John Hanke
Founder & Executive Chairman, Niantic Spatial, Niantic Games Team · United States
John Hanke is the CEO of Niantic Games Team. Hanke is based in the United States. Hanke was born in 1967 in Cross Plains and educated at Haas School of Business and University of Texas at Austin.
American technology executive who co-founded Keyhole Inc., which was acquired by Google in 2004 and became Google Earth and Google Maps. He founded Niantic Labs at Google in 2010, and spun it out as Niantic, Inc. in 2015, creating the mobile AR game Pokémon Go.
Recent developments
AI summary of recent coverageRecent coverage has focused on Niantic's games division being acquired by Scopely in a $3.5 billion deal announced in March 2025, which included the company's portfolio of titles such as Pokémon Go. Additionally, coverage noted a collaboration between Kojima and Niantic on a new geospatial game project in September 2025.
Summarized from the headlines below; see each source for the full story.
Key Facts
Source: Wikidata ↗- Born
- September 19, 1967 · Cross Plains
- Citizenship
- United States
- Education
- Haas School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Our coverage
On CEOInsider
No feature yet. When we publish a feature, interview or cover story on John Hanke, it will appear here — and tie into the news timeline.
John Hanke: FAQ
- Who is John Hanke?
- John Hanke is the Founder & Executive Chairman, Niantic Spatial of Niantic Games Team, based in United States.
- What company does John Hanke lead?
- John Hanke is CEO of Niantic Games Team.
- Where was John Hanke educated?
- John Hanke studied at Haas School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.