Christianne Johnson ’22

Christianne Johnson has always been comfortable adapting to new environments. With a professional basketball player for a father, she got used to moving constantly. Instead of yearning for stability, as any normal teenager would, Christianne found excitement in trying new opportunities and meeting people as she traveled across the country.

From these experiences, Christianne learned the value of wanting to create an impact wherever she went. Early on in high school, she held a seat as a junior board member of the YMCA, ensuring that after-school programs had impact. When she lived in New York City, she worked with BoardAssist, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Black, Native American and Latinx people get elected to boards in the Tri-State area.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Christianne spent most of her career at BlackRock, first as an investment management associate, then in a product marketing strategy role. But as much as she loved that role, Christianne had other passions she wanted to explore, such as sports, the beauty industry and entrepreneurship. Beyond that, she had a strong desire to learn key management skills. The perfect way to learn and explore? An MBA program.

Exploring entrepreneurship and trying new things

Christianne cast a wide net when considering her options. Yet after visiting Kellogg’s full-time campus in Evanston twice, she felt the strongest bond with the Kellogg community. “This is where I knew that I could thrive,” said Christianne.

Embodying the values she learned at a young age, Christianne quickly adapted to life in Evanston and set out to make an impact in her new community. During her first year, she joined the Black Management Association (BMA) and worked with prospective students by editing resumes, conducting mock interviews and reviewing essays.

In her second year as a vice president of student experiences, she’s worked to ensure Black students are fully integrated into the Kellogg community. She even launched a seminar series called “Money Talks,” where she educates BMA members on investing and spending money. "No one talks about that [managing money as a student]. But I'm a licensed financial advisor, so I talk about how to manage your money now, how much to spend and how to pay things off while also still simultaneously investing," said Christianne.

When she’s not with her BMA family, she’s participating in Kellogg’s accelerated leadership development program with Professor Paul Corona. “This program has really sharpened my focus, tested me and made me realize what kind of leader I want to be,” she said.

Another class favorite, Leader As Coach with Professor Brenda Booth, gave Christianne the opportunity to mentor an undergraduate student and a medical student, both at Northwestern University.

“Learning how to lead, coach and mentor is definitely something Kellogg does a great job at.”

Throughout her time at Kellogg, Christianne tested her leadership experience with entrepreneurship. Bonding with three other female classmates around inclusivity in the makeup industry, they launched a startup called Palette Beauty, an accessible makeup application service. After hosting a successful pop-up shop one summer in Chicago, her team of co-founders is excited to continue growing their services.

Wanting to further explore social impact and entrepreneurship post-Kellogg, Christianne found the perfect opportunity to do just that at Bain & Company. Working as a management consultant, Christianne looks forward to using her strategic mindset to help clients solve their business needs and participating in Bain’s social impact group. "Hopefully after Bain, I can start my own company. I'm passionate about so many spaces, so we'll have to see," she said.