About Mark Howard

I’m a political economist, technology ethicist, and theorist of disruptive innovation, working at the intersection of emerging technology, governance, and economic transformation. My work explores how systems of legitimacy, value, and agency are created—and how they might be created differently.

I hold a PhD in Politics with a designated emphasis in History of Consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and bring 15+ years of prior experience in enterprise technology, service delivery, and innovation strategy across banking, healthcare, and public-interest platforms. This hybrid background shapes my approach to both research and consulting.

My work spans political economy, social theory, and the strategic analysis of emerging systems—from venture capital and institutional design to technological governance, platform logics, and the politics of scale. Alongside writing and research, I advise organizations on navigating the deeper logics of innovation, ownership, and systemic transformation.

Through HU.MN, a humanist-in-residence consultancy, I help mission-driven organizations ground disruptive innovation in humanistic intelligence. That means designing for trust, translating values into value, and aligning systems of growth with the deeper social meaning that makes growth matter. I offer a strategic lens that complements economists, technologists, and policy leads, helping ensure that technologies of the future are not just scalable but justifiable.

I speak, consult, and lead workshops with organizations navigating the complex edge of innovation, governance, and ethics. My work provides strategic insight grounded in systems thinking and political economy.