Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

As the Chief Strategy Officer for the Council of Better Business Bureaus, he led strategic marketing initiatives, market research and insights, guided brand management, and built strategic alliances. As former head of Global Marketing and Business Development for the HR Certification Institute, he led the organization’s global strategic marketing efforts including brand management, market research, public relations, and strategic alliances. His retention and acquisition marketing efforts expanded their credentials to more than 100 countries. He has served as Director, Marketing for a leading education and technology company focusing on consumer, new initiative, and international markets and has led global marketing for a multinational technology and management consultant firm with offices across North America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA serving Fortune Global 500 clients. He also led the brand marketing, sales, and strategic development efforts for the first and largest online community for IT project management, ProjectManagement.com, now part of Project Management Institute (PMI).

A graduate of Yale University with a master’s degree from Columbia University, Bennie serves on the Alumni Advisory Council for the Columbia University School of Professional Studies. He actively serves on several arts and cultural boards including the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum.