John L. Howard currently serves as Senior Vice President on the Grainger Leadership Team. From January 2000 – January 2023, John served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing all of the company’s legal and corporate environment, health and safety and corporate security functions.
Before joining Grainger, John served as Vice President and General Counsel for Tenneco Automotive, a subsidiary of Tenneco, Inc. Prior assignments included Vice President, Law, and Assistant General Counsel at Tenneco. From 1990 to 1993, John served in The White House as counsel to the Vice President of the United States. From 1984 to 1990, he held a variety of legal positions within the federal government, including Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.
John earned his bachelor’s degree in finance, with honors, from the Indiana University School of Business in 1979. He earned his JD from Indiana University in 1982. In 1989, he received his LL.M. from George Washington University, graduating with highest honors. John completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 2003.
John is a Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel and a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the boards of 1871 Chicago, Rush University Medical Center and The Grainger Foundation. In February 2002, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a five-year term as Chairman, Special Panel on Appeals. He also has served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District Advisory Council and as Vice Chairman of the Chicago Botanic Garden.