Jon Ray Katzenbach

Jon Ray Katzenbach, a pioneering thinker whose profound insights reshaped how organizations comprehend culture, leadership, and the informal networks that animate performance, passed away October 11, 2025 at the age of 93. He was a visionary whose work illuminated the human dimension of organizations, helping leaders unlock the full potential of their teams through understanding relationships and culture beyond formal structures.

Born August 26, 1932, in Billings, Montana, Jon grew up with a deep fascination about group dynamics -the unseen forces of cohesion, creativity, and resilience that drive success beyond charts and policies. He graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He went on to earn his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1959, where he was honored as a Baker Scholar, reflecting both academic excellence and leadership potential. His early years also included distinguished service as a lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War aboard the USS Whetstone (LSD 27) and the USS Nicholas (DDE 449).

Bridging rigorous academic insight with practical leadership, Jon embarked on a notable consulting career marked by a rare commitment to marrying strategy and culture. For thirty years, he was a director at McKinsey & Company, shaping top organizations worldwide. In 1998, along with Niko Canner and Marc Feigen, he founded Katzenbach Partners LLC, a boutique management consultancy dedicated to helping organizations harness the power of informal networks and cultural dynamics to boost performance. Under his stewardship, Katzenbach Partners developed deep expertise in the "informal organization"—the unwritten rules, social ties, and human behaviors that often trump official processes in driving success. Jon later founded The Katzenbach Center at Strategy&, PwC's strategy consulting business, where he continued to influence the fields of organizational performance, collaboration, governance, culture challenges, and employee motivation over the following years.

Jon was also a prolific author and thought leader. His acclaimed books, including "The Wisdom of Teams", "Teams at the Top", "The Critical Few", "Peak Performance", "Leading Outside the Lines", and "Why Pride Matters More Than Money", remain foundational texts in leadership and organizational studies.

Throughout his life, Jon championed humility, curiosity, and the transformative power of small groups committed to extraordinary work. He believed that the heart of any organization lies not in its formal charts but in the people who breathe life into it—their relationships, pride, and shared purpose.

Beyond his amazing career accomplishments, Jon was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He will always be remembered for his loving spirit, infectious smile, sharp sense of humor and his constant desire to ensure that his family and those close to him were always well taken care of. Everyone who knew him will remember his incredible penchant for storytelling, often recounting hysterical tales of misadventure from his youth, particularly with his best friend Bruce McLagan in Brush, Colorado. He will also be remembered for his love of bike riding in his later years, where he would often bike over 30 miles a day in the mountains of Virginia, all the way into his 90s.

Jon is survived by his five sons and their spouses, Doug and Lori Katzenbach, Ray Katzenbach and Heidi Lucking, Sam and Marci Katzenbach, Daniel and Keena Katzenbach, and Michael Katzenbach; and by his 15 grandchildren and their spouses, Jeremy Katzenbach, Jacob Katzenbach and Megan Bauer. Jarod Katzenbach, Heather and Joel Barker, Jesse and Hailey Katzenbach, Jordan Katzenbach, Jason Katzenbac and Melanie Gladstone, Tera and Ryan Brown, Lora and Jacob Palmer, Mary Katzenbach and Joseph Hawkins, Ben and Summer Katzenbach, Josh and Savanna Katzenbach, Zach and Skylar Katzenbach, Nicholas Katzenbach, and Kathryn Katzenbach. Jon was predeceased by his father, Raymond, his mother, Della, and Linda, his wife of 43 years.

The family wants to express how grateful they are for Jon’s long time personal assistant Tracey, her daughter Kylee, and the caregivers that took such loving and amazing care of Jon over last months of his life – Nene, Millie, Aleah, Edna, Lia, and Tabitha. We would also like to give special thanks to Keena, who devoted extraordinary time and attention to coordinating all of Jon’s care in the last few months, and to Kathryn who helped ensure that Keena had the time available to do that.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Raleigh County Club in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 22, 2025 at 2:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to be made in the memory of Jon R. Katzenbach to the Dementia Society of America. www.dementiasociety.org/donate

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's St, Raleigh is serving the Katzenbach family.