John Bazley is an Associate Program Director at Dalberg Advisors, where he co-leads the firm’s Strategy Activation work in the Americas. He specializes in catalysing economic mobility in the United States through place-based initiatives, responsible AI deployment, and multi-stakeholder coalitions that drive systems-level change.

Over a decade of advisory work across 15 countries, John has developed deep expertise in translating strategy into operational reality. This has included designing and scaling place-based economic mobility models, such as current work supporting the Community Education Building (CEB) and the WRK GROUP on a multi-year initiative addressing systemic barriers to opportunity for students and families. More broadly within the Justice Equity and Mobility practice he has worked with a range of clients including Blue Meridian Partners, the GitLab Foundation, Gates Foundation, and NYCEDC. His responsibilities span strategy design, governance, program design and initiation, coalition development and management, creating learning partnerships, and building investment cases for growth.

Within AI, and specifically in its role in reshaping economic mobility policy and practice, John has conducted research within the Federal Reserve Bank system on AI’s potential, and limitations, across credit, benefits, and housing. He co-developed an integrated strategic roadmap for the Wealth Solutions Accelerator and contributed to public knowledge products that combine evidence-based assessment with practical implementation guidance for practitioners.

John has also played a central role in designing cross-sectoral coalitions for systemic change. He led the Dalberg team during the Build Phase of the Mobility Alliance, an 18-month initiative that brought together 15 senior leaders to co-design a new model for advancing upward mobility. His prior work in digital and finance and investment, with the Ballmer Group on digital transformation, Acumen on patient capital, and MCC on investment strategy, has reinforced his conviction that sustained impact requires coordinated action across multiple systems.

Before joining Dalberg, John spent four years at Standard Bank Group in Johannesburg, where he worked in Corporate Investment Banking focused on analytics and strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town (Bertha Scholar) and a BSc in Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.