Ron Johnson is an American retail executive. After leading designer collaborations at Target, he joined Apple as senior vice president and worked with Steve Jobs to create the Apple Store and Genius Bar, developing stores centered on advice and customer experience rather than product sales alone. He later served as chief executive of J.C. Penney and founded Enjoy Technology, which offered in-home retail and support services. Co-authored with Zander Nethercutt, his forthcoming book “Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple’s Genius” recounts the creation of the Apple Store and argues that human connection, service, and in-person experience remain central to retail in an era of e-commerce and artificial intelligence.