Before co-founding Smart Alliance Partners, Mr. Harbison served as CEO of SilentRunner, a network security software company which was successfully sold to Computer Associates in 2003. Before that, he served as President of Raytheon Commercial Ventures Inc. (RCVI), a subsidiary whose charter was to find defense technology within Raytheon that had applications in commercial markets and to spin companies out (with outside funding) to exploit those opportunities. In his two years leading RCVI, Raytheon spun out 6 companies with initial equity value to Raytheon of over $50 million, accessed over $120 million in outside funding, and realized two liquidity events. Prior to Raytheon, he was a consultant at Booz·Allen & Hamilton where he led the firm's Strategic Alliances functional practice, Global Aerospace Practice, Los Angeles office, and served as a member of the Board of Directors and as chairman of the Finance Committee. In his twenty years at Booz·Allen, Mr. Harbison led over 200 strategy engagements in more than 30 industries. In the 1990s, he led Booz·Allen's functional competency centers in strategic alliances and post-merger integration, and published viewpoints on related subjects such as "Post-Merger Integration: Capturing Value after the Deal" (1988), "A Practical Guide to Strategic Alliances: Leapfrogging the Learning Curve (1994)", "Cross-Border Alliances in the Age of Collaboration" (1997), "Institutionalizing Alliance Skills: Secrets of Repeatable Success" (1997), "Strategic Management: Dinosaur or Differentiator" (1997),"Making Acquisitions Work: Capturing Value After the Deal" (1999) and "The Allianced Enterprise: Breakout Strategies for the New Millennium" (2000). He led scores of engagements assisting clients in the formation and implementation of external alliances and acquisitions. Mr. Harbison and his teams have received four nominations for Booz·Allen's Professional Excellence Award, given each year to the two engagements with greatest distinction in terms of client value created and intellectual capital formation; two of these teams won the award. He has authored articles and been quoted in dozens of major international publications, and has appeared on network news broadcasts on ABC, CNN, CBS, BBN, CNBC and PBS . In the past several years, he has been quoted extensively in The Alliance Analyst, (the premiere publication on the subject of strategic alliances). He is also a frequent speaker at various conferences on topics such as strategic alliances and strategic management. He has a BA cum laude in English from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School with first year honors. In his free time, Harbison is a photographer (see www.BestNaturePhotos.com) His current contact information is: John R. Harbison Senior Partner |
