Ray O. Johnson
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Ray O. Johnson is an American business executive. Johnson is currently serving as Senior Advisor to the President of
Khalifa University Khalifa University () is a research, innovation and enterprise-intensive public university located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Khalifa University's current president, Professor Ebrahim Al Hajri, was appointed in July 2024. The universit ...
, providing expert counsel on complex strategic and operational matters. Johnson also serves as an operating partner at
Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is an American venture capital and private equity firm headquartered in San Francisco. Outside the United States, it has offices in India, Israel, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. In 2024, Venture Capital Journa ...
, an American venture capital firm with over $20 billion under management and the oldest venture capital firm in the United States. He recently served as the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the
Technology Innovation Institute The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) is an Abu Dhabi government funded research institution that operates in the areas of artificial intelligence, quantum computing A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical pheno ...
and of ASPIRE, both based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Before that, he served as the
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
Corporation's chief technology officer and corporate
senior vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice ...
for engineering, technology, and operations.


Early life and education

Johnson was born in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. He graduated from
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. In 2010, the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology presented him with a Hall of Fame award. He went on to study at the
Air Force Institute of Technology The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a postgraduate institution and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson ...
, where he earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering in 1987, and in 1993, he received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. He received the Distinguished Alumni award from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2010.


Career

Johnson joined the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
in 1975. He served in several Major Commands including the
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...
,
Electronic Security Command Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...
,
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...
, and
Air Force Materiel Command The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...
. He retired from the Air Force in 1996. Johnson has experience in a variety of executive positions, including the
senior vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice ...
and business unit general manager at SAIC, senior vice president and
chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...
at Modern Technology Solutions, Inc, and corporate senior vice president for engineering, technology, and operations and chief technology officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this role, Johnson was responsible for more than 72,000 people and 4,000 programs.


Other activities

Johnson is a Full Academician of the
International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is a Paris-based non-government association for the field of astronautics. It was founded in Stockholm, Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán. It was recognised by the United Nation ...
(IAA), a Fellow of the
International Society for Optical Engineering SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...
(SPIE), the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...
(AIAA), and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...
(IEEE), and a member of
Eta Kappa Nu Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Joining HKN is by invitation only. Membership is a lifelong designation for individuals who have distinguished them ...
,
Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
, and
Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...
. Johnson served on the Department of the Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board from 2001 to 2005. He was a member of the
Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...
Board of Directors from 2007 to 2015, and a member of the
Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...
Board of Governors from 2016 to 2021. Johnson was a member of the governing board of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
Energy Initiative. In 2014, Johnson received the Maurice Holland Award for the article "Tools for Managing Early-Stage Business Model Innovation," which he co-authored with Lockheed's VP of international engineering and technology, John D. Evans, and published in Research-Technology Management in late-2013. From 2009 to 2014, Johnson attended the annual meetings of the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. In 2009, he served on the New Frontiers of Conflict panel. In 2010, he served on the Rethinking the Global Commons: Space panel and the Space Security Council. He served on The Science Agenda session at the 2011 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting as the industry's representative. For the 2012
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
Annual Meeting, he was a member of the Davos Open Forum panel, A Day Without Satellites. In 2013, Johnson participated in four
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
Annual Meeting sessions: Manufacturing for Growth – Strategies for Driving Growth and Employment; Cyber Resilience, where he led a Critical Infrastructure Protection group; Hyperconnected World Cross-Industry CEO Session; and Future of Space session.


References


External links


Ray_O_Johnson on TwitterRay_O_Johnson on LinkedInUnited States Naval Academy Forrestal LectureVisit with Fabien Cousteau inside of Aquarius Reef Base during Mission 31Climate Week NYC 2014Engineering.com interview at the USA Science and Engineering FestivalRay Johnson on 2010 USA Science and Engineering Festival United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, Report on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Perspective: Effects, Capabilities, and Technologies Indo-US Science and Technology Forum DST - Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program USA Science and Engineering Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ray O American chief operating officers American chief technology officers Living people University of Maryland, College Park alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Members of Phi Kappa Phi