Adrian Johnson
Engineer. Entrepreneur. Educator. Builder of companies, shaper of programmes, explorer of the intersection between technology and human potential.
At the Intersection of Tech and Ideas
Engineer · Entrepreneur · Educator
Adrian Johnson is a serial technology and media entrepreneur with ventures spanning 3D animation, voice over IP, digital media distribution, event management software, and AI-driven education across the UK, Germany, and France.
He started his career as an engineer and project manager at ICI and ICG before co-founding Archimation in Berlin in 1993, where he created the market for 3D visualisation in German real estate. He went on to co-found Poptel, Germany's first phone-to-phone internet telephony provider, pioneering what became the modern VoIP industry. Further ventures followed, from MrFootage, a global stock footage licensing platform, to Inheritance Media, creating cross-media platforms for clients including the Centre Pompidou and the Berlin Film Festival.
Since 2013, Adrian has been an Adjunct Professor and Programme Director at INSEAD, one of the world's top-ranked business schools, where he designs and delivers executive and MBA programmes in entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital transformation. He co-created the Deep Tech Commercialisation Programme with CERN and the European Space Agency, delivered at CERN, INSEAD, and NTU Singapore, and serves as Programme Director of the INSEAD Summer School.
His current venture, Qinect, is transforming education through AI-driven academies that deliver complete AI-powered courses and programmes, integrating teaching, assessment, simulations, and virtual professors, teachers, tutors, mentors, and coaches.
Adrian holds a BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London and an MBA from INSEAD. Of English, Irish, and Sierra Leonean heritage, he is a British and French national who was raised in Sierra Leone, Kenya, the USA, and the UK. He speaks English, French, and German fluently.
Core Beliefs
Build from Scratch
Every great venture starts as a blank page. I'm drawn to the challenge of creating something from nothing, and the discipline of making it last.
Learning as Experience
The best education happens when people do, not just listen. Every programme I design puts practice, challenge, and real-world application at its centre.
Technology with Purpose
Technology is only as valuable as the problem it solves. AI, in particular, has the potential to radically expand access to quality education, for example.
The Building Blocks
BEng Electrical Engineering
Imperial College London & ICI PLC sponsored scholarship. The rigour of engineering thinking has underpinned every venture since.
MBA
INSEAD, Fontainebleau: ranked among the world's top three business schools. The global perspective that shapes everything I do.
Adjunct Professor, INSEAD
Designing and delivering executive and MBA programmes since 2013. Entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and deep tech commercialisation with CERN and ESA.
Want to connect?
Whether you're interested in speaking, advisory work, collaboration, or just an exchange of ideas, I'd love to hear from you.