Michael Johnson

Biography

Michael D. Johnson is dean emeritus and E.M. Statler Professor Emeritus at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, and marketing department chair at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

An internationally recognized expert on customer satisfaction and loyalty, he has authored more than 100 academic articles and industry reports and six books, including Customer Portfolio Management (2025, MIT Press), and his work has been cited more than 30,000 times. His research focuses on customer satisfaction, customer portfolio management, marketing strategy and innovation.

Johnson has held senior academic leadership roles at Cornell University (dean, 2006–2016), Babson College (provost, 2016–2018) and John Carroll University (president, 2018–2021), where he led faculty development, academic programs, strategic planning, fundraising and institutional transformation. His leadership strengthened academic quality, expanded interdisciplinary and global initiatives, supported accreditation efforts and guided institutions through periods of significant change, including the COVID 19 pandemic. He also has extensive governance experience, serving on corporate and nonprofit boards. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Professional and Executive Development at the Wisconsin School of Business and previously served on the President’s International Advisory Board of BI Norwegian Business School and as an independent director of Watermark Lodging Trust.

Education

PhD Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 1983
MBA Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 1980
BS College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1978