Northmarq welcomes Jay Johnson as Chief Human Resources Officer

MINNEAPOLIS (April 3, 2024) — Northmarq announced that Jay Johnson has joined the company to serve as chief human resources officer. Johnson comes to Northmarq from Tennessee-based SmileDirectClub, a direct-to-consumer healthcare retailer, where he led all talent functions to strategically support the business as senior vice president, Talent, Development & Culture. 

In his role, Johnson will be an integral and highly visible member of Northmarq’s senior leadership team. He will be responsible for delivering full-scope human resources (HR) services and leading the development and execution of the HR strategy that supports Northmarq’s strategic vision, growth initiatives and leadership principles. Jay will report to Chief Financial Officer Shawn Power.

“At Northmarq, Jay will lead a human resources strategy that supports our leaders and employees, while attracting the strongest and most collaborative talent in the industry,” Power said. “His passion for enabling great service to clients and his experience leading strategic teams within financial services will help Northmarq continue to lead as an entrepreneurial company that’s shaping the industry.” 

Johnson has more than 20 years of building and leading commercially focused HR teams and over 16 years of combined experience at major financial services organizations Russell Investments, Ameriprise Financial, and Allianz Life Insurance Company. 

Earlier in this career, Johnson served as vice president, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial – a Fortune 500 Company. In that role, he developed a world-class and consultative recruiting function and evolved Ameriprise's global talent management processes to effectively support performance management, succession planning and development needs across all business lines and regions. With Russell Investments, a Seattle-based firm with nearly $300 billion assets under management, Johnson was director of human resources for its businesses based in Europe, the Middle East and Asia – in addition to other global responsibilities. During his time with Allianz, Johnson worked with executive leadership and senior management to determine hiring needs and strategies – implementing diversity recruiting strategies and partnering to increase ethnic diversity at Allianz. 

“In this key leadership position, Jay will help us develop and execute a vision to further elevate the employee experience at Northmarq,” said Amy Moyer, managing director – Investment Sales operations. “He brings tremendous experience in financial services that will translate well as he and his team support employees in Northmarq offices across the country – and across our business platforms.”

Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Saint John’s University in Minnesota.