​​John Lowry is a recognized authority on negotiation through his experience as a lawyer, management consultant, entrepreneur, negotiation coach, and university administrator. His results-focused, systematic approach to negotiation has been successfully implemented by thousands of professionals across the United States. John teaches negotiation at the top ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and lectures in Vanderbilt University’s Master’s in Management in Health Care program.

John serves as president of Thrivence, a new management consulting firm affiliated with Barge Design Solutions. In addition to leading the firm, John counsels clients on leadership, executive team effectiveness, strategy, revenue growth, and conflict management. He also provides negotiation training and coaching for governmental entities, health care organizations, and other businesses. John is a popular keynote speaker and leads multiple executive retreats each year including the opening retreat of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows program. 

John served as Senior Vice President for Advancement at Lipscomb University where he led the largest fundraising campaign in university history raising more than $250 million. He is also the founder of Spark: Lipscomb’s Idea Center, a state-of-the-art corporate learning and innovation center that was a 2017 recipient of the INVEST Award given by the Nashville Downtown Partnership for downtown’s most innovative real estate investment project.

In 2016, John was selected by Harvard Business School to participate in its Young American Leaders Program. John was selected for the 2018 class of Leadership Nashville and the 2015 class of Leadership Tennessee. He is also an inductee of the Williamson County (TN) Business Hall of Fame presented by the Nashville Business Journal.

Prior to moving to Nashville, John practiced law with Strasburger & Price, LLP in Dallas, Texas.  As an attorney, he represented hospitals and health care providers in professional liability and commercial disputes. He also advised health care entities on operational issues, contract negotiations, and risk management. In addition, he has served as a California State Assembly Fellow and worked in the Law Department of Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

John earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Pepperdine University and master’s degree in religion from Abilene Christian University. He received his juris doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. He has also completed graduate work in dispute resolution at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law and in public policy at California State University, Sacramento.

John resides in Nashville, TN with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.