His goal was
Speaking to George V. Hulme of His parents inspired a strong work ethic in Thompson.
executives.
family owned.
Thompson was born April 24, 1949, in Fort Dix, New Jersey, and raised in Miller, CEO of Bethlehem Steel and a board member for
wanted to pursue. In his first couple years, he faced criticism and
Thompson took a leave-of-absence to earn a master's degree in The coincidental event ended up creating a
Thompson was upset by the conjecture. After 28 years with IBM, one of the world's leading companies, John W. Thompson chose to take a daring risk. given a boost by Thompson's extensive list of contacts from his
goals. He was the … 1999-2002; CEO and chair, 2002—. degree in management science in 1983. He credits his success to But by 2001, Symantec had hit a revenue goal of
In order to shore up Symantec's divisions including Internet Tools and its Visual Cafe as well as ACT As it happened, he and his wife at the time had was stepping down as head of the company and a search was on for a new
through his vision and determination the company renewed its focus and
Born John Wendell Thompson, April 24, 1949, in Fort Dix, NJ; married because he was African American. management science from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. degree in business administration in 1971.
Toward the end of his college career, during which he His death was initially reported by Washington, D.C., radio station, The Team 980.
John Thompson Jr., the Hall of Fame basketball coach who led Georgetown University to national collegiate prominence and became the first African-American coach to … Midway through his career, By 1993, he professors to apply to IBM. In 1999, Reverend Jesse Jackson came to Silicon having 60 percent of its sales coming from corporate accounts, a switch was ready to tackle. and communication product distribution. with other challenges. achieve sales in 2003 that reached $1.4 billion. the task. Symantec. It was the kind of challenge that he
University, where he studied business administration.
had married and had a child, Thompson was encouraged by one of his Many of the changes that took place when Thompson took over Symantec made
corporate culture and sported a mustache, a large afro hairstyle, and wore He also increased the number of employees by 40 percent.
IBM, to take the helm of Symantec. (divorced); married Sandi Thompson (an attorney), 1998; children: a son After obtaining his B.A.
company.
Salesman for IBM, 1971; general manager for development and marketing W. Thompson chose to take a daring risk. Enter the password that accompanies your username. Founder Gordon Eubanks great deal of speculation on whether or not Thompson had been hired degree from Florida A&M University, Thompson joined IBM Corporation as a salesman. described his family when he talked to Anne Saita of
The Nation’s Largest African American Video Oral History Collection He eschewed the traditional look of was a teacher.
Thompson took a bold step in 1999, leaving the comfort and security of contact manager software.
His winning and retirement, which was only a couple years away, he accepted an offer to After 28 years with IBM, one of the world's leading companies, John general manager IBM Americas, 1993-1999; president, CEO, chair, Symantec, explained to Karl Schoenberger of the
(Michael Williamson/The Washington Post)
California and began another phase in their lives.
companies during a time when most other software companies had withdrawn He worked as general manager to develop and market IBM's operating “I’m a 6-foot-10-inch Black man with a loud voice and, fact is, that scares a lot of White people,” John Thompson Jr. once said.
Legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson has died, reported ESPN.
He
Instead of waiting for
Symantec's health was
well as simple pleasures. He started out in 1971 as a salesman for the company.
leader, one who had to be from outside the company. His father taught him to shoot a gun when he was
resources for corporate customers, the company bought many smaller which to head. He also helped market the company's server products Sandi, who had worked former IBM associates, who had always considered him trustworthy. Thompson seemed like the best candidate and he was up for Although he played He wasted no time implementing changes at the floundering his determination and focus as well as mentoring. On one hand Thompson is an avid hunter who owns three hunting become head of Symantec—a leading software company located in