John Klein

CEO, Generate Technologies

John Klein is the CEO of Generate: a Boston-based, MIT-spin off company with the mission to digitize and decarbonize one of the world’s largest and least efficient industries: the 12-trillion-dollar Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sectors. Generate is developing a technology platform for architects, to transform the way buildings are designed and built. Generate’s technology is designed to tackle the global climate and housing crises, by accelerating the deployment of cost-effective, sustainable building materials and systems, like mass timber.

Prior to Generate, Klein was a Principal Investigator at MIT, where he led cross-disciplinary teams to develop advanced design, material and manufacturing technologies. While at MIT, Klein advanced into construction Boston’s first mass timber project, using one of Generate’s systems. It will meet Passive House Standards by generating more electricity than it consumes, and will function as a carbon sink by reducing both operational and embodied emissions. It will be one of the most sustainable buildings in the US, when complete.

Prior to MIT, Klein worked for Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid for eight years, leading the design and delivery of over 10,000,000 sf of construction. As Senior Architect, he implemented advanced technologies to streamline the design and construction of the IT Tech Park in Chennai, India, the Glasgow Transportation Museum, and The Seoul World Design Park. In Beijing, Klein oversaw the construction of the Wangjing Soho Skyscrapers—the largest Zaha Hadid project to date completed in record speed.

Klein is a US Registered Architect, and holds a professional Bachelor’s of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and a Master’s of Science from the MIT Media Lab.