Whitney Johnson

Whitney Johnson is an investor, speaker, author and thought leader on driving innovation through personal disruption. Johnson is a Founder and Managing director of Springboard Fund, and co-founder of Rose Park Advisors alongside Clayton Christensen, where they invested in and led the $8 million seed round for Korea’s Coupang, currently valued at $5+ billion. Having served as president from 2007-2012, Johnson was involved in fund formation, capital raising, and the development of the fund’s strategy. During her tenure, the CAGR of the Fund was 11.98% v. 1.22% for the S&P 500.

Previously, Johnson was an Institutional Investor-ranked equity research analyst for eight consecutive years, and was rated by Starmine as a superior stock-picker. As an equity analyst, Ms. Johnson’s stocks under coverage included America Movil (NYSE: AMX), Televisa (NYSE: TV) and Telmex (NYSE: TMX), which accounted for roughly 40% of Mexico's stock exchange.

Johnson is also a frequent contributor to and writer for the Harvard Business Review, and is a LinkedINfluencer. She has authored two books, Dare, Dream, Do (2012), and the forthcoming Disrupt Yourself(TM): Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work, out October 6, 2015. She is a prolific speaker on innovation initiatives, and has delivered keynote speeches to audiences of more than 25,000 on her ideas and vision. Johnson is represented by the New Leaf Speakers bureau, along with other thought leaders in innovation like Steve Wozniak.

She has received widespread recognition for her thinking and was named one of Fortune’s 55 Most Influential Women On Twitter in 2014. She was named a finalist in the Future Thinker Award for Management Thinkers50, as well as fellow at the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards. She also co-founded the popular Forty Women Over Forty to Watch.

Johnson has been quoted in The Atlantic, BBC, CNN, Fast Company, the Guardian, Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and more.