Head in the Clouds: Impax COO Darren Johnson

Johnson says the continued erosion of margins, as a result of the need to comply with numerous regulations, sometimes keeps him up at night, worrying about how Impax should best respond so that compliance is achieved efficiently and cost effectively. Regulation is less of a concern for Impax’s clients, but Johnson says they will be glad to hear that Impax has compliance under control.

Beyond compliance, further innovation in the cloud is something driving Johnson’s ambitions for 2013, the Holy Grail of which is a single piece of hardware that can control all cloud functionality. He says his dream technology would be a live dashboard that could provide a real-time, tick-by-tick view of Impax’s positions on all trades—at the moment he receives only monthly updates. This is in line with Johnson’s personality, as he thrives on information and ensuring that everything is under control.

Outside of work, life follows a similar pattern for Johnson, who commits a significant amount of time to his eldest two sons’ soccer team, and was, until last year, a voluntary police officer. He may no longer be stuck in the midst of the dog-eat-dog battle at the heart of the City, but there is no doubt that Johnson’s position—both inside the office and at home—remains one of constant challenges and pressures to succeed.

“I don’t necessarily get home on time all the time, but I suppose I’m not as stressed as I used to be,” he says. “I used to be very stressed—hence the hair loss. I’m not as stressed as I used to be, but it’s always hard in this industry. There’s always pressure.”

Given Johnson’s focus and drive, however, it’s unlikely he’d want it any other way.

Darren Johnson Fundamental Data

Name: Darren Johnson
Title: COO, Impax Asset Management
Impax Assets Under Management: £1.8 billion
($2.9 billion)
Headquarters: London
Hometown: Clapham South
Family: Married with three boys, aged eight, five and two years old
Hero: Michael J. Fox’s character Alex Keaton
Favorite Sports Team: Arsenal

*The AIFMD level-two text has since been finalized