KEITH JOHNSON:
 




 
 
 
 
 
President and co-founder, ThermoAnalytics Inc. in Calumet. Johnson initiated the spin-off of military thermal signature modeling tools to commercial thermal management applications. He is active in the development and marketing of thermal software products and services for design and analysis. ThermoAnalytics provides software and services to commercial customers and the government and its contractors. These products, used in the military as infrared signature models, became technology transfers to engineering thermal design and analysis programs for the automotive, aerospace, electronic, and other industries. The products are now completing the technology transfer back to government programs. Johnson obtained his B.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and has pursued graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.


WHERE BORN: "Baudette, Minnesota."

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: "My mother -- I think she’s had the most influence on me. She was a very steady, solid-as-a-rock type person, and gave me a great confidence base as I moved into adulthood. She had the trait of always showing unconditional love, and that’s something I see lacking in a lot of parents. In another sense, several of my bosses throughout my career, not because they were great, but because they were deficient some way or another and I saw how they influenced me and other engineers or employees. So as an employer, I took my deficiencies or limitations and tried to control them so I didn’t have a negative influence on employees."

LAST BOOK READ: "I usually have three of a different nature going at the same time. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. It’s really an incredible story."

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: "Tenacious, confident, steady, self-starter, independent, caring, and street-wise."

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: "It’s headed for growth. We’re 10 years old now and I think we’re on the edge of the start of a breakthrough. We’ve been a slow-growing company with controlled growth. What I see us being is a total thermo-management solutions provider with satellite locations throughout the U.S. and Europe."

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: "I like certain tried and true tech gadgets for efficiency -- laptop, desktop. I tend to stay away from the new gimmicky gadgets. I tend to see that people spend a lot of time with the gadget just tinkering with it instead of increasing their productivity."

FAVORITE PLACE: "My cabin on Lake Superior. This time of the year, it’s one of the most beautiful places. February is a different story."

FAVORITE HOBBIES: "Working with wood, building something or being out in the woods, cutting wood for firewood. It’s one of the most therapeutic hobbies you can have. It’s physical plus the pride of creating something."

FAVORITE FOOD: "I make a pretty mean seafood piaya."

MY HIDDEN TALENT: "I discovered when I was in a book club for awhile that you can write a book instead of reading, and I learned that I love to write fiction. I completed one book and am getting ready to start another."

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: "As a good and caring leader, father, and friend. As someone that started an employee-owned company and was able to leave a legacy to employees to make something better of it."

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2009, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.