Brett M. Johnson

Brett M. Johnson
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Brown University, Pepperdine University, Harvard Business School (President’s Leadership Program)
Occupation(s)	Businessman, founder and CEO of Benevolent Capital, founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners, owner/investor in Ipswich Town FC, Phoenix Rising FC, and Rhode Island FC

Brett M. Johnson is an American businessman, founder and CEO of Benevolent Capital, which invests in professional sports, real estate, private equity, and venture capital. He is also the founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners.^[1] Johnson owns or invests in several football clubs, including Ipswich Town F.C., Phoenix Rising FC., and Rhode Island FC.^[2][3][4][5] He is also an investor in Ōura, a health technology company known for its smart rings, and Athletic Brewing, a craft non-alcoholic beer company.^[6][7][8]

Brett Johnson received his Undergraduate Degree from Brown University and MBA from Pepperdine University.^[1][2]

Johnson began his professional career as an associate at Montgomery Securities in 1994, where he worked for one year. He then joined Targus, a global mobile computing accessories company, where he held several positions over ten years, including sales director, managing director for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, and president.^[2][9]

Brett Johnson founded Benevolent Capital in 2005, a private equity fund with investments in real estate, manufacturing, and consumer brands, and has been serving as CEO since its inception.^[10]

In August 2010, Johnson became CEO of Forward Industries, a NASDAQ-listed company that designs and markets accessories for consumer electronics, where he served until August 2012.^[11] He then joined Greenwood & Hall, an education management company, serving as president from 2013 to 2015.^[12][13] Concurrently, from 2012 to 2015, Johnson was a board member at Blyth Inc., a multichannel direct selling company.^[14]

In 2014, he graduated from the Harvard Business School's President's Leadership Program.^[15] In 2015, he cofounded and became president and co-chairman of Phoenix Rising Football Club (then known as Arizona United SC).^[2][16]

In 2018, Johnson founded Fortuitous Partners, that invests in sports related real estate developments, including Tidewater Landing stadium and development in Rhode Island.^[9][17] Johnson is a pioneer in the development of “Sports as an Asset Class,” positioning it as a lucrative and emerging investment opportunity.^{[18][19][20][21]}

He was the director of the Danish football club Helsingør from 2019 until August 2022.^[4][22] Johnson became director and shareholder of the professional English football club Ipswich Town FC in 2021.^[2][4][15]

In 2022, he co-founded and became chairman of the Rhode Island FC.^[23][24] Johnson is a member of the board of trustees for Choate Rosemary Hall. He is also a Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship and sits on the Board of Visitors for the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. In 2021, Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, the institution’s highest honor.^[6][25] He is an active member of the Young Presidents' Organization.^[26]

Johnson is married and has three children.^[2][27] He resides in Los Angeles.^[10] Brett enjoys playing tennis and going on hikes in his free time.^[6]