Jonathan E. Johnson
Born
Alma materBrigham Young University,
Utah
Political partyRepublican
Board member ofoverstock.com
Spouse
Courtney Johnson
(m. 1988)
[1]
Children5

Jonathan Edwin "J.J." Johnson III is an American business executive who served as the CEO of Overstock.com from 2019 to 2023.[1][2][3][4] He was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 Utah gubernatorial election.[5]

Personal life and education

Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California to Jonathan E. Johnson II and Clare Hardy Johnson, the oldest of their eight sons. He received a Bachelor's degree in Japanese from Brigham Young University in 1990, followed by a Juris Doctor degree from the Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, in 1993.[6]

Career

Following his graduation, Johnson worked as a clerk for Utah Supreme Court Justice Leonard H. Russon.[7]

In 1999, Johnson moved back to Utah to work for the publicly traded software company TenFold Corporation, lasting there until 2002 when he was hired by Overstock.com to be general counsel.[8] He served as the chairman of the board at Overstock until 2019.[9][10][11] Upon the departure of Patrick Byrne on August 22, 2019, Johnson became the interim CEO of the company.[12] One month later on September 23, 2019, Johnson was appointed permanent CEO.[3] He resigned in November 2023, following accusations of poor performance in a letter from a major shareholder.[4][13]

2016 campaign for governor of Utah

Johnson, a Republican, formally announced his candidacy for governor on August 15, 2015 at the state GOP convention[14] Johnson defeated the incumbent governor, Gary Herbert, at the convention, triggering a primary election, which was held June 28, 2016.[15]

On April 18, 2016, Johnson announced his selection of Robyn Bagley as his running mate.[16] Bagley is the founder of a charter school, and was a leader on the losing side in the voucher battle in 2007.[17] Herbert defeated Johnson in the primary, and went on to win reelection in the general election.[18]

Education

Johnson and Bagley focused on education during their announcement to run together for governor and lieutenant governor, and expressed their intention to put education decisions into the hands of private companies. Both running mates voiced support for vouchers that would allow public funding to go to private schools.[17][19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Jonathan E. Johnson III". Famous Mormons. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  2. "Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne resigns after 'deep state' controversy". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  3. 1 2 "Overstock Appoints Jonathan Johnson as CEO and Robert Hughes as Acting CFO". Overstock.com Inc. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  4. 1 2 Tyko, Kelly (2023-11-06). "Bed Bath & Beyond CEO steps down after Overstock transition". Axios.
  5. "Jonathan Johnson: Idea Guy is Considering 2016 Run for Governor", by LaVarr Webb, UtahPolicy.com, June 20, 2011.
  6. "Happening Upon Success", by Jamie Cline, LDSLiving, February 19, 2011.
  7. What is the history of Jonathan E Johnson and the latest information about Jonathan E Johnson? (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2015, from "What is the history of Jonathan e Johnson and the latest information about Jonathan e Johnson?". Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  8. Jonathan E. Johnson III. (2015). Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.fastcompany.com/user/jonathan-e-johnson-iii Archived 2015-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Jonathan E. Johnson III", The Wall Street Transcript, March 23, 2009.
  10. Overstock.com to Acquire SpeedRoute Technologies and Related Businesses. (2014, January 29). Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  11. Neely, K. (2015, June 3). Overstock exec shares principles of successful businesses with AF Chamber. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  12. Metz, Cade; Creswell, Julie (2019-08-22). "Patrick Byrne, Overstock C.E.O., Resigns After Disclosing Romance With Russian Agent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  13. Sollitt, Shannon (2023-11-10). "Bed Bath & Beyond CEO out after claims of poor leadership". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  14. Roche, L. (2015, August 15). Gov. Herbert gets a challenger as GOP looks to 2016. Deseret News. Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865634658/Overstockcom-Chairman-Jonathan-Johnson-will-take-on-Herbert-for-governor.html?pg=all
  15. "Gov. Gary Herbert forced into primary election with Jonathan Johnson". 23 April 2016.
  16. "Three Utah gubernatorial candidates announce running mates," Deseret News, April 18. 2016
  17. 1 2 "Fight over 'Education Savings Accounts' brewing," Rod Decker, KUTV News, May 8, 2016
  18. "ELECTION RESULTS: Herbert wins GOP primary," Fox 13 News, June 29, 2016
  19. "Deseret News: Johnson/Bagley promise to put parents in charge of their children's education". Deseret News.

Jonathan E. Johnson's Podcast on Leadership in Business

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