John Kessels was born in Venray (The Netherlands) on December 31, 1977. His study in electrical engineering started in 1996 at Fontys Hogescholen Eindhoven. In 2000 he received his bachelor degree (with honours) on a data acquisition project at ASML in Veldhoven. Inspired by his supervisor at that time, Dr. R. Ermers, he continued his study at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Department of Electrical Engineering. Under supervision of Dr.ir. W.P.M.H. Heemels and Prof.dr.ir. P.P.J. van den Bosch he completed his M.Sc. study in 2003 (cum laude). From then on he started working towards a Ph.D. degree under the supervision of  Prof. dr. ir. P.P.J van den Bosch and Prof. dr. ir. M. Steinbuch. In 2007 he completed his Ph.D. thesis entitled “Energy Management for Automotive Power Nets”. This research project has been carried out in close cooperation with Ford Research Centre Aachen, Germany.

After working as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, in 2007, he joined the Automotive Group of TNO Science and Industry in Helmond. In 2011 he changed position and moved to DAF Trucks NV in Eindhoven, where he started in the vehicle control group as senior control engineer. Besides his industrial career, he is also affiliated to the Control Systems Group, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, as assistant professor (part-time), since 2008. His research interests include energy and thermal management for heavy-duty vehicles, with emphasis on system integration and complete vehicle energy management.