Lionel C. Johnson serves as the chairman of Sudoc’s Board of Directors and is responsible for overseeing the governance of the company and supporting the business in all its efforts. 

Lionel became president of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute (PPI) in July 2014. PPI convenes pension and investment thought leaders for in-depth dialogue and knowledge sharing on the issues facing long-term institutional investors in Asia and the Pacific Rim. PPI’s membership includes some of the world’s largest asset owners, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), the First and Third Swedish National Pension Funds (AP1 and AP3), and GIC Private Limited in Singapore. The PPI Community is comprised of asset owners and managers representing approximately $25 trillion in assets under management, advisement, and administration.

Lionel’s career spans four decades during which he has been a leader in international business, public policy, and economic development. He has served as senior vice president of the Initiative for Global Development; vice president of Turkey, Middle East, and North Africa Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce of the United States; and senior vice president of Public Affairs at Fleishman-Hillard. 

Previously, Lionel was vice president and director of International Government Affairs at Citigroup and deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for International Development, Debt and Environment Policy in the Clinton Administration. He was also a senior advisor for Resources, Plans, and Policy to Secretary of State Warren Christopher, and a member of the Department of State Policy Planning Staff. He served as deputy director of the Clinton/Gore transition team at the Department of State. 

In addition to his board role for Sudoc, Lionel is chairman of Foreign Policy for America and a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation. He also serves on the boards of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), International Research & Exchanges (IREX), National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and Center for U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC). 

As a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Lionel held assignments in the U.S. Embassies in Haiti, the Philippines, and Kenya. He also served as special assistant to Secretaries of State George P. Shultz and James A. Baker III. He was a senior program officer at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Lionel was a graduate instructor of U.S. foreign policy and American politics at the City University of Manila, Philippines, and received his B.A. in political science from Rutgers University in 1982. 

Lionel lives in San Francisco, CA and has two children, Alicia and Christopher.

Meet the rest of our team ➔