Sam Johnson: Innovator, Environmentalist and Visionary

What SC Johnson is today cannot be separated from the influences of Sam Johnson. He led the team that developed some of our most beloved brands. He propelled us into 65 countries, with sales in more than 100. He was an environmentalist long before it became a trend.

Sam knew that leadership goes beyond the products on the shelf. In his own words, “A leader must have a social conscience, an interest in the surrounding community, both within and outside the company.”

Equally important was the notion of family. In fact, while he joined the company in 1954, Sam would likely say that year was most important as the year he and Imogene Powers wed. Their marriage would thrive for 50 years, until Sam’s death in 2004.

It was Sam’s sense of community and family that brought him back to the company after college and service as a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer. As he tried to decide if after three generations of family leadership, he too should join the family business, his father suggested he take a walk in the factory.

Within a year of joining the company, Sam was named New Products Director. Under his leadership, the New Products team launched thriving brands, including the Raid^®, Glade^®, Pledge^® and OFF!^® brands that continue to be beloved by consumers to this day.

Sam also backed the acquisitions of critical brands including Windex^® glass cleaner, Ziploc^® brand bags and Scrubbing Bubbles^® bathroom cleaner, to name just a few.

At the same time, he led the company through an exceptional period of global expansion, adding operations from Ghana to Greece, Turkey to Thailand and Chile to China. He ultimately moved the company into over 65 countries across six continents.

Sam became the company’s President in 1966 and added the title Chairman the following year.

Like his forefathers, Sam recognized the importance of people. Even more than innovation and expansion for the company, as his career continued, he became known for the principles he brought to life.

He led the company’s leadership team to formally articulate our company values in This We Believe. Nearly 50 years later, This We Believe remains fundamental to who we are and how we operate around the world today.

He also famously banned chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from SC Johnson products worldwide three years before the government mandated the change. It was one of the earliest examples of corporate activism on behalf of the environment.

As Sam explained in 2000: “Financial performance in one particular quarter or a year will be forgotten in a very short time. What will remain — and what will determine how favorably [companies] are looked upon — is the impact they have had on society generally and the environment where they operate.”