John Kelly | Founder, CEO

Based on his 25 years of experience as a business and brand strategist, John founded Questfire on the belief that a company's strategy for winning in the market -- its brand + customer experience -- must start from inside the company and radiate to the outside.  Prior to Questfire, John was a founding partner at Keen Strategy, a consultancy focused on helping managers make smarter, faster brand and marketing decisions with greater impact. 

John's signal strength is in building collaborative, trust-based relationships whether in large, complex, multi-stakeholder companies or medium-sized organizations.  He is known for achieving results through strategic clarity, deep customer insights, team performance, and new thinking. He has achieved success in diverse situations in both B2C & B2B: financial services, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, professional services, retail, business services, pharmaceuticals, among others. 

Before Keen, John was a strategy consultant for over 8 years with Prophet, a global brand & marketing consultancy.  John was based in Prophet's New York City office.  John began his career in brand marketing at BBDO Atlanta and Doremus NY.  

John graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and two sons.  He is active with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and is a Board Member in its North Carolina Chapter. He is active with Christ Church and Wake Relief in Raleigh, and with Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. Previously, he was active with The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM Raleigh), and a board member of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.