William B. Johnson, University Trustee Emeritus and former chairman and chief executive officer of IC Industries, died April 24 in Lake Forest, Ill., following a stroke at the age of 94.
Johnson joined the University Board of Trustees in 1974, became a Life Trustee in 1983 and Emeritus Trustee in 2007. He served on the executive committee for eight years and on the investment committee for more than 15 years.
Johnson came to Chicago in 1966, after he was elected president, CEO, and a director of the Illinois Railroad and its parent company, IC Industries. He served as chairman of the executive committee of Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company from 1972 to 1976 after the merger of Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company and the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio railroads.
He was elected chairman and CEO of IC Industries in 1972. In these capacities he directed the acquisition of more than 100 companies, growing IC Industries to a Fortune 100 company during the 1970s and 1980s.
Crain’s Chicago Business named him Executive of the Year in 1985. Johnson became chairman emeritus of IC Industries, now known as Whitman Corporation, in 1987. He continued his affiliation with Illinois Central Railroad, serving as a director and audit committee chairman until June 1999, when the merger with Canadian National was completed.
Johnson was born Dec. 28, 1928, in Salisbury, Md. He received his bachelor’s degree, maxima cum laude, in 1940 from Washington College in Maryland, where he served as president of the Student Government Association and was a member of the tennis team. Johnson was editor-in-chief of The Law Review at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he received his LLB degree in 1943.
He served as an attorney with the U.S. Tax Court from 1945 to 1947, then joined the Pennsylvania Railroad as assistant solicitor. After advancing and serving as assistant general counsel, he left Pennsylvania Railroad in 1959 to become president and a director of the Railway Express Agency.
Johnson also had served as a director of Perdue Farms Inc., Lear Siegler, Swiss Air, Chicago TransUnion Corporation, Aetna, American Productivity Center, Chicago Central Area Committee, Webster Broadcasting, Continental Bank (now known as Bank of America), Esmark, Pet Foods, Midas, Abex, Russman, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Waukeshaw Manufacturing, Lincoln Financial, and Michael Reese Hospital.
He was a member of the Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors and a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, which established a chair of corporate law in his name in 1986.
The American Academy of Achievement presented Johnson its “Golden Plate” award in 1973. He received Syracuse University’s Harry E. Salzburg Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Transportation in 1974. Other honors include the B’Nai B’rith League’s 1976 Achievement Award, and Loyola University’s Damen Award for Civic Leadership in 1986.
He also received an honorary doctorate and alumni service award from Washington College, having helped the development of the college’s Benjamin H. Johnson Fitness Center, named for his late father.
Johnson was inducted into the Cooperstown Conference Hall of Fame in 2001, receiving a lifetime achievement award for his work in the railroad industry.
Johnson is survived by his wife of 70 years, Mary Barb Johnson; three children and six grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, June 14,at the Church of St. Mary, 175 E. Illinois Road in Lake Forest. In keeping with tradition, a memorial resolution in Johnson’s honor will be presented at the June meeting of the University Board of Trustees.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart