Scott Johnson is President and founder of Johnson Associates, Inc., an executive search firm specializing exclusively in the food and beverage industry throughout North America.
Scott has devoted his entire professional career to the food and beverage industry and executive search. Before entering executive recruiting in 1989, he worked in national account management for an institutional foodservice distributor and gained earlier experience in the restaurant industry. This operating background gave him firsthand exposure to the businesses, customers and people that make up the food and beverage supply chain.
Scott entered executive search in 1989 and spent six years with a leading executive search firm in downtown Chicago, specializing nationally in food and beverage distribution. He subsequently managed the foodservice division of a boutique Chicago-area executive search firm before founding Johnson Associates in 1997.
Since establishing Johnson Associates, Scott has recruited executives and senior professionals throughout the food and beverage industry, including manufacturing, processing, distribution, ingredients, grocery and food retail, foodservice and related businesses. His work spans executive leadership and the major functional disciplines of the organizations Johnson Associates serves, with assignments ranging through the $500K base salary level.
More than three decades devoted to food and beverage have given Scott an extensive network of industry relationships and a practical understanding of its companies, markets, products, customers and leadership requirements. He is particularly experienced in private and confidential searches requiring discretion, direct recruiting and the identification of successful, proven industry professionals who may not be actively pursuing a career change.
Scott earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1985 and completed continuing education through the University of Notre Dame Foodservice Institute in 1988.