John is a British entrepreneur, business leader, investor and passionate philanthropist. He is the Founder of online electrical retailer AO and the former Chairman of OnSide Youth Zones, a charity that is transforming youth provision in the UK. John remains a trustee of OnSide.

John founded AO in 2000 following a £1 bet with his friend. Twenty years later, with the white goods industry changed, it has proven to be a valuable bet: AO has gone from three people to serving 10 million customers. John has built a strong culture at AO that is obsessive about delivering amazing service, guided by two mantras: "treat every customer like your gran" and "make decisions that make your mum proud".

John firmly believes in the responsibility to give back. He is a long-standing donor and supporter of charities for young people, arguing that talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not. He is the former Chairman of OnSide Youth Zones, a pioneering charity with a network of 14 state-of-the-art Youth Zones that provide young people in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities with safe, affordable and inspiring facilities, helping to build lifelong skills, confidence and aspiration. There are 650,000 visits by young people to OnSide Youth Zones each year.

In April 2022, OnSide entered into a new partnership with Bolton School, supported by John, to establish the Flourish outreach programme to promote social mobility by encouraging a wider range of applications to the school’s bursary scheme. The programme will fund 14 bursaries that will be available to members of OnSide Youth Zones.

John lives in Bolton with his wife Sally and their five children.