by Finance & Commerce Newspaper

MINNEAPOLIS - Finance & Commerce named Jill J. Johnson, president and founder of Johnson Consulting Services, one of the Top Women in Finance for 2011. This award recognized the efforts of 51 women who make notable contributions to their professions and communities. Johnson was recognized at an awards ceremony dinner attended by more than 500 people on Thursday, November 10, 2011.

This year's winners spanned a variety of industries. Recipients include four CEOs, six partners and shareholders, several presidents and senior vice presidents and a few business owners. Johnson's profile appeared in a special section in November.  Read it here.

Publisher Steve Jahn presented Jill with her 2011 Top Women in Finance award.

"I am truly honored to be selected by Finance & Commerce to be ranked among this influential group of women professionals," said Johnson. "I know many of the other winners. They are among the best business minds in Minnesota."

Johnson's selection for this award places her among a very elite group of Minnesota women business leaders. Less than 50 women have ever been honored by both Finance & Commerce and the Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal for their leadership and business success. Of those, only about a dozen women are entrepreneurs. Johnson was recognized by the Business Journal as a 2010 Women Industry Leader.

After honing her skills in the Consulting Division of a major international public accounting firm, Johnson started her own management consulting practice in 1987. She now leverages her financial insight and expertise in market feasibility studies to incorporate these techniques into effective strategy development by focusing on evaluating the true market viability of the revenue side of financials.

As a leader, Johnson has been appointed to two federal boards serving under three different presidents representing both political parties. She is currently serving on a federal board for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Johnson was also recently elected as the Chair of a new state advisory board for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The Small Business Development Center Advisory Board's role is to advise the state director on program operations.

Johnson served three terms on the National Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and was the youngest-ever president of the Minnesota Chapter of NAWBO. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, as well as the prestigious James J. Hill Reference Library.

Johnson's other accomplishments include working with various agencies to promote international trade for women business owners from France, Denmark, Canada, and numerous countries in Africa and the Middle East. Johnson is an active mentor to a number of young professionals in the Twin Cities and she has spoken at numerous youth leadership conferences. She also trains her rottweilers as therapy dogs.

About Johnson Consulting Services: An award winning management consultant specializing in market-based strategy development, Jill J. Johnson has personally impacted over $2 billion worth of business decisions. She is an expert at strategic planning, conducting market studies, turnaround studies and marketing audits, as well as developing strategies for growth. Jill assists her clients in evaluating critical decisions and assessing the impact of market forces to develop strategic and business plans at both the board and operating level. For more information, visit www.jcs-usa.com.

About Finance and Commerce:Finance and Commerce is Minnesota's daily business newspaper and online resource, reporting on all areas of Minnesota commerce with a special emphasis on: Banking, Construction, Real Estate, Energy and Technology. It is also the official legal notice paper for Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Finance and Commerce is owned and operated by Finance and Commerce, Inc., a division of Dolan Media Company (NYSE: DM). www.finance-commerce.com.

The following ran in a Finance & Commerce special section

At the ripe age of 17, Jill Johnson knew she wanted to be a management consultant. Consulting may not seem a typical dream job for most teenage girls, but Johnson has never been typical.

Tenacious and focused, Johnson started winning major business competitions in high school. She earned her MBA in a matter of months. She started her own consulting business when she was just 27 in 1987. And by the time she was 29, the US Small Business Administration named her Minnesota’s young entrepreneur of the year. Johnson’s early sense of purpose and subsequent years of hard work led her to a keen understanding of her profession and what is takes to attract and retain clients. Next year, her business, Johnson Consulting, will celebrate 25 years in business.

“I still love to do the work,” Johnson says. “I’m a real in-the-trenches, old school consultant. I’m not the one to hire if you want a touchy-feely, ‘find your center’ vision quest. I’m the one you hire when you have a problem and you have to solve it.”

Johnson’s clientele is primarily from the service industry, including health care companies, government agencies and nonprofits. Johnson says she has personally affected more that $2 billion in business decisions.

She credits her success and professional longevity to solid analytical skills and a deep-seated need to find the truth.

“My goal is not to prove somebody right or wrong, but to make things better and to provide clients with what they need to make it work,” Johnson says.

Johnson has always made time to mentor other women and uses her expertise to serve on numerous national and local boards.

“My life model is to make a difference,” Johnson says. “That’s the essence of consulting, and I understood that intuitively when I was 17. I figured out early on that I could have an impact on everything I do if I approach what I do with the intention to have an impact.”

- Marisa Helms

It should come as no surprise to friends and family of Jill Johnson, a 1978 graduate of Hudson High School, that she is celebrating 20 years since the founding of her company, Johnson Consulting Services.

Minneapolis, MN – June 20, 2007 -- Jill Johnson, the 47 year-old owner and founder of Johnson Consulting Services, a Minneapolis-based management consulting firm, announced today that her company has achieved a rare milestone by reaching its 20^th anniversary in business. Further, in October of this year, Johnson herself will achieve another milestone by celebrating the 25^th anniversary of her consulting career.