Robert Henry Johnston (26 May 1924 – 7 May 1995) was an Australian

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and businessman who was the President of

Toyota Australia Toyota Australia is an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. It markets Toyota products and manages motorsport, advertising and business operations for Toyota in Australia. It is also responsible for Lexus vehicles in A ...

from 1986 to 1994 and was the Chairman of the

Australian Trade Commission The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade ( ), is the Australian Government's trade, investment and education promotion agency which was also given responsibility for tourism policy, programs and research from 2013. Austrade ...

(Austrade) between 1993 and 1995. Robert Johnston was born in 1924 in Camperdown in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales. He studied at North Newtown Boys' Intermediate High School, where he matriculated in 1938. From there, Johnston began work as a copy-boy at John Fairfax & Sons. However, in June 1942 Johnston was selected for officer training in the

Royal Australian Naval Reserve The Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Austra ...

. It was by January 1943, in which he became a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on HMAS Assault and later served on HMAS Kanimbla. He was later promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in May 1946. Johnston was decommissioned in June that year in which he later studied at the

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now part of TAFE NSW, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education institutions. History The Sydney M ...

and became an associate of the Australian Society of Accountants. Between 1951 and 1986 Johnston would rise through the ranks of the John Fairfax & Sons to become its chief financial officer and also other motor vehicle manufacturers in Australia, including the precursors to

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. By 1986 the Japanese car manufacturer had concentrated significant control over various manufactures in Australia, leading to Johnston to become the chairman and chief executive officer of

. However, this would be further solidified in 1989, where Johnston also became the President of the new Toyota Australia, after the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

branches merged. Under Johnston's leadership Toyota emerged as the largest car manufacturer in Australia, surpassing both

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

and Ford. In addition to this, he would also become the President of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries from 1990 to 1992. In November 1993 the Minister for Trade and Overseas Development,

John Kerin John Charles Kerin (21 November 1937 – 29 March 2023) was an Australian economist and Labor Party politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1993. He held a number of senior ministerial r ...

, invited Johnston to lead the

(Austrade) board as Chairman, following the retirement of Bill Ferris. After retiring from Toyota in December 1994, the final year of his life was consumed by consistent bouts of ill health and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

diagnoses. Ultimately, following Johnston's death in May 1995, at the age of 70, Prime Minister

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

remarked in a press release that Johnston was a "true captain of Australian industry" and through his actions, had strengthened Australia's economic ties with the emerging markets of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In the 1994 Australia Day Honours List, Johnston was awarded with the

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) for service to manufacturing particularly in relation to the automotive industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Robert Henry 1924 births 1995 deaths 20th-century industrialists 20th-century Australian businesspeople Australian chief executives Australian corporate directors Officers of the Order of Australia