2008: Kevin Johnson

NMSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award

Sponsored by the Alumni Association. The Distinguished Alumni award recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves and brought honor and distinction to their Alma Mater. Seven awards, one for each undergraduate college and one for an international alumnus, are presented to living alumni. In addition, one or more posthumous awards may be made each year at the discretion of the Selection Committee. Nominees must have attended NMSU and are judged according to their contributions to society, and/or their profession, after attending NMSU. While not mandatory, contributions to the advancement of NMSU and service to the NMSU Alumni Association will be considered. Persons employed by NMSU or currently serving as a member of the NMSU Board of Regents, or persons active in positions relating to University operations, such as state legislators or government officials, are not eligible. Presented during the annual Homecoming festivities.

Kevin Johnson (photo by Darren Phillips)

Kevin Johnson (’81)

Kevin Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from NMSU in 1981.

Kevin Johnson joined Juniper Networks in September of 2008 in the roles of CEO and member of the Board. Prior to Juniper, Johnson spent 16 years at Microsoft, most recently leading the Platforms & Services Division, an organization of over 14,000 employees with responsibility for product development, marketing and strategy for the Windows and Online Services businesses.

Under his leadership, the division achieved record breaking results with over $20 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2008. In addition to leading the Windows business, Johnson focused on building Microsoft’s position as a leader in online advertising and evolving its “software + services” strategy. He also worked globally with consumer, small and medium-sized business, enterprise and service provider customers.

Prior to that role, Johnson served as group vice president of Microsoft’s worldwide sales, marketing and services and oversaw corporate operations and IT functions that supported the work of Microsoft employees around the world. Previous to Microsoft, Johnson worked in IBM’s systems integration and consulting business and started his career as a software developer.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from New Mexico State University and served as a founding member of the board of directors of NPower, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help other nonprofits use technology to expand the reach and impact of their work. Johnson also served as a member of the Western Region Board of Advisors of Catalyst, a non-profit organization dedicated to women’s career advancement.

In 2001, he was the recipient of the NMSU College of Business Hall of Fame Award.