John W. Thompson

John W. Thompson is chairman of the board of directors of Symantec Corporation, a company with $6.1 billion in revenue in 2008. Since joining Symantec in April 1999, Thompson has led the transformation of the company from a consumer software publisher to the global leader in information security solutions for individuals and enterprises.

In September 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Thompson to the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIAC), to make recommendations regarding the security of the critical infrastructure of the United States. In addition, Thompson has served as the chair of the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology to identify and evaluate technology-driven solutions to improve the security and efficiency of national and local aviation.

Prior to joining Symantec, Thompson had a distinguished career with the IBM Corporation where he worked for 28 years holding senior executive positions in sales, marketing and software development. In his last assignment, he was general manager of IBM Americas and a member of the companies Worldwide Management Council.

Thompson serves on the board of JovianDATA, an early stage company focused on delivering advanced business analytic services to a rapidly growing on-line advertising market. He also serves as a director on the boards of UPS, the world leader in global logistics, and Seagate Technology, the world leader disk-drive development and manufacturing..

Thompson completed his undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University and holds a master’s degree in management science from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. In addition, in May 2008, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Notre Dame University.