Cal Johnston founded The Johnston Group in 1959. His first Southern California development was in 1957. In the early 60's, he formed Property Research Corporation, which charted the routes of the new freeways, studied population growth and conducted research on demographics and future trends. This work resulted in the acquisition of thousands of acres in the path of growth for his clients. His company oversaw master planning, rezoning and engineering, often reselling all or portions of planned communities to builders and developers.

In 1967 PRC organized and registered numerous inter-state security offerings including Six Flags Over Georgia in 1968 ($27 Million) and Six Flags Over Texas ($36 million), which he and his partners sold in the late 90's to Time Warner for approximately $275 million and $325 million, respectively.

By the early 1970´s, Johnston had formed an apartment development company, which went on to build projects in the Western United States totaling approximately 3,000 units and six mobile home parks.

In the 70's, he also co-founded Builders Resources Corporation, a nationwide single-family joint venture firm. When sold, the company had 40 projects under development with 22 builders in ten states involving over 5,000 homes. Cal served as CEO and Chairman of the Board. Other shareholders included American Standard, Whirlpool, National Gypsum, Stanley Works, CNA Financial and DLJ.

Other projects Johnston planned and financed included San Ramon Village (a 3,000 acre mixed-use development in Northern California which won an award as a well-planned community) and Coto de Caza (a 5,000 acre housing and recreational development in Orange County, California). In 1985, Johnston founded the Technology Corridor Association to promote the controlled growth of clean business and industry along the 26-mile corridor from Woodland Hills to Thousand Oaks in Southern California.

From 1986 to 1990, Johnston and his organization focused on the construction and leasing of the 320,000 square foot Malibu Canyon Business Park and Corporate Center in Calabasas. In 1993, Cal re-capitalized the project by partnering with Rockefeller & Associates to complete the development and leasing of the final phases. In 1996, Johnston's organization bought out the Rockefeller interest once the project met their investment objectives.

Cal Johnston is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was or is a member of: Young Presidents Organization (Chairman of Los Angeles Chapter); Chief Executives' Organization (International Director); Urban Land Institute; USC Associates (Director); Masonic Lodge; North Ranch Country Club Estates (Director); Pauma Valley Country Club and Museum of Science & Industry (Director).

He is also a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and founding Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo & Las Virgenes. Under his leadership, this local organization opened a Club on the Los Cerritos Middle School campus in 2004, and plans to construct and open approximately five more Clubs to serve over 12,000 children.