Ted Johnson

Cedar Rapids, IA

My interest in the futures markets began in the late ‘80s on the floor of the CBOT. My father, Kent, founded Frontier Futures when I was a freshman in college at Northwestern University. I worked for him for a summer during college, but it wasn’t until I worked on the floor at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) that I considered a career in commodity trading. With my father’s guidance, I began my career with Frontier by opening an office in Minneapolis. For the next decade, I worked with commercial grain firms, exporters, co-ops and fund traders. It was there that I discovered how much I enjoyed the markets and the different aspects of trading. I worked on the floors of several exchanges and was a member of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) and the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) for 10+ years. In the mid 90’s I returned to Cedar Rapids to continue working for Frontier, at first to develop and supervise our branch offices, and then as President following my father’s retirement in 2003. The addition of our full-service office has been a welcome and natural fit for Frontier. Melissa and I have worked hard to develop our internship program and to find quality students who see the value in what we do here. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and communicating with farmers as we devise and execute hedging and risk management strategies.
For me, Frontier has always been a family affair, and I am proud of what we have built and excited for what is to come!


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