David Willis Johnson (7 August 1932 – June 19, 2016) was an Australian-American
company director
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, who as President and CEO led the
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
from 1990 until 1997 and then again from March 2000 to January 2001. He was also the CEO of Gerber, the president of Entenmanns, and on the Board of Directors for Colgate Palmolive.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and grew up near
Tumut
Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River.
Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu ...
in the
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...
. From the family farm he rode to the one room
Lacmalac Public School for his primary education. He attended
Newington College
, motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge
, location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = A ...
(1947-1950) and was Senior Boarder Prefect and captained the 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket. He continued his sporting career at
Wesley College, University of Sydney
Wesley College is a co-residential college of 265 students within the University of Sydney. The college occupies a site on the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of Crown land. Wesley is one of six on-campus co ...
, where he captained the rugby, athletics and cricket teams, was Senior Student, and won a University rowing
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
. He graduated in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
in 1954 and received a
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Overview
The diploma can build on the ...
the following year. In 1958 he received an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
.
Business career
He began his business career as an executive trainee for the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
in
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...
, where he won a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to study at the University of Chicago. In 1959, he became a management trainee at
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...
International in Australia, and, in 1967, became Chairman and Managing Director of its South African operation. In 1973, he went to Hong Kong as President of
Warner-Lambert/Park Davis Asia, and, in 1976, he moved to the United States as President of two successive divisions within that company. In 1979, he became head of
Entenmann's
Entenmann's is an American company that manufactures baked goods and delivers them throughout the United States to supermarkets and other retailers for sale to the public. The company offers dessert cakes, donuts, cookies, cup cakes, loaf cakes, ...
Inc., and continued as President and CEO when it was acquired by General Foods in 1982. During his leadership of this Company, sales and profits quadrupled, and when, in 1987, he was named Chairman, President and CEO of
Gerber Products, earnings grew at an annual rate of more than 50 per cent. In 1990, Johnson joined
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
as President and CEO and retired from the company in 1997. Under his leadership, the Company's value increased by an average of 23 per cent a year. In 1997, Johnson was named the Director of the Year in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
Death
Johnson died June 19, 2016, in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton,
north of Center City, Philadelphia,
southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City.
As of the 2020 cen ...
. He was 83.
Former Campbell Soup CEO dies
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, David
1932 births
2016 deaths
American businesspeople
Australian emigrants to the United States
People educated at Newington College
University of Chicago alumni
University of Sydney alumni