Jeff Johannesen is chief strategy and innovation officer at RSM US LLP. He joined the firm in 1981 as an auditor, transferred into the tax department an became a partner in 1989. He now leads efforts to define our strategic vision for the future and transform our client and talent experience through innovation. Jeff is a past member of the RSM US LLP Board of Directors.
As chief strategy and innovation officer, Jeff is responsible for the development, communication, execution and sustainability of firm strategic objectives. In his role, he has led the firm to create intentionality around innovation at the enterprise level. Through a collaborative firm-wide effort, Jeff helped formalize RSM’s Vision 100 Powered by Our Culture to evolve the strategy of the firm on the cusp of its 100th anniversary. Vision 100 retains the best elements of RSM, while pushing the boundaries to accelerate the pace of innovation around daily incremental improvements as well as enterprise-level transformations in systems, tools, services and processes.
At RSM, innovation is not just about automation and technology. It also includes developing unique solutions to critical business challenges, fostering growth opportunities, and improving RSM’s work and client experience. As chief innovator, Jeff leads efforts to intelligently automate manual processes to improve efficiencies and enhance services. RSM innovation aims to give employees time back in their day to focus on what’s most important, while providing clients more insight into their performance through data analytics. A collaborator by nature, Jeff calls on the entire firm to play a role in driving innovation. He recently was the executive sponsor for RSM’s first enterprise-wide Innovation Challenge, which sparked entrant ideas from across the firm that included proposals for a trusted supply chain network to improved meeting efficiency to strategies to hire neurodiverse employees.
Jeff has been involved in development RSM’s strategy for the past 10 years. His institutional knowledge and deep connections at the firm give him a unique understanding of the strategic opportunity that lies ahead for RSM. He has been part of the firm’s national leadership team since 2011, serving in capacities such as national tax leader, executive sponsor of the firm’s client experience initiative, strategic planning committee leader and member of the business planning committee, combined leadership team, RSM Inclusion Council and other national steering committees. He serves as a formal mentor within the ¡HOLA! employee network group, an internal organization focused on attracting, retaining and empowering RSM's Hispanic/Latino employees.
Jeff grew up as an Iowa farm kid who decided to give the accounting profession a try. He accepted an entry-level job at McGladrey Hendrickson and Co. and thus began his 40-year career at RSM. An avid cyclist, Jeff helped launch the RSM cycling club, which now has over 400 members. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, hiking and cycling through the Iowa countryside.
