Jerry L. Johnson is a private equity investor with RLJ Equity Partners. RLJ Equity Partners is a private equity firm founded by Robert L. Johnson and the Carlyle Group that acquires control positions in companies with enterprise values between $50 and $250 million. The firm invests in a broad range of sectors which include: Business Services, Government Services, Transportation, General Industrial, and Media.
Previously, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Johnson was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service for his work on the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Also, Johnson has been an investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Johnson’s civic involvement encompasses leadership roles with a wide range of local, state and international organizations, including: Atlantik-Brücke, the Asia Society, the Aspen Institute, and the Federal Communications Commission Capital Access Working Group. Mr. Johnson is co-chair of the Term Member Advisory Committee and a member of the Washington Meeting Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the White House Fellows Alumni Association, Global Kids and the NEA Foundation.
Johnson received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he was the President of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. He was recognized with the University of Tennessee’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.