The old adage “He that travels far knows much” is an apt description for one Marriott School grad. Jeff Strong earned his undergraduate degree in business from the Marriott School in 1988 and hasn’t stopped learning or traveling since.
As global president and chief customer officer for Johnson & Johnson, Strong is always on the go. Currently he travels at least 1,900 miles weekly from his home in Midway, Utah, to his office at the J & J Consumer Products headquarters in Skillman, New Jersey. Strong also travels to one of the five J & J international division headquarters twice a quarter. But the breadth of J & J’s international reach—and Strong’s travel—is just a small reflection of the superior quality of the company, Strong says.
“When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do as a career, I decided I wanted to work for a company with good products that treated and trained their employees well. I believed that if a company had this combination, they would excel,” Strong says. “I’m proud and fortunate to have worked for two successful and well-respected companies.”
Although currently at J & J, he began his career with a different Fortune 100 company—Procter & Gamble. In the twenty-one years Strong worked at P & G, he was primarily involved in customer development and management.
“To be good at your job, it’s best to know holistically what the business is all about,” Strong says. “I’ve sought out experiences that would broaden my skill set. This helped me more effectively add value, lead, and solve problems.”
In a world where change is one of a few consistencies in business, Strong believes it’s imperative to keep learning. To do this, Strong earned an EMBA from Northwestern University in 2004. In addition to staying on top of the industry know-how through education, he says, it’s imperative to know what the customer thinks and feels.
“The best way to stay contemporary is to be close to customers,” Strong says. “Customers are extraordinary teachers, and much of what I have learned in my career, I have learned from them.”
Strong and his wife, Sara, recently celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary and have five children. As a former baseball pitcher for BYU, Strong says sports continue to play a large role in his life and have become a family affair. On weekends Strong can be seen cheering for his children at their various sporting events. He also enjoys fly fishing and reading.
