John Iino is a proven change agent, helping individuals and organizations achieve excellence through his experience as a global law firm leader, diversity professional and executive coach. He is the founder and CEO of Cumbre Alta Advisors, a firm focused on DEI consulting, training and coaching for organizations and executives.
John is the retired Chief Diversity Officer for Reed Smith (www.reedsmith.com), a global law firm with over 3,000 employees in 32 offices around the world.  As CDO, he led Reed Smith’s mission to achieve equity and inclusion in the legal community from 2016 to 2023. Some of the most notable accomplishments as CDO:
- Championed the firm's efforts to support diverse talent during the COVID pandemic and to develop tangible goals to advance and support Black talent in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and too many others.
- Increased firm's ranking in the American Lawyer Annual Diversity Scorecard from #120 to #22 (2017-2022)
- Increased number of diverse lawyers by 79% (2016-2022)
John currently serves as USC's Interim ASVP for Alumni Relations, overseeing the USC Alumni Association. In this role, he is charged with developing the strategic plan for the next chapter of the USCAA and is leading the search for the next leader.
He is a frequent keynote speaker and trainer on topics such as DEI, leadership and effective management. John is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) from the Institute of Diversity Certification. He achieved Associate Certified Coach (ACC) status from the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
John achieved Directorship Certification status from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and a Certificate in Corporate Governance from the UCLA Anderson School of Business Executive Education Program. He previously served as Global Chair of Reed Smith’s Business & Finance Department, overseeing a $400M division of a $1B global law firm. He also served as Chair of the U.S. Corporate & Securities Group and Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office. In 2010, John became the first AAPI to serve on Reed Smith's Executive Committee and Senior Management Team.
John previously served as a member of the USC Board of Trustees, but stepped down temporarily to assume the ASVP for Alumni Relations role. John also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, is the Co-Leader of the Ascend Executive Network in Southern California, and previously served on the National Board of 50/50 Women on Boards and as the President of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors. He recently received the 2023 Legacy in Leadership Award from the Multicultural Women Executive Leadership Foundation and the President’s Award from Ascend, the nation’s largest organization for AAPI executives. John has been recognized as one of the nation’s Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers, among the top 500 ''Most Influential People in LA'' and has been named ''One of the Nation's Most Influential Minority Attorneys''.
