Rudd Johnson, from Medford, Oregon, serves as founder and principal of Crown Hill Consulting, a strategic human resource firm specializing in board governance, CEO advisement and senior officer succession planning. He previously was Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Harry & David Holdings and Vice President, Human Resources for Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas. He received a BA from South Dakota State University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Rudd is past President of the Hearts & Vines Foundation, which funds community-based youth and family programs with a focus on the elimination of domestic violence through education, prevention and intervention. He also previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Britt Festivals, the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the American Leadership Forum of Oregon, the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University and the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona.

Rudd and his wife Barbara have two adult children including a daughter living in Portland, Oregon. and a son living in Los Angeles, California. He has been attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival since 1996 and is a past president of the festival and a past endowment trustee.