John Wendell Thompson earned his business degree from Florida A&M University in 1971 and joined IBM as a salesman, rising over 28 years through sales, marketing and software leadership roles to become General Manager of IBM Americas, earning an MBA from MIT's Sloan School along the way.
In 1999 Thompson left IBM to become CEO and Chairman of Symantec Corporation, making him, at the time, the only African American leading a major technology company. Over ten years he grew Symantec's revenue from roughly $600 million to over $6 billion, transforming it into a leader in cybersecurity and storage.
In 2012 Thompson joined Microsoft's board, and in 2014 became its independent chairman, leading the search that selected Satya Nadella as CEO — succeeding Bill Gates in one of the most consequential leadership transitions in modern technology history.
- Chairman and CEO of Symantec for a decade, growing revenue from $600M to over $6B
- Independent Chairman of Microsoft, 2014–2021
- Led the board search that selected Satya Nadella as Microsoft CEO
- 28-year executive career at IBM prior to Symantec
- Take the risk of leaving a stable giant at the dawn of a new era.. He left 28 years at IBM in 1999 just as the internet age began.
- Choosing the next leader well can be as consequential as leading yourself.. His board search selected Satya Nadella as Microsoft's CEO.
- Build a decade-long track record before claiming the chairman's seat elsewhere.. His Symantec results preceded his Microsoft chairmanship by over a decade.