Juan Johnson is President of Diversity Leadership in Action, formerly Juan Johnson Consulting and Facilitation, LLC.  Juan has been in this role since July 2006, after concluding an extraordinary career with The Coca-Cola Company.

Juan’s original background is accounting and finance.  He achieved certifications as both a CPA and CMA and worked for Arthur Andersen & Company before joining Coca-Cola. 

Juan was elected a full Corporate Vice President by Coke’s Board of Directors, and was one of the youngest board-elected Vice Presidents in the Company’s history.  At the time, Juan was responsible for the Company’s Investor Relations function, representing Coke before the professional investment community on Wall Street.  During his tenure, Institutional Investor Magazine named Coke the most improved Investor Relations function and noted the Company for having among the best annual investor meetings.

During his career at Coke, Juan held a number of key management positions, including: Vice President and Director, Investor Relations; Vice President, Corporate Communications; Vice President and Director, Learning & Knowledge Management; Vice President & Executive Assistant, Chief Marketing Officer; Vice President and Director, Diversity Strategies; and President, Diversity Leadership Academy. 

After working extensively in highly visible areas at Coca-Cola, Juan was tapped to become the Company’s first Vice President for Diversity Strategies reporting directly to the CEO.  This appointment came as Coke faced a class action racial discrimination lawsuit.  Coke settled the lawsuit and in less than two years was named to Fortune Magazine’s list of best companies for minorities. 

During Juan’s tenure, Coke continued to climb on Fortune’s list and numerous others, including DiversityInc.com. In 2001, Juan partnered with the late Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, a pioneer in diversity consulting, to create the Diversity Leadership Academy, a leadership development program for executive level business and community leaders. 

After success with the program in Atlanta, Juan launched similar leadership development programs in other cities around the country.  In South Carolina, Juan serves as a Senior Fellow with the Richard W. Riley Institute at Furman University and is the chief designer and facilitator of the Riley Institute’s diversity leadership programs across the state.  Juan is also the designer and facilitator of the Advance Kansas diversity leadership program in Wichita, Kansas.

These programs bring together leaders from various sectors of society to build diversity leadership skills, forge new and lasting relationships and launch important community building initiatives.  Through Juan’s work in diversity leadership and community building he has facilitated sessions with thousands of leaders across a multitude of industries, in the process gaining a wealth of knowledge which he applies in his consulting and facilitation practice. 

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Juan worked in a number of industries over the course of his career including utilities, retail, technology and transportation.  He has served on numerous local and national boards, including Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.  Juan has also been an adjunct professor of Strategic Diversity Management at Penn State University and served on the Advisory Board of Emory University.  

In addition to his accounting certifications, Juan holds an MBA from Atlanta University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Southern University in Baton Rouge, La.  Juan also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from Furman University in 2010.