When Darin Parker told a young Steve Johnson that he intended to grow his fledgling food company tenfold over the next decade, Johnson replied that his friend should come up with a more realistic goal. That candid exchange, shared over dinner before Johnson formally started, captures the discipline he would bring to PMI Foods and the ambition the company would ultimately fulfill.

The two had become friends at the University of Utah in the late 1980s. Johnson went on to KPMG, where he earned his CPA and worked as an Audit and Assurance Manager, while Parker built an international business with his father and uncle. By 2005 the company’s bank required a Chief Financial Officer before extending further credit, and Parker approached Johnson five separate times before he even agreed to visit. What Johnson saw intrigued him, and in January 2006 he joined the company he now helps lead.

Over a 20-year tenure as Chief Financial Officer, Johnson has provided the financial and operational leadership that transformed a regional food export firm into a global leader in international food distribution. When he arrived, the business had two offices and 40 employees. Today it operates across dozens of global companies with a workforce numbering in the hundreds, sourcing protein from more than 50 countries and selling across more than 60.

His contribution was structural. Johnson designed an international corporate framework that integrated the existing United States business with a South American partnership, maximized shareholder value and preserved tax efficiency, then built a financing structure to support the global strategy. In a sector defined by thin margins, he turned constraints into a competitive advantage, building a lean operational model that protected profitability while leaving room for entrepreneurial ideas.

That growth came through organic discipline rather than aggressive acquisition, with the company moving from a single trading platform to three, adding in-country distribution and foodservice. Along the way PMI Foods was named Utah’s international business of the year by Governor Spencer Cox and twice earned Zions Bank’s global pacesetter award. Johnson’s recognition as a Titan 100 Honoree adds to that record of distinction.

Two accomplishments make him proudest. The first is the international finance team he built from a two-person accounting group into a global function. The second is spearheading the company’s initiative to donate food to communities in need, an effort that reflects the same values driving the enterprise.

Johnson’s philosophy is straightforward: The company wins through collaboration and communication, and measures success by the results delivered together. That belief anchors his view of the next five years, a period he expects will demand rapid adaptation as artificial intelligence reshapes the food industry and as demand shifts toward growing markets in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Having served on the University of Utah board of governors and the David Eccles School of Business alumni advisory board, Johnson brings a community-minded steadiness to a global enterprise, proof that disciplined finance and bold vision can advance the same mission.

Editorial Note: This profile reflects information submitted by the honoree at the time of their Titan 100 recognition in August 2026. Professional roles and affiliations may have changed since publication.