Company: CMS Direct
Headquarters: Brooklyn Center
Founded: 1982
Employees: More than 180
Web: www.cmsdirect.com
Revenues (2005): $22.3 million
Background: Johnson worked in database development and
consulting before becoming vice president of a direct-mail company in 1980. He
soon left the company, which was heading for bankruptcy, and with partners
formed CMS Direct in 1982. Johnson focused the business on helping catalog
companies with the computer processing they needed to do mailings. In 2001, CMS
acquired Prefer Network, a company that had built a database of consumer
information. The acquisition allowed CMS to help direct its catalog clients to
potential consumers. After its first 18 months in business, CMS has turned a
profit every year.
In
His Own Words: “We can improve the process of our clients—that’s how we are
differentiated. We can determine who the right people are in the mailing process
because of the information we have.”
