Kate Johnson ’89, a seasoned technology leader who has held executive leadership roles at companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and GE Digital, will deliver the address at Lehigh’s 157th undergraduate spring commencement on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
As president and chief executive officer of Lumen Technologies since 2022, Johnson champions digital innovations that create optimal customer experiences and solutions. She is leading Lumen through a fundamental transformation, from a legacy communications provider to the trusted network for AI (artificial intelligence).
“I’m honored to return to Lehigh and celebrate this milestone with graduates at Commencement,” Johnson said. “I look forward to sharing with the graduates my experiences at Lehigh and the subsequent lessons that have shaped my life and career. It’s a privilege to share this moment with them as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.”
Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82 said: “I am pleased to welcome Kate to campus to address our graduates. Drawing from her remarkable experience as a leader, as someone who thinks intentionally about community and company culture, and as an innovator in her field, Kate’s insights will be of great benefit to our graduates.”
From Lehigh to Lumen
Focused on moving innovation and shareholder value forward, Johnson leads with the strategic and go-to-market skills developed over 20 years as a growth-oriented enterprise technology disruptor.
Her path to becoming a highly successful leader in business and technology started on Lehigh’s campus. Johnson studied electrical engineering at the university, where she developed a passion for problem-solving.
After earning an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, she became a management consultant for Deloitte Consulting, applying her problem-solving skills across a variety of industries and technologies and immersing herself in the world of business transformation.
The unconventional path she took in applying her skills across multiple industries gave her what she described in an interview as a “meta-layer of learning” that helped her find her passions in both business and technology and embrace change.
She later became division chief information officer for UBS’s investment banking division before becoming the vice president for global services and strategic accounts at Red Hat, the leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions. Johnson built and led core training, consulting and support businesses for the company.
She went on to work at Oracle, a leading database management company, as senior vice president of the North America Technology and Government Consulting division.
At GE, a global industrial company, she held various roles helping the company build its commercial capability in the digital era, eventually serving as the company’s executive vice president and corporate officer.
As president of Microsoft U.S., Johnson was responsible for the growth of the company’s U.S. solutions, services and support revenues, advising both public and private sector clients on their technology strategies and implementation. She focused on driving transformation in Microsoft’s largest sales subsidiary, where she led a 10,000-person field team.
Leading with Courage
As the first female CEO in Lumen’s history and one of just 52 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies as of 2024, Johnson is a trailblazer in her industry.
She believes in leading with courage and empathy, embracing change and approaching her work with a learn-it-all mentality. She has helped launch and lead change programs at several Fortune 500 companies.
She has served as a leader of inclusion initiatives throughout her career, and she was a delegate to Microsoft’s CEO Inclusion Council, focusing on driving Microsoft’s internal and external diversity and inclusivity agenda.
She has shared her leadership expertise and career advice as a guest on several popular podcasts, including Microsoft’s “WorkLab” and “Future Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan,” and was a presenter at the second annual UBS Women in Tech Summit in 2024.
Visit the Commencement website for more information on Commencement programming and updates.
The 2025 schedule is as follows:
Graduate Commencement and Doctoral Hooding Ceremony
Recognizing master’s and doctoral candidates
Saturday, May 17
10:00 a.m. at Goodman Stadium
Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 17
4:00 p.m. at Packer Memorial Church
Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony
Sunday, May 18
10:00 a.m. at Goodman Stadium
