Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson is a seed investor at Solution Centre in San Francisco focused on FinTech and E-Commerce. As president of the Platforms & Services Division of Microsoft, Kevin Johnson leads an organization of over 14,000 employees responsible for product development, marketing and strategy for the Windows and Online Services businesses. With Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and seven other senior executives, Johnson also serves on the Senior LeadershipTeam that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft.Since assuming his role in September 2005, Johnson successfully launched Windows Vista to consumers and commercial customers, resulting in record-breaking Windows revenue of nearly US$15 billion in fiscal year 2007. In addition to leading the Windows business, Johnson is driving the company's evolution towards software + services and building on the company's position as a leader in the online advertising market.Under Johnson's leadership, Microsoft has completed over 30 acquisitions in support of its software + services strategy. In August 2007, Johnson closed the company's largest acquisition, of aQuantive, Inc., to form Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions, and complement Microsoft's development of an industry-leading online advertising platform. Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions provides an online advertising platform for an ecosystem of industry partners, including advertisers, publishers and digital marketing agencies. Today the platform has offerings across digital media types and devices, including the PC, Web, mobile phones, gaming consoles, IPTV and Video-on-demand.Johnson also leads development and marketing of Microsoft's consumer online services, including Live Search, MSN.com and Windows Live, which collectively drove nearly $2.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2007. These compelling experiences attract hundreds of millions of consumers per month, and provide online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide.Previously, Johnson held a number of leadership positions in sales and marketing at Microsoft, where he worked globally with consumer, small/medium business and enterprise customers. Prior to his current role, Johnson served as group vice president of Microsoft's worldwide sales, marketing and services, leading an organization of 30,000 employees, including field sales and marketing professionals who delivered $40 billion in revenue during fiscal 2005. Johnson also oversaw corporate operations and IT functions that support the work of Microsoft employees around the world.In his tenure as head of sales, marketing and services, Johnson led a transformation in the field. He organized subsidiary leadership teams in more than 80 countries and regions and orchestrated their efforts to better align with product development and company priorities. His re-engineering of the field operating approach and the sales compensation system contributed to an $11 billion increase in sales from 2002-2005. Johnson also led a cross-company initiative focused on emerging markets, positioning the company as a trusted partner for future growth.Johnson joined Microsoft in 1992, serving in a variety of roles across sales, marketing and services during his career at the company. Before joining Microsoft, Johnson worked in IBM's systems integration and consulting business unit from 1986 to 1992. He started his career in 1981 as a software developer in the petroleum and financial services industries.Johnson grew up in New Mexico and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from New Mexico State University. He is a founding member of the board of directors of NPower, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help other nonprofits use technology to expand the reach and impact of their work. He is also a member of the Western Region Board of Advisors of Catalyst, a non-profit organization dedicated to women's career advancement.