John R. Ryan served as President and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of leadership development from 2007 until his retirement in 2022. He spoke frequently to corporate, government and NGO audiences around the world about the keys to effective leadership and has written for Forbes.com, Fortune.com, LinkedIn and The Washington Post.

Before joining CCL in 2007, he served as President of Suny Maritime College, Interim President of SUNY Albany University and then as Chancellor of the State University of New York, the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the United States. Prior to that, he was Superintendent (President) of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. A retired Vice Admiral and former U.S. Navy pilot, Ryan commanded squadrons, wings and forces in Asia, Europe and the Middle East during a 35-year career in the military.

Ryan serves on the Board of Directors of First Citizens Bank, the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, and is currently Chairman of the Board of Barnes & Noble Education. He also serves on the Habitat for Humanity Asia Pacific Development Committee. He graduated with a B.S. degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and received an M.S. degree in Administration from George Washington University. He also completed the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University