Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson
Christopher Johnson is the founder and owner of the Johnsonese Brokerage. Johnson is a licensed insurance producer with a background in corporate finance, business planning, technology commercialization, project management and international business. Johnson focuses on serving clients in the arts community, building on his four year experience as director of a contemporary fine art gallery in Chicago. During this time he was also a founding member of a neighborhood gallery association, and he completed a Certificate of Connoisseurship in Fine & Decorative Arts at Northwestern University. In his insurance practice Johnson works closely with art galleries, antique dealers and framers to protect and build their businesses.
Johnson holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Toledo. He has worked with several technology companies as an independent consultant, most recently as executive Director of Business Development for MindMatter. Earlier for fabless semiconductor start-up LINX Electronics he led merger negotiations with strategic buyers and achieved a valuation of 3.3 times invested capital for this pre-revenue company. For Micronas Semiconductors he integrated a US acquisition into the parent’s administrative functions on-time and on budget, and restructured the company’s relationship with its European parent company to reduce US tax liability risk. Other consulting clients have included Maxim (intellectual property management) and Astronautics of America (aerospace sub-systems).
Prior to working as an independent consultant, Johnson managed a strategic venture capital fund for Ford Motor Company. In that role he produced positive cash flow over a five year period in a down market. While at Ford he served on the board of directors of three portfolio companies, including one NASDAQ-listed firm. He also helped generate significant tax savings by organizing and executing the company’s first intellectual asset donation program. Johnson similarly led a corporate venture fund for Aeroquip Corporation, a diversified industrial company. That fund launched four successful spinout businesses. Over nearly 11 years at Aeroquip and related companies he held various finance and planning roles, including extended assignments in Europe and South America. He was a member of several successful turn-around teams, including a project that transformed the company’s loss-making Spanish automotive components subsidiary into the most profitable and rapidly growing unit in its division within two years. He is an Internet early-adopter and launched one of the first industrial B2B web sites, beating all major Aeroquip competitors to the web.
Johnson resides and works in Chicago. Click here to view Johnson’s profile on LinkedIn.