Generosity of Spirit: Suzanne Nora Johnson brings her Wall Street know-how home to USC
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Straight to the Top
Goldman Sachs' Suzanne Nora Johnson
('79) Recalls Trojan Days and the Lessons That Have Helped Her Reach
the Top-Rung in Business
By Pamela J. Johnson
For Suzanne Nora Johnson, choosing USC over other first-rate universities was all about location, location, location.
Filled with hope and a desire to change the world, the then-18-year-old
decided that the inner-city of Los Angeles was the place to be if she
wanted to make a difference.
“It’s the seminal reason I went to USC,” recalled Johnson, who was born
and reared in Chicago. “It was located in a vibrant community in the
inner-city. The university had the geographic proximity and opportunity
to be a partner in resolving issues such as economic development,
improving educational opportunities and relations among different
cultures.”
The 1979 graduate went on to become vice chair of one of the world’s
largest investment banking firms, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Based
in New York, the company has offices in 24 countries and 50 cities, and
roughly 21,000 employees. Johnson, also director of the firm’s Global
Investment Research Division, is among a handful of women who hold the
very highest posts on Wall Street.
But Johnson has kept strong ties with her alma mater. She is a current USC trustee and College councilor.
She said her college years helped plant the seeds of her professional
life. The oldest of five children, her father was a surgeon and her
mother stayed home raising the family. She said her parents instilled
in her a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility.
“My parents were always very committed to doing the right thing,” Johnson said. “They had a generosity of spirit.”
After Johnson’s arrival at USC, she became acquainted with a priest in
the Pico-Union neighborhood. Together, they developed programs that
worked with low-income children and their families. She said she
figured out early on that the only way to create real change was to
help families learn to support themselves financially.
“The thing that became very clear to me was the importance of
developing an economic opportunity for parents,” Johnson said. “That’s
the only way to really get results and provide stability within a
community.”
These lessons can start young. One program Johnson developed entailed
taking a group of Pico-Union children on a trip to Sacramento. The
children who participated were responsible for raising the money to
cover the costs.
“We taught them how to develop a simple financial statement,” she said.
“It was pretty basic. We talked about a budget and how to stick to your
budget with so little cash.”
The group was able to take the trip inexpensively by camping out and learned they could succeed with proper planning.
While a student, Johnson was involved with the College’s Joint
Educational Project, a service-learning program that connects students
and their academic courses with area schools, hospitals and
organizations. Student mentoring and volunteer work is crucial, Johnson
said, but she hopes to see the program expand.
“Besides being mentors to the kids, I’d love to see JEP become an
economic development resource for the community, with adults in the
families being trained,” said Johnson, who works in New York and on
weekends returns to Los Angeles, where she shares a home with her
husband.
At USC, Johnson studied economics, religion, philosophy and political
science as an interdisciplinary major. In 1982, she earned her J.D. at
Harvard Law School. At Goldman Sachs, located in cities such as London,
Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong, Johnson participates in a program
called, “Community Teamwork.” It involves giving employees one day off
a year to volunteer in team-based projects with non-profit groups. Last
year, more than 14,600 employees and non-profit members assisted
people, planted trees, built homes and cleaned-up areas in cities such
as Atlanta, Johannesburg and Milan.
She applauded USC’s continued efforts in the community.
“The university’s partnership and commitment to the neighborhood
community is critically important,” Johnson said. “There is something
very compelling about having a university in that community. I know it
gave real life and relevance to what I was studying.”
Johnson also serves on the boards of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, the
Carnegie Institution of Washington, RAND Health, Technoserve, Children
Now and Women’s World Banking, and is on an advisory council of Harvard
Medical School.
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