Biography: John W. Thompson

Episode 502:
SAFEGUARDING THE FUTURE:
Heroes and Villains of the Computer Age

Featured Guest:
John W. Thompson
Chairman & CEO
Symantec Corporation

Mr. Thompson's Video Clip


John W. Thompson is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Symantec Corporation. Under Thompson's leadership, Symantec has grown from a small consumer software publisher to the market leader for security and availability solutions to help customers manage their rapidly growing digital assets.

Recognizing the growing importance of information and the need to protect it, Thompson and his team have made a number of strategic acquisitions to expand the company's ability to help consumers and businesses secure and manage their growing dependence on online, real-time information. With global operations in more than 40 countries, the company is viewed as a strategic partner to its customers, providing a broad range of security, storage, availability, and performance management solutions to help them proactively manage their IT infrastructure.

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 held 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 company's Worldwide Management Council.

Thompson is a member of the board of directors of UPS and Seagate. He 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.