Executive Bios
In a business and public service career spanning nearly 40 years, George Dean Johnson, Jr. has built a reputation grounded on the same bedrock he has used to build one company after another. An accomplished leader and executive with a creative entrepreneurial spirit, Johnson is widely regarded as a business giant in his home state and beyond, and his legacy as a leader in both business and public service circles was secured years ago.
Born July 22, 1942, and raised in Spartanburg, Johnson was the eldest of the late Dr. George Dean and Elizabeth Heath Johnson’s three sons. A 1964 graduate of Wofford College, Johnson also earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1967.
Just two years out of law school, and years before he became known as one of South Carolina’s most accomplished businessmen, Johnson was elected to the state House of Representatives. He eventually served three terms, and can lay claim to an unusual if not unprecedented feat, winning election once each as an independent, as a Democrat and as a Republican, leading the ticket each time. Indeed, Johnson was known as a devoted and tireless worker for his constituents, a reputation that transcended party affiliation. Johnson also has served South Carolinians as chairman of the S.C. Development Board and as president of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.
It is in his business career, however, where Johnson has made his most lasting mark. His executive board service includes seats on seven New York Stock Exchange boards: Extended Stay America, Norfolk Southern, Duke Energy, AutoNation, Inc., Boca Resorts, Advance America Cash Advance, and Blockbuster, Inc.
He co-founded and directed two companies onto the New York Stock Exchange in the 1990s. At the time, Advance America and Extended Stay America represented two of only three Spartanburg-based companies on the NYSE.
Today, Johnson serves as Chairman of the Board of Johnson Development Associates, Inc., a commercial, industrial and apartment developer, and is general partner for Palmetto Hospitality, a developer of limited service hotels for Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt.
He and his wife, Susan Phifer Johnson (Susu), have two children: a son, George Dean Johnson III, and a daughter, Susanna Presnell Johnson.
Born October 16, 1955 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Foster Chapman lived in Spartanburg before graduating from Joseph Kershaw Academy in Camden, South Carolina in 1973. He attended Wofford College (graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics in 1977) and the University of South Carolina Law School and Business School (graduating in 1980 with a Juris Doctorate Degree and a Masters of Business Administration). He is married to Ruth Gray Chapman and has three children: Malsert, Gabrielle, and Chelsea.
Chapman was an Associate with Johnson, Smith, Hibbard, Wildman and Dennis Attorneys at Law, concentrating in Real Estate and Commercial law before becoming a partner in 1986.
In 1988 he left the practice of law to co-found Johnson Development Associates, Inc. with George Dean Johnson, Jr. and Stewart H. Johnson. He has served as President of JDA since, and in 1994, he was named Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Garrett has established himself as a key player in the industrial and manufacturing development industry. After receiving a B.A. in Economics from Clemson University, Garrett has gained over 20 years industry experience and is now the President of the Industrial Division, where he oversees all aspects of industrial sales and marketing for JDA.
In his career, Garrett has managed the implementation of over twenty major industrial parks throughout the Southeast, including 10 million square feet of development in the last five years. In the last two years, Garrett has managed the direct leasing of nearly 15,000,000 square feet of that space, and the successful project implementation for numerous Fortune 500 Companies.
Garrett has worked with JDA for his entire career. He has expanded the company’s footprint from its hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina to a seven-state area. He has driven the evolution of the JDA product to its current class A, market-defining design, and he continues to catalyze the company’s evolution by challenging the design of its product and the optimization of the delivery system.
Jim currently manages JDA’s Market Leaders and their respective offices. He is responsible for all business development, leasing, and delivery implementation efforts for build-to-suit and speculative projects for all US markets.
Prior to joining Johnson Development, Jim led the National Facilities Group at Lauth Property Group as First Vice President of Office & Industrial, where he focused on construction and development opportunities with multi-market corporate users. In addition, he was responsible for business development activities including market strategy and analysis, financial underwriting, broadening relationships within the brokerage community, land acquisitions, and acting Project Executive on all development transactions, including entering seven emerging markets. His prior roles also include working as First Vice President and a Global Services Officer for ProLogis for ten years, where he was responsible for managing dozens of global accounts including Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Del Monte, and Kroger Company. He also was responsible for the management of offices in Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis, as well as all development projects and acquisitions, totaling 18 million square feet.
Jim has served as Senior Regional Director and Vice President of First Industrial Realty Trust and its UPREIT predecessor company Damone/Andrew in the Michigan, Ohio and Florida regions for five years, where he managed the development and acquisition of some 8 million square feet, predominately industrial facilities. Jim was previously employed as Vice President of Development Operations for Lincoln Property Company in the San Francisco Bay area, developing and leasing both office and industrial projects for seven years.
Jim received a MBA from the University of Michigan and a BBA in accounting and business law from Western Michigan University. He also earned a CPA designation while working with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in Detroit, Michigan.
Ben Graves joined Johnson Development in 2003 as the company’s General Counsel. He became President of the newly created Multi-Family Division in 2006.
Graves earned undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina and The South Carolina Honors College in 1996. He also is a 2000 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, and studied Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Prior to joining JDA, Graves was a real estate attorney in the McNair Law Firm in Columbia, SC.
Graves serves on the Board of Managers for the South Carolina Historical Society. He also serves on the Cancer Association of Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties; the YMCA of Greater Spartanburg’s Building Committee; and the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s Task Force on College Completion.
Graves and his wife Carter have two sons, Houston and Gibson.
Sloan Evans joined JDA in 2006. In his role as CFO, Evans is responsible for evaluating real estate investment opportunities and securing financing for real estate projects. Evans provides finance support for the Multi-Family and Industrial divisions, and all other financial-related operations.
Evans, a native of Cheraw, SC, is a 1999 graduate of Washington & Lee University. Prior to joining JDA, Evans was a commercial loan officer for Amegy Bank in Houston for four years, and with Synovus Bank in Atlanta for three years.
Evans is a member of Leadership Spartanburg’s 2008 class and serves on the board of The Haven, an emergency shelter for women and families in Spartanburg.
Dan C. Breeden, Jr. is the Chief Financial Officer for Johnson Management. He also serves as CFO for American Storage, L.P., which owns over 1 million square feet of mini-warehouse facilities located in the Carolinas and Georgia.
Breeden’s background training includes five years with the South Carolina State Ports Authority and four years tax practice with Price Waterhouse. He served as CFO of Johnson Development from 1987 to 2007 and currently serves on the Board of E. J. Victor, Inc., numerous local non-profit organizations, and as an Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg.
Since joining JDA in 2001, Randall has overseen the design, permitting, and construction of over five million square feet of distribution and manufacturing space and 250,000 square feet of office space. He manages a team of eight individuals and an annual development volume of over $175 million.
Randall is a 1983 graduate of Clemson University, where he earned a B.A. in civil engineering. His past experience encompasses over twenty-five years managing various aspects of construction from water and sewer utilities to office and heavy industrial.
