LaDon Johnson is a senior finance executive with more than 35 years’ experience driving global business success across diverse industries that include agriculture, food, biotechnology, SaaS, and renewables. Beyond financial leadership, his expertise spans business strategy, business development, operations, and M&A, where he consistently delivers bottom-line value to growth-minded organizations.
At Altus CXO, the executive leadership services firm he co-founded, LaDon is a trusted advisor to entrepreneurs, executives, and boards. He is passionate about helping businesses thrive in dynamic markets and collaborates with company leaders to design and execute tailored financial and growth strategies that propel meaningful results. He is adept at identifying core organizational challenges, navigating complex issues, and providing pragmatic solutions that elevate executive outcomes.
A trained CPA, LaDon has served in C-level roles that include chief financial officer (CFO) and president during his extensive career. As a fractional executive, he has held nine interim and fractional CFO positions with agriculture, agtech, and food companies. Previously, as the CFO for a global biotechnology company, revenues increased 700% under his leadership during a four-year period. He also helped to establish a global tax-efficient structure, negotiate a $45M joint venture agreement, and gain acceptance from EU regulators of its leading-edge genetic technology. Early in his career, as the youngest divisional CFO of a global chemical company, he reorganized the R&D division in less than three years, moving from $10M in losses to $5M in profits annually.
Additional highlights from his career include facilitating the sale of the fifth-largest seed company in the world, which consisted of 30 operating entities, to a private equity firm. He subsequently assisted the PE firm in generating a six-fold return on investment through five additional sales transactions to strategic buyers.
LaDon has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Iowa State University and is a member of Financial Executives International and the ISU Alumni Club. When he is not working, he enjoys time with family, travel, golf, and participating in his family’s century farm.