Mark Johnson was appointed as UNOS’ chief executive officer of UNOS in Richmond, Virginia.
Johnson joined the UNOS board in April 2025 and was appointed interim CEO in December 2025. Since then, he has advanced UNOS’ work managing parts of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), while expanding the organization’s focus on data-driven research and analysis, expert consulting services, and patient-centered reforms to strengthen the organ donation and transplant system.
He also led UNOS’ partnership with NASA Langley Research Center and LifeNet Health, completing a groundbreaking beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone flight test transporting human research kidneys.
Johnson has more than 30 years of global leadership experience in financial and operational excellence, strategy development, and business transformation, along with a commitment to improving health care delivery and organizational performance, according to an announcement from UNOS
Before joining UNOS, Johnson was CEO of Averhealth, where he led a turnaround for the nationwide provider of drug and alcohol testing in the criminal justice sector. He previously served as CEO of BetterMed Urgent Care, guiding the organization through significant growth and the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also held leadership roles at MeadWestvaco, NBC Universal, General Electric and ESPN.
