Executive Profile

Russ K. Johnson

Vice President Sales - The Americas

Russ Johnson is responsible for managing the Grass Valley Group's sales force and resale channels across the Americas' (including the United States, Central America; and South America). He has been instrumental in developing a highly technical, consultative sales team aimed at managing strategic accounts and closing large projects with key media clients.

Johnson previously served as vice president of business development for the Tektronix Video and Networking Division where he was responsible for developing newsroom market strategies and requirements for expanding the division's news solution offerings. Johnson led Tektronix's acquisition of NewStar, a developer of news production computer systems and coordinated its integration into the Tektronix organization.

Johnson also served as vice president of The Americas sales at a time when the Grass Valley Group was a Tektronix business unit. During this appointment he exceeded annual targets of approximately $110M. Prior to this he served as regional manager for the metropolitan New York City area, responsible for sales in Canada and the Northeast U.S. During this time, his sales team consistently exceeded their goals and built key relationships with Grass Valley's largest customers.

Before joining Tektronix, Johnson was at CMX Corporation where he managed the sales effort of the computer audio/video editing systems business across a thirteen-state region. Other positions include vice president of sales and director of operations at Klopf Audio/Video Co. (KAVCO), a system integrator for the broadcast and teleproduction industry and a manufacturer of automation control systems for video applications.

Johnson was educated at Ohio State University and Wright State University obtaining a B.S. in Business Administration.