Day in and day out, I’m making decisions that broadly impact the organization flexing between M&A, strategy, marketing, finance, and HR.

By Aimee Levitt

When he started at Tuck, Derrick Johnson T’96 assumed he’d be a numbers guy. Analytical by nature, he majored in math as an undergrad at Notre Dame. An MBA, he thought, would help broaden his general business knowledge and open doors to a career in management consulting or investment banking.

Johnson did eventually work in consulting after graduation and investment banking, too, but his career later took him to more unexpected places: entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy, and supply chain management. Today, he’s the Chief Operating Officer of Agiliti, a medical device services company. He joined Agiliti in 2021 after nearly 20 years at UPS where, as president of the Mid-South and South Atlantic Regions, he helped guide the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My business school experiences are put into practice daily as a senior leader,” Johnson says. “Day in and day out, I’m making decisions that broadly impact the organization flexing between M&A, strategy, marketing, finance, and HR. The preparation and rigor of my business school studies all those years ago remain not only relevant, but essential, to my success as a leader today.”

The classes that stick with Johnson the most are the ones that reached beyond financial statements. Vijay Govindarajan’s strategy and cost Accounting class demonstrated how numbers tell a story and sup-port a strategy. Paul Argenti’s Corporate Communications course proved essential as Johnson moved into senior management.

“Whether you’re engaging with customers or team members, the ability to connect, to understand how people think and make decisions, and to know what inspires and motivates is incredibly important to effective leadership,” Johnson says.

As president of the Mid-South and South Atlantic regions at UPS, he led a team of nearly 30,000 employees. In assembling an effective management team, he realized that competence and the ability to communicate were far more important than seniority.

He was determined to connect with employees at all levels. His colleagues were skeptical. After all, Johnson had never driven a delivery truck or worked in a sorting facility. What could he and a driver possibly have in common?

Johnson set out to prove them wrong. He spent six months learning about the company’s different operations roles and functions. He spent time with package handlers that sort and load packages; delivery drivers, long-haul tractor trailer drivers and pilots; and union leaders. He learned about what they did and what was important to them. He knew he couldn’t do their jobs himself, but he could bring a new way of thinking about the business and help develop and articulate plans, and talk through contingencies.

Operating in Times of Crisis
Like everyone else, Johnson and UPS hadn’t thought of a contingency plan for a world-wide pandemic. At first, the leaders contemplated shutting down parts of the operation. But then, as Americans grew more dependent on internet shopping, the company actually experienced dramatic growth. UPS employees were suddenly essential workers, and because of the nature of their work, shifting to remote work was not an option.

“Those were really interesting times for me,” says Johnson. “It was not fun. There were crises everywhere. I was trying to keep my team motivated. Even getting to work was challenging because they relied on public transportation, which was halted. I had to rely heavily on communication, being visible, reminding people that every-one who came to work was someone’s child and that I wanted to have everyone’s best interests at heart and move packages in a safe manner.”

Now, at Agiliti, Johnson is coping with the aftereffects of the pandemic. Hospitals are struggling with cost constraints and a growing labor shortage and relying on companies like Agiliti to provide solutions that can help improve their operations and protect their bottom line.  The important issue, Johnson says, is to impress upon his employees that what they do matters and benefits others.

“This is an exciting time to be in operations,” says Johnson. “Post-pandemic, the world understands the value of strong supply chains and a robust operations team. I feel invigorated being at the forefront.”

For Johnson, working in operations has also provided an opportunity to blend his analytics skills with the leadership, organizational development, and communications skills he developed in business school. He noted that the potential for impact in a fast-paced environment makes operations appealing for tomorrow’s leaders.

“For those interested in learning how to lead and how to empower a large team, operations may be a good space for you,” he says. “If you like working in a dynamic environment that requires continual innovation and impacts all areas of the business, now is the time to begin considering a career in operations.”