John K. Coors

Dr. John K. Coors, chairman of CoorsTek in Golden, Colo., has endeavored to live out his Christian faith to make the world measurably better through family, business, scholarship, technology and philanthropy. John and his wife, Sharna, have raised 10 children, six adopted, and founded Children of Hope to care for orphans in Kenya. John also has a passion for job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa using the power of three-dimensional private capital investment through the One Thousand & One Voices Private Equity Fund. 

A graduate of Colorado School of Mines with a bachelor’s in chemical engineering, John furthered his education with a master’s in biochemistry from University of Texas, and a doctorate in engineering from the Technical University of Munich.

He began his career with Coors Brewing Company in 1979, holding a variety of roles — ultimately serving as vice president of Global Brewing Operations until 1992. John then ventured into the solar industry as president and CEO of Golden Photon and then Golden Genesis Companies until they were acquired in 1998. Following his time at Golden Genesis, he served as president, CEO, and now chairman of CoorsTek. He embarked on a two decade-long effort to successfully grow the company into a global engineered ceramics leader.

John’s vision to bridge academia and industry to collaborate and solve complex problems, culminated in the creation of the CoorsTek Center for Applied Sciences and Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. In 2007, he received the Mines Medal from the Board of Trustees for unusual and exemplary service to the university.  

He is a lifetime member in the Engineering Ceramics division of ACerS.