Mr. Nicholas (Nick) M. Donofrio

A 44-year IBM veteran, he led IBM's technology and innovation strategies from 1997 until his retirement in October 2008. He was the Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology. Born in Beacon, New York, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967 and a Master of Science in the same discipline from Syracuse University in 1971. In 1999 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Engineering from Polytechnic University of New York; in 2002 he received an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom; in 2005 he received an honorary doctorate in Technology from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York; and in 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. In addition, Pace University in New York awarded him an honorary doctorate in Sciences in 2009. He joined IBM as a college co-op student in 1964 and worked on the memory technology for the legendary IBM System/360 mainframe computing system. After being hired full time at IBM in 1967, he spent the early part of his career in integrated circuit and chip development as a designer of logic and memory chips. He held numerous technical management positions and, later, executive positions in several of IBM's product divisions. He has led many of IBM's major development and manufacturing teams - from semiconductor and storage technologies, to microprocessors and personal computers, to IBM's entire family of servers. In 2008 IBM Chairman Sam Palmisano elected him IBM Fellow, the company's highest technical honor. He was also Vice Chairman of the IBM International Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology. In addition to his career, his focus has been on advancing education, employment and career opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women. Serving for many years on the Board of Directors for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) he was NACME's Board chair from 1997 through 2002. He also served for several years on the Board of Directors for INROADS, a non-profit organization focused on the training and development of talented minority youth for professional careers in business and industry. He presently is co-chair of the New York Hall of Science. In 2005, he was appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a 20-member delegation of business and university leaders charged with developing a new national strategy for post-secondary education that will meet the needs of America?s diverse population and also address the economic and workforce needs of the country's future. He is the holder of seven technology patents and is a member of numerous technical and science honor societies. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the U.K-based Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the US-based National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Board of Directors for the Bank of New York/Mellon, a member of the Republic of China's Advisory Board of Science and Technology, a member of the Board of Trustees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a member of the Board of Directors of Liberty Mutual, a member of the Board of Directors of AMD and a Senior Fellow of the Kauffman Foundation. He is the recipient of numerous awards a few of which are: Industry Week magazine's Technology Leader of the Year (2003); University of Arizona's Technical Executive of the Year; Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award from the Society of Women Engineers; The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Urban Visionaries Award for Engineering; and Business Week magazine?s 25 Top Innovation Champions. He is a Director at Liberty Mutual Group.