--- title: "John Wolpert · Wavect Expert Network" canonical: https://wavect.io/experts/john-wolpert/ language: en description: "30+ years of enterprise product leadership. Flywheel founder, ex-IBM Watson and Hyperledger, Baseline Protocol co-founder, Wiley author. Brought in when a …" image: "https://wavect.io/img/team/john-wolpert.jpg" --- ![Portrait of John Wolpert](https://wavect.io/img/team/john-wolpert.jpg) Independent specialist · Wavect Expert Network # John Wolpert 30+ years of enterprise product leadership. Flywheel founder, ex-IBM Watson and Hyperledger, Baseline Protocol co-founder, Wiley author. Brought in when a Wavect build needs CPO-grade product judgment on open standards, AI agents, or multi-party software. Read this first The engagements listed below were delivered **independently with this specialist's own clients**. They are **not** projects run through Wavect, and are shown here purely as evidence of competence. **These specialists are not Wavect employees.** We bring them into our engagements when a brief calls for depth that exceeds our own bench. The client books Wavect. We bring in the specialist. 01 · SIGNALS ## Why we vouch for them - **Chief Product Officer**, Valuable, Inc. (since Jul 2024). Built the family-valuables app from a personal prototype to a funded company picked up by a CEO friend - **Founder & CPO**, TacitPath (since Dec 2022). Multi-party R&D, alliance and partner coordination under information-security, regulatory, and confidentiality constraints - **Author**, *The Two But Rule: Turn Negative Thinking Into Positive Solutions* (Wiley, 2024). Momentum Thinking applied to team problem solving and innovation - **Group Executive, Enterprise Mainnet Products & Technology**, ConsenSys / Emerging Tech Commercialization Lab (2017–2022). Co-founded the open standards body **Baseline Protocol**, defining [ZK](/glossary/zero-knowledge/) synchronization for SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365 systems of record - **Global Product Executive**, IBM (2013–2017). Led the IBM Watson Ecosystem; co-founded the **Hyperledger Fabric** business unit and Hyperledger.org. Moved enterprise blockchain from obscurity to the #1 global offering in 18 months - **Founder & CEO**, Flywheel (2008–2011). Pioneered the ride-hailing taxi-meets-app model; consolidated 90% of San Francisco taxis before acquisition - **Program Director, IBM Extreme Blue Lab** (1997–2004). One of IBM's most prolific patent labs. Previously ran IBM alphaWorks, one of the first open-innovation sites - **Executive Director**, IXC Australia (2004–2007). Founded the corporate, university and government life-science research consortium representing IBM, Johnson & Johnson Research and others - **USPTO Patent Inventor**. US 20190034402, *Cognitive Mediator for Generating Blockchain Smart Contracts* (2019) - **Speaker** before the European Union and the Australian Parliament. **Harvard Business Review** contributor on Open Innovation - **Education**: MBA, Georgetown McDonough School of Business · BA Humanities (with Honours), UC Berkeley · prior coursework at Carnegie Mellon 02 · BIOGRAPHY ## In their own line of work John started in advertising in Berkeley in 1989, then moved into enterprise software at Kaplan, helping build Delta-K and Kaplan’s computer-based testing and learning system. From there he ran IBM’s alphaWorks team, one of the very first sites to put research code directly in the hands of developers, then took over the Austin Extreme Blue Lab, IBM’s incubator for talent, technology and business innovation. Extreme Blue became one of the most prolific patent producers in the company and trained hundreds of IBM’s best engineers under John’s program. In 2004 he moved to Sydney to found IXC Australia, a corporate, university and government life-science research consortium that pioneered the use of trusted intermediaries to let firms collaborate without leaking sensitive information. Four years later he spun Flywheel out of a Best Buy innovation programme. Flywheel was the original taxi-meets-app product, raised significant angel and venture capital, pivoted twice to find a repeatable business model, and consolidated 90% of San Francisco taxis before being acquired. John returned to IBM as a Global Product Executive in 2013, running the IBM Watson Ecosystem and assembling a community of AI startups across B2B, B2C, supply chain, healthcare and education. He co-founded IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric business unit, which became a new IBM division in 2016, and co-founded Hyperledger.org, one of the fastest growing open source communities in the history of the Linux Foundation. From 2017 to 2022 he ran enterprise mainnet products and technology at ConsenSys, where he co-founded the Baseline Protocol open standards body. Baseline defined a method for synchronising SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365 systems of record using zero knowledge proofs. Since 2022 John has run TacitPath, his consulting practice for multi-party R&D, alliance coordination, and confidential collaboration. In July 2024 he became Chief Product Officer at Valuable, Inc., a family-valuables management app he prototyped himself before a CEO friend picked it up and funded it. In January 2024 Wiley published his first book, *The Two But Rule: Turn Negative Thinking Into Positive Solutions*, and he now keynotes, moderates and runs workshops through Teamraderie on applying Momentum Thinking to team problem solving. When Wavect brings John in, this is what we are renting: a senior product head who has shipped at IBM, founded at Flywheel, co-founded Hyperledger and Baseline, and writes for a living. 03 · WHEN WE BRING THEM IN ## Where John Wolpert plugs into a Wavect engagement Wavect builds the product. When a build crosses into a domain that exceeds our own bench, we bring in the specialist who already lives there. This is the brief for this one. - **CPO-grade product judgment for AI agents and enterprise software** - From the IBM Watson Ecosystem to Valuable, John has been responsible for product roadmaps where the word 'AI' on a deck has to become a shippable spec. When a Wavect build needs a senior product head to sense-check what is real in six weeks versus what is a six-quarter research bet, this is the seat he has held at IBM, ConsenSys, and now Valuable. - **Open standards and interoperability across legally separate entities** - Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger.org, the Baseline Protocol, IXC Australia. John has built the legal and technical scaffolding that lets companies share what they need to share and protect what they need to protect. When a Wavect build runs across two or more organisations and the data boundary is the hard part of the spec, John has done this five times. - **Translating research into shippable enterprise product** - Extreme Blue and alphaWorks were IBM's bridge from research to product. The Baseline Protocol turned a ZK research paper into something SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365 can speak. When the engineering team can read the literature but cannot tell the founder whether it ships or it is a paper, John reads both sides and gives a real answer. - **Author-grade storytelling for the exec room** - Wiley book, HBR contributor, EU and Australian Parliament keynote speaker. When a Wavect build needs a narrative the board, the regulator, or the customer's CEO can actually retain, John writes for a living. The Two But Rule (Momentum Thinking) is the framework he applies inside founder workshops to break avoidance patterns and ship through inertia. WHAT THE CREDENTIAL ACTUALLY COVERS ### What a 30-year enterprise product career actually covers John does not hold a single named charter. What he holds is the operating record of running product at IBM and ConsenSys, founding Flywheel, co-founding Hyperledger and the Baseline Protocol, and now sitting on the CPO seat at Valuable while running TacitPath. The bench is the combined surface area of those roles. - Product strategy and roadmap for multi-sided market applications - Open standards body formation (Hyperledger, Baseline Protocol) - Enterprise blockchain product, from PoC to #1 global offering - AI ecosystem product (IBM Watson, Valuable) - Ride-hailing platform design and operator-side scale (Flywheel) - Multi-party R&D, alliance and partner orchestration under privacy and regulatory constraints - Patent generation in a corporate R&D environment (Extreme Blue, alphaWorks) - Cross-domain transfer: enterprise SaaS, healthcare, supply chain, education, financial services - Public-policy fluency: EU, Australian Parliament, HBR readership - Founder workshop facilitation and Momentum Thinking (The Two But Rule) When Wavect brings John in, this is the bench depth we are renting. It is not a credential we hold in-house. 04 · PUBLICATIONS ## Peer-reviewed work Indexed academic publications. Full list on Google Scholar. 1. 2019 *Patent · USPTO* - **Cognitive Mediator for Generating Blockchain Smart Contracts** - United States Patent and Trademark Office · No. 20190034402 - [Read paper](https://patents.justia.com/patent/20190034402) 2. 2024 *Book* - **The Two But Rule: Turn Negative Thinking Into Positive Solutions** - Wiley - [Read paper](https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Two+But+Rule%3A+Turn+Negative+Thinking+Into+Positive+Solutions-p-9781394221080) 3. 2003 onward *Editorial* - **Selected work on Open Innovation** - Harvard Business Review - [Read paper](https://hbr.org/search?term=john+wolpert) 05 · TALKS & WORKSHOPS ## On stage, in their own words Public keynotes, workshops, and webinars delivered independently. Conference links and recordings where available. 1. Feb 2024 Podcast and video interview - **The Chris Voss Show. On overcoming negativity** - The Chris Voss Show - [Event](https://www.jwolpert.com/post/the-chris-voss-show-on-overcoming-negativity) [Recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbozFNIMUro) - ![Recording](/img/yt/mbozFNIMUro.jpg?v=5a5d62cd8b68) 2. Feb 2024 Podcast and video interview - **Joseph Jaffe Is Not Famous. Overcoming negativity** - Joseph Jaffe Is Not Famous - [Event](https://www.jwolpert.com/post/joseph-jaffe-is-not-famous-podcast-overcoming-negativity) [Recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnfV40EWSWo) - ![Recording](/img/yt/gnfV40EWSWo.jpg?v=92ac6c0dfb3c) 06 · MEDIA APPEARANCES ## In the press, on the mic Third-party podcasts, broadcasts, and print features. Selected and edited by the outlet, not Wavect. 1. The Nice Guys On BusinessPodcast interview - **The Two But Rule on The Nice Guys On Business** - The Nice Guys On BusinessMar 2024 - [Source](https://www.jwolpert.com/post/the-nice-guys-on-business) 2. The Small Business EdgePodcast interview - **The Two But Rule with Brian Moran** - Brian Moran · The Small Business EdgeFeb 2024 - [Source](https://www.jwolpert.com/post/the-small-business-edge-podcast-interview) 07 · INDEPENDENT REVIEWS ## What others say about working with them These quotes were left on third-party platforms or shared during reference calls. Wavect did not solicit, edit, or pay for any of them. 08 · LINKEDIN ## Recent posts Get to know how John thinks. Recent posts, in their own words. 09 · LINKS & VERIFIED PROFILES ## Verify them yourself [Website jwolpert.com](https://www.jwolpert.com/) [LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/johnwolpert](https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwolpert/) Verified profiles & ratings [Website jwolpert.com](https://www.jwolpert.com/) [Substack johnwolpert.substack.com](https://johnwolpert.substack.com/) [Company tacitpath.com](https://tacitpath.com/) [Book The Two But Rule (Wiley)](https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Two+But+Rule%3A+Turn+Negative+Thinking+Into+Positive+Solutions-p-9781394221080) [USPTO Patent 20190034402](https://patents.justia.com/patent/20190034402) ## Structured Data ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@id": "https://wavect.io/#organization", "@type": [ "Organization", "ProfessionalService", "LocalBusiness" ], "employee": [ { "@id": "https://wavect.io/team/kevin-riedl/#person", "@type": "Person", "jobTitle": "Managing Director", "name": "Kevin Riedl", "url": 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