Tonya Johnson

B.S. ’75 – Mathematics, M.S. ’76 – Statistics

Former technology executive Tanya Johnson grew up in Duncan, Oklahoma, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University in mathematics in 1975. She added a master’s in statistics to her resume — also from OSU — in 1976.

Upon graduation, Tanya joined the statistical department of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where she worked on medical research projects and collaborated with organizations such as Shriner Burns. Tanya moved to Boston in 1978 and worked at several cutting-edge software engineering companies, including Digital Equipment Corporation and Wang Laboratories. At Wang Laboratories, Tanya was the General Manager for Wang Office, one of the first electronic messaging products.

In 1992, Tanya relocated to the Bay Area, leading product and engineering groups at Oracle Corporation and Clarify. As a senior executive and officer at Clarify, Tanya played a crucial role in building a successful customer relationship management (CRM) software business that was eventually sold to Nortel Networks. The multi-billion dollar sale of the CRM business in 2000 was the highest price paid for a software company at that time. In addition to her many professional accomplishments, Tanya also co-founded and served as CEO of HIREarci, a skills assessment platform for recruiters, and has advised technology startups focused on the financial space.

Since retiring, Tanya enjoys traveling with her husband and spending more time with her family, especially her grandkids.