majors in organizational behavior and management strategy. He also holds a B.A. from Northwestern, including a special certificate in Business Institutions. John is active in his community and has and continues to serve on a number of industry, community, and advisory boards.