Our Family Story

Samuel C. Johnson

Education: BA in Economics from Cornell University; MBA from Harvard Business School.

Experience: Sam Johnson served as Chairman Emeritus of SC Johnson from October 2000 until his passing in May 2004. When Mr. Johnson became president of SC Johnson and the fourth generation member of his family to lead the business in 1966, the company had annual sales of approximately $171 million. Today, the Johnson Family Enterprises generate annual sales of more than $11 billion.

He was a founding member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which served as advisor to world leaders at the historic 1992 Rio Earth Summit. President Clinton appointed him to the U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development in 1993, the first multi-stakeholder national policy advisory council in the world.

Mr. Johnson served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of Johnson Outdoors, Inc. and Director and Chairman of Johnson Financial Group; Director of the World Resources Institute; Chairman of the Board of The Johnson Foundation, Inc.; and, Chairman of the Advisory Council, The Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. Mr. Johnson held seven honorary doctoral degrees, and received numerous awards internationally in recognition of his business, environmental and philanthropic contributions around the world including a "Lifetime Environmental Award" from the United Nations Environmental Programme; The Charles F. Lindbergh Award and induction into the prestigious U.S. National Business Hall of Fame.

* The Johnson Family Enterprises include: SC Johnson, which makes and markets household products; JohnsonDiversey which serves business and institutional markets; Johnson Outdoors Inc., which makes and markets recreational products; and, Johnson Financial Group, a financial services company