2026 Accounting Alumnus of the Year
Upon graduating, John joined KPMG in 1989 and never looked back. Over more than 36 years with the firm, he rose to Partner-in-Charge of KPMG's Northern California and Hawaii Audit practice before ascending to National Managing Partner of Audit — where he led more than 900 audit partners and 8,000 professionals nationwide. He is currently KPMG’s Private Equity Audit Sector Leader. Throughout his career, John developed deep expertise with publicly traded and private technology companies, including Logitech, Adobe, and Electronic Arts, and authored influential KPMG publications on stock compensation and software revenue recognition. Along the way, he made a point of opening doors for Santa Clara accounting graduates, recruiting many Broncos to KPMG and giving them the same opportunity the firm once gave him.
John has been a steadfast supporter of both the Leavey School of Business and the Accounting Department, serving on the Leavey School of Business Advisory Board since 2015 and currently serving as the Chairman of the Advisory Board. John’s and his wife DeDe’s endowment of the Justin Ebner Scholarship in honor of their son Justin, an SCU Accounting major that passed away his junior year at Santa Clara after a fall, ensures that deserving Broncos have the support they need to pursue the same opportunities that were once available to him. Beyond Santa Clara, John served on the Board of the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose and was the Chairman of the Board of RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching). He continues to be active at RAFT and currently serves on the Advisory Board.
John and his wife DeDe have been married for over 30 years and are the proud parents of Ryan, a Santa Clara Finance/Economics graduate with a masters in Accounting from NYU. The Ebners call San Jose home, and when John steps away from the office, you're likely to find him on the tennis court or golf course.