Independent Advisor
Zia Khan is an independent advisor, helping leaders and institutions tackle ambitious challenges through innovation and collaboration. He serves on the boards of Atlas AI and data.org and on the advisory boards for the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Climate Resilience Institute, and Stanford Social Innovation Review Books.
Zia was most recently with The Rockefeller Foundation where he held senior executive roles leading strategy, programs, and innovation. During his 16-year tenure, Zia played a central role in shaping the Foundation’s program agenda including clean energy access, food systems, economic opportunity, innovative finance, and artificial intelligence. His leadership spanned opportunity assessment, initiative design, and implementation management driven by global program teams based in New York, Bangkok, and Nairobi.
Prior to Rockefeller, he was a management consultant advising clients on strategy, leadership, and organizational performance. He led Katzenbach Partners’ San Francisco office and co-authored Leading Outside the Lines. Zia holds degrees from Cornell and Stanford.
