John Egan holds a B.A. in physics from Grinnell College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Northwestern University at Evanston. In 1998, Egan retired as a senior corporate officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Reporting successively to three CEOs as Vice President for Corporate Development during a period of extensive consolidation in the defense industry, he was responsible for the management of acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and strategic planning.

In 1973, Egan joined Sanders Associates, Inc. (acquired by Lockheed Corporation in 1986) as Director of Business Development, and was named its Vice President, Corporate Development in 1977. At Sanders, he was also general manager of two profit/loss divisions responsible for design, engineering, manufacture, sales and support of defense electronics and commercial computer equipment. He became a Lockheed group vice president in 1986, responsible for technical management of electronics research and development throughout Lockheed's electronic business areas.

Before joining Lockheed Martin (Sanders), Egan spent 12 years in several key technical positions with the U.S. Department of Defense. He was a chief scientist in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), senior staff specialist (intelligence) in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and technical director of the Air Force Electronics Systems Divisions computer and display activity.  He is also a former Air Force officer, serving on active duty from 1961 through 1964, after receiving an AFROTC commission at Grinnell College in 1957.

Egan has extensive experience in serving on boards and committees of government, industry and academe.  He is a long-standing member of the CNO Executive Panel, a former consultant to the Lockheed Martin Corporation and currently consults with BAE Systems. He recently stepped down as chair of the Naval Studies Board of the National Research Council where, during the past decade, he led three major studies. He also has had past advisory board roles with the National Security Agency, the Defense Science Board, the University of Massachusetts and Northeastern University.

Currently, he is chair of the Board of Trustees of Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire, a trustee of Grinnell College in Iowa, and a trustee of The Hunt Community in New Hampshire. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-Life), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Rotary International.

His honors include the Department of the Navys Superior Public Service Medal (two awards), election as a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, the Air Force Commendation Medal for Technical Achievement, and membership in SIGMA XI, the honorary scientific research society.  He is listed in the current edition of Whos Who in America. 

John Egan is married to the former Anne Patterson of La Grange, Illinois, (B.A. Grinnell, 1957) and they have two married sons, John Jr. (B.A. from Grinnell in 1984), and James, (B.S.E.E from University of New Hampshire in 1987), and six grandchildren.