John was born in Martinsville, Indiana in 1955, and obtained his degree in Commercial Art in 1979 from the Indiana Vocational Technical College. After an internship with the Indianapolis Advertising Agency of Handly and Miller John worked for a Lafayette, Indiana agency before launching into partnerships over the years with his own agencies. In 1998 he joined Morning Song, a Lafayette, Indiana bird products company, and then later followed its management team when they formed Lifesong Brands, which owns Copper Moon.
John has traveled to Malawi, and has held a major interest in the work in Malawi since it started in 1993. He is pictured here with his wife, Di Clark. They have been married since 1985.