Kimberly Johnson
Chief Operating Officer at TROW
Executive
About Kimberly Johnson
Kimberly Johnson served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of T. Rowe Price Group from April 29, 2022, and is scheduled to depart on December 31, 2025 . She holds a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, with prior COO and Chief Risk Officer experience at Fannie Mae . During her tenure, she led modernization of technology and data infrastructure, automation of operations, and drove enterprise AI adoption—enhancing efficiency and productivity at scale . Firm performance in 2024 included $1.61T AUM, ~$6.4B investment advisory revenues, and $1,469.7M returned to stockholders; investment performance was solid across most asset classes .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | Chief Operating Officer; Member of Management Committee | 2022–2025 | Led tech/data modernization, operational workflow automation, and enterprise AI adoption; reorganized Technology, Data & Operations for scale and execution . |
| Fannie Mae | Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer | 2018–2022 | Managed 3,600 staff and $1.4B budget; led digital transformation, enterprise modernization, and reengineered core technology . |
| Fannie Mae | Executive Vice President & Chief Risk Officer | 2015–2018 | Oversaw firmwide risk management, asset-liability oversight, models and analytics . |
| Fannie Mae | SVP Multifamily Capital Markets & Credit Pricing; Head of Multifamily Trading | Not disclosed | Led capital markets, pricing, and trading in multifamily segment . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company | Board Member | Not disclosed | Public company board involvement; governance perspective . |
| Princeton University | Board of Trustees Member | Not disclosed | Institutional governance; strategic oversight . |
| Various nonprofits | Board roles (unspecified) | Not disclosed | Broader civic/industry engagement . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $350,000 | Salary cap aligns with firm-wide policy for senior U.S. personnel . |
| Cash Sign-on Bonus | $1,250,000 | Subject to repayment if voluntary termination or termination for cause before 12/31/2023 . |
| 2022 Year-End Cash Bonus Eligibility | $2,567,000 | Eligible under annual programs, subject to company discretion . |
Performance Compensation
| Award Type | Grant Value | Metric | Target/Structure | Payout/Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time-based RSUs (Hire Grant, 2022) | $1,250,000 | Time-based | 20% per year | Vests 20% annually on each anniversary of grant date (5-year schedule) . |
| Annual Equity Awards (2022 program eligibility) | Not disclosed | Company plan terms | Same terms as other exec officers (discretionary) | Not disclosed . |
Context on firm performance RSUs: Performance RSUs for NEOs are tied solely to 3-year operating margin vs. peer average; earned 0–100%, then vest in years 4–5. Awards granted in Dec 2024 measure FY2025–FY2027, with thresholds from <50% (0%) to >100% (100%) of peers . CEO scorecard weightings in 2024: 30% Adjusted Operating Margin, 25% Relative Investment Performance, 15% Relative Organic Growth, 30% qualitative strategy/talent; total 114% of target payout .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Personal Investments in OHA Funds | Committed $100,000; eligible to invest without standard OHA fund fees/minimums as a Management Committee member . |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines (Execs) | 5× base salary for Management Committee members; 10× for CEO; 3× for other exec officers. Unvested RSUs count; options do not . |
| Insider Policies | Prohibits short sales, purchasing options, and any hedging of Company stock; annual training required . |
| Pledging | No pledging disclosed for Johnson; one executive’s pledge separately disclosed (Mr. August); no indication Johnson pledged shares . |
| Beneficial Ownership | Not listed among NEOs/directors in security ownership table; no share count disclosed for Johnson . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start Date | April 29, 2022 (appointed VP & COO) . |
| Planned Departure | Resigns and leaves Company on December 31, 2025 . |
| Contract Provisions (Hire) | Sign-on bonus repayment if departure before 12/31/2023; hire RSUs vest 20% annually . |
| Severance | No specific severance terms disclosed for Johnson; firm notes no severance agreements for NEOs other than Mr. August . |
| Change-in-Control (Equity) | Firm-wide double-trigger acceleration if awards survive transaction and employment is involuntarily terminated without cause or resigned with good reason within 18 months; death/disability accelerate; acquiring-required terminations also accelerate . |
| Clawback | Board policy for recoupment of incentive compensation upon material restatement within 3 years; Dodd-Frank “no-fault” policy for restatements (periods on/after Oct 2, 2023) . |
| Deferred Compensation | Senior officers may defer up to 50% of cash incentive (max $2M) into Supplemental Savings Plan with investment indexing; election and distribution rules apply . |
Performance & Track Record (Firm context during Johnson’s tenure)
| Metric | 2024 Outcome |
|---|---|
| AUM (year-end) | $1.61 trillion . |
| Investment Advisory Revenues | Over $6.4 billion . |
| Capital Returns to Stockholders | $1,469.7 million (including $334.5 million share repurchases) . |
| U.S. Mutual Funds Outperforming Morningstar Median | 56% (3-year), 56% (5-year), 70% (10-year) . |
| Say-on-Pay Approval (2024 vote on 2023 pay) | ~94% approval . |
Risk Indicators & Considerations
- Retention/transition risk: Confirmed departure by year-end 2025; responsibilities realigned under a new Technology, Data & Operations function led by CTO Ramon Richards (joining Management Committee) .
- Insider selling pressure: Hire RSUs vest 20% per year; no Form 4 data provided here to assess dispositions; insider policies prohibit hedging/derivatives .
- Alignment signals: Personal capital committed to OHA funds; stock ownership guidelines apply at 5× salary for Management Committee members; no pledging disclosed for Johnson .
Compensation Committee & Governance Context
- Compensation oversight by independent Compensation Committee; long-term program emphasizes 50% performance RSUs tied to operating margin vs. peers and 50% time-based RSUs for NEOs .
- Clawback and conservative practices: no excise tax gross-ups; no dividend payments on unearned performance RSUs; no repricing/exchange of equity awards without stockholder approval .
Investment Implications
- Transition watch: COO departure can introduce near-term execution risk in operations/technology programs; mitigated by established leadership handoff to CTO-led integrated function and Management Committee continuity .
- Alignment: Personal OHA fund commitments and firm-wide ownership guidelines support skin-in-the-game; absence of pledging and strong insider trading restrictions reduce misalignment risks .
- Compensation structure: Initial hire package balanced cash and multi-year RSUs; with firm practices trending toward performance-linked RSUs for top execs, investors should monitor any future disclosure of Johnson’s unvested awards treatment upon departure (double-trigger rules apply only in change-in-control scenarios) .
- Governance: Robust clawback and recoupment policies, and high say-on-pay approval, indicate shareholder-friendly oversight; transition execution should be assessed against 2026 operational KPIs and service metrics .