Adam Johnson Dallas

Adam Johnson is a seasoned leader in the rare earth and critical minerals industry, with over 20 years of experience in private equity, strategic planning, and frontier technologies. He has a proven track record of spearheading foundational domestic ventures and driving innovation across global markets.

As an Operating Partner at Ara Partners, a $6 billion AUM industrial growth private equity firm specializing in decarbonization investments, Adam developed the firm's rare earth supply chain investment strategy. This led to Ara Partners' acquisition of Vacuumschmelze, a leading Western rare earth magnetics company. Following this acquisition, Vacuumschmelze secured a $94.1 million Department of Defense Title III grant, a $111.9 million 48C Department of Energy tax credit, and announced a $506 million facility build-out in South Carolina to support General Motors, its foundational customer.

Previously, Adam served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at MP Materials (NYSE: MP), a leading rare earth mining and materials company responsible for approximately 15% of global rare earth production. At MP Materials, he played a key role in business development, ESG reporting, and advancing the company’s $700 million commitment to vertical integration into metals and magnets. Adam also helped secure a long-term agreement with General Motors to strengthen the domestic supply chain.

Adam has served as Chief Commercial Officer for Stardust Power (Nasdaq: SDST), a company developing a 50,000 mtpa lithium refinery in Oklahoma. He has also been Senior Adviser to Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA), guiding its strategy for leveraging patented circular mineral harvesting technology to sustainably extract rare earth materials from assets in Chile and Brazil.

He has advised the Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) on industrial strategy and has authored a paper for the Bipartisan Policy Center addressing challenges in U.S. critical minerals processing. His thought leadership extends to speaking engagements, including a panel discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Mine-to-Magnet workshop hosted by Lockheed Martin. Adam has also been featured on the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Energy 360 podcast, where he discussed catalyzing private capital into domestic processing.

Adam holds an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago.