Cory Cannon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Knoco International, where he leads the next chapter of the Knoco legacy in Knowledge Management consulting, training, and strategic advisory services. With more than 26 years of experience across the United States military, federal government, academia, and private sector consulting, Cory brings a rare blend of operational leadership, Knowledge Management expertise, data governance experience, and practical AI readiness insight.
His work focuses on helping organizations turn knowledge into better decisions, stronger performance, and more resilient operations. Through Knoco International, Cory supports organizations in designing Knowledge Management strategies, strengthening lessons learned systems, improving knowledge flow, preparing for ISO 30401 alignment, and building the knowledge foundations required for responsible and effective artificial intelligence.
Cory Lee Cannon, CKM
President & CEO Knoco International & KnocoUSA
Leading the Next Chapter of Knoco International
Cory Lee Cannon is the President & CEO of Knoco International, a global Knowledge Management consulting and training organization with affiliates spanning more than 40 countries. He is a senior Knowledge Management, data, and innovation leader with experience across government, defense, academia, and industry, and is focused on helping organizations turn knowledge into better decisions, stronger performance, and sustainable competitive advantage.
Over the course of his career, Cory has served in the U.S. military, the U.S. government, higher education, and the private sector, bringing more than two decades of experience in leadership, strategy, and organizational improvement. His work centers on Knowledge Management strategy, governance, lessons learned, communities of practice, AI readiness, and the practical application of Knowledge Management in complex organizations. He is also an adjunct professor and doctoral researcher in Knowledge and Innovation Management, with a strong interest in advancing the profession through applied practice, thought leadership, and executive education.
As President & CEO of Knoco International, Cory is leading the next chapter of the Knoco legacy by expanding global consulting, professional development, and certification offerings, including the development of future-facing capabilities at the intersection of Knowledge Management and Artificial Intelligence.
A Career Built on Knowledge, Decisions, and Mission Performance
Cory’s professional background spans more than two decades of service in complex, high-stakes environments. He served over 21 years in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army, with experience in the United States, South Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq. His military career gave him a deep understanding of how knowledge moves, or fails to move, across large organizations under pressure.
Throughout his career, Cory has worked at the intersection of Knowledge Management, data management, information sharing, organizational learning, and decision support. He has held Knowledge Management and data leadership roles across major military and federal organizations, including assignments supporting U.S. Army Futures Command, the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, Eighth Army, the Center for Army Lessons Learned, and the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea.
In these roles, Cory helped leaders and teams improve how they captured, structured, shared, and applied knowledge across multiple echelons. His work has included operational knowledge flow, lessons learned, data governance, information management, decision support, collaboration systems, and organizational knowledge practices in joint, combined, and interagency environments.
Federal Government and Data Leadership Experience
Cory also brings significant federal civilian leadership experience. He previously served as Director of Data Governance and Dissemination Service within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where his portfolio included Open Data, the Paperwork Reduction Act, DoD and VA joint data efforts, Zero Trust support, and the VA Data Stewardship Program.
This experience strengthened his view that Knowledge Management, data governance, and AI readiness are not separate disciplines. They are deeply connected. Organizations cannot make effective use of data, analytics, or artificial intelligence unless they understand the knowledge that gives context, meaning, trust, and direction to those systems.
At Knoco International, Cory applies this integrated perspective to help clients move beyond isolated technology solutions and toward practical knowledge ecosystems that support decision-making, innovation, resilience, and measurable value.
Advancing the Future of Knowledge Management
Cory is currently a PhD Candidate in Knowledge and Innovation Management at Bangkok University. His doctoral research focuses on the Organizational Knowledge Loop, a model designed to explain how data becomes decision-ready knowledge and how knowledge moves through complex, multi-echelon organizations.
His academic and professional work is grounded in the belief that Knowledge Management is no longer just a support function. It is a strategic capability that directly affects organizational performance, digital transformation, AI readiness, and leadership effectiveness.
Cory has written and presented on Knowledge Management in combined and joint environments, organizational learning, data-informed decision-making, and the relationship between Knowledge Management and artificial intelligence. His work continues to emphasize a central theme: organizations cannot become truly AI-ready until they become knowledge-ready.
Academic and Teaching Experience
In addition to his consulting and federal leadership experience, Cory has served in academia as an instructor and adjunct faculty member for Kent State University and at University of Maryland Global Campus. He has taught in the areas of Knowledge Management, political science, organizational leadership, and related fields.
His academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in political science from Emporia State University and a master’s degree in political science from Fort Hays State University. He is currently completing his PhD in Knowledge and Innovation Management on the topic of Knowledge Management within multi-echelon organizations.
Cory’s teaching style is practitioner-focused. He connects theory to real organizational challenges and helps learners understand how Knowledge Management can be applied in business, government, defense, and technology environments.
Leadership at Knoco International
As President and CEO of Knoco International, Cory is responsible for carrying forward Knoco’s long-standing reputation in the global Knowledge Management field while expanding its relevance for today’s organizational challenges.
Under his leadership, Knoco International focuses on several core areas:
- Knowledge Management strategy and implementation
- ISO 30401 alignment and readiness
- Lessons learned systems and organizational learning
- Knowledge retention and transfer
- Communities of practice
- Knowledge Management training and certification
- AI readiness and Knowledge Management maturity
- KM as a Service and fractional Knowledge Management leadership
- Global affiliate and ambassador network development
Cory is also leading the development of the Knoco Institute, which will provide structured Knowledge Management education through self-paced online courses, masterclasses, and professional certification pathways.
A Practical Philosophy of Knowledge Management and Artificial Intelligence
Cory believes that Knowledge Management succeeds when it is practical, measurable, and directly connected to the work people already do. For him, KM is not simply about repositories, documents, or collaboration platforms. It is about helping people and organizations know what they know, learn from what they do, and apply that knowledge to make better decisions.
His leadership philosophy is shaped by military service, public sector leadership, academic research, and business strategy. He understands that organizations often do not fail because they lack data. They fail because they cannot properly interpret, trust, share, or apply what they already know.
This belief guides Knoco International’s approach to clients: start with the business problem, understand the knowledge flows, strengthen the decision environment, and build systems that help people act with confidence.