The Media Turned John Wilson into a Villain to Sell the ‘Varsity Blues’ Narrative. He Was Innocent.

BIO: John Wilson, author of VARSITY BLUES: The Scandal within the Scandal, was born into poverty and raised, along with his three half-siblings, by a mentally unstable, physically abusive single mother in the Bowles Park housing projects of Hartford, Connecticut. He hand-picked tobacco from ages 12 to 16 to help his family make ends meet.

After he was adopted by Tom Wilson, a career Air Force sergeant, formal education began to change John’s life. He earned a BS in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School at the age of 23—the youngest person in his class. He built a successful business career rising from entry level

positions to leadership roles in multiple Fortune 500 companies.

At 29, he was the youngest partner in Bain & Company’s history. As CFO, he helped Staples become the fastest company to reach the Fortune 500. As COO of Gap Inc., he led 80,000 associates to become the first

specialty retailer to achieve a $50 billion market value. John was also the president of Staples International, and a senior operating partner at McKinsey & Company.

He has had a home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with his family for twenty-five years.