Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> November 17, 1997
ROBERT M. JOHNSON, 52, is chairman and chief executive officer of Bowne
& Co., Inc. He joined the company in December 1995. Prior to that, he
was the publisher of Newsday, the largest-selling newspaper in the
metropolitan New York area. Established in 1775, New York-based Bowne is
an information technology company and the world's largest financial
printer; a leading provider of software and Web-site localization
services for the global marketplace and the market leader in electronic
(EDGAR) filing services for U.S. corporations, law firms, investment
banks, and mutual fund groups. In addition to its core financial and
commercial printing business, Bowne provides clients with document-
building solutions, Internet and print-on-demand services, in multiple
languages, in print and in electronic formats. Building upon its
reputation for fast, reliable service and expertise in process
development and execution, Bowne now provides a broad range of
outsourcing solutions to meet clients' needs for document creation,
management, printing and distribution services. Mr. Johnson also serves
as chairman of Web Business Systems, Inc., a marketing company that
specializes in helping institutions market on the Internet. He was
elected to the New York State Board of Regents for a term through May
31, 2000, representing the Tenth Judicial District encompassing Nassau
and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. Born and raised in Joliet,
Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, he attended Louisiana State University in
Baton Rouge, graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Business Administration, with a major in Business Finance and
Management. He received a Juris Doctor degree from University of
Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor in 1971, was later awarded an Honorary
Doctor of Laws degree from St. John's University and an Honorary Doctor
of Humane Letters degree from Hofstra University. He was admitted to the
Bar in Illinois and Washington, DC and practiced law with the firm
Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson in both Washington DC and
Chicago, specializing in representation of the media. He became a
partner in 1976 and left the firm to become vice-president and general
manager of the Dispatch Printing Co. of Columbus, Ohio in 1978. He
joined Newsday as president and chief operating officer in 1982 and was
promoted to publisher and chief executive officer in 1986, a position he
held until he resigned in November 1994. During the nine years he served
as publisher, Newsday expanded into New York City, grew from the ninth
to the fifth largest newspaper in the United States, became the largest
selling paper in the New York metropolitan area and won seven Pulitzer
Prizes. Since moving to Long Island in 1982, Mr. Johnson has served as a
director of the New York State Business Council, the New York City
Partnership, and the Long Island Association. He served as a director of
the Long Island Philharmonic for 11 years with a two-year term as chair.
His other directorships have included the New York Blood Center, the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, the South Street Seaport Museum where he
served as vice-chair for six years, the Advertising Council, the Audit
Bureau of Circulation's and Hofstra University. Profile
Mr. Johnson: It's difficult to give a brief history of a company that
at 222 years old, is the second oldest publicly
