Chester Johnson accepted daunting challenges in the corporate and public sectors and delivered results that exceeded expectations. While chairman of a sawmill group, he developed the concept and implementation of a chip export facility to solve the long-standing wood chip surplus problem. He was director of finance for Expo 86 and chair of the Vancouver Airport Authority, and chair of the transportation committee for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic bid.

Among his awards is the Order of Canada.