John D. Johns is Executive Chairman of Protective Life Corporation. He joined Protective in 1993 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He became the Company’s President and COO in 1996; President and CEO in 2002; in 2003, he became Chairman, President and CEO, and Executive Chairman in July of 2017.
Prior to joining Protective, Johns served as General Counsel of Sonat, Inc., a diversified energy company. Before joining Sonat, Johns was a founding partner of the law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale.
Johns was awarded a B.A. degree, with honors, from The University of Alabama in 1974.
While at UA, he developed his leadership skills through membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa and service as president of the Jasons Honor Society and Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
He also received a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, both in 1978.
Throughout his career, Johns has been actively engaged in community and philanthropic service. He currently serves as a member of The University of Alabama President’s Cabinet and works as co-chair of the Campaign for UAB, which is targeting an ambitious $1 billion fundraising goal. Johns is on the corporate boards of Regions Financial Corporation, Genuine Parts Company, and Southern Company.
He has served as the Chairman of the Business Council of Alabama, the McWane Science Center, the Greater Alabama Council, Boy Scouts of America, Innovation Depot, and the Birmingham Business Alliance, the umbrella chamber of commerce organization for the greater Birmingham region.
He has also served on the boards of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama, the United Negro College Fund, the Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. He is Past Chairman of the national trade association for the life insurance industry, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), and currently serves on its executive committee. He is a member of the Financial Services Roundtable in Washington, D.C. and of the National Council of the American Enterprise Institute, also in Washington, DC.
During his time at Protective, the Company and its Foundation have contributed more than $50 million to improve the quality of life in the community, including substantial gifts upon the merger of Protective Life Corporation and The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company.
Those gifts support insurance education and research at the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama; infrastructure improvements at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens; and the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine, which is a joint venture with the Southern Research Institute to investigate new innovations in drug treatments.
His philanthropic work has earned him recognition by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Alabama Chapter, as Outstanding Civic Leader at the 2013 National Philanthropy Day.
In October 2013, Johns was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor owing to his ability to “roll up his sleeves immediately and work collaboratively to solve problems and accomplish public service miracles.”
He and his wife Dr. Nancy Dunlap Johns have a son James and daughter Anna Johns Hrom and son-in-law James Hrom.
