John Thompson Western's next chancellor

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By Communications Staff
Thursday, March 20, 2008
John M. Thompson, chairman of the board of TD Bank Financial Group, has been named 20th chancellor of The University of Western Ontario.
 

 
John M. Thompson
 
“We are absolutely delighted that Mr. Thompson has agreed to serve in this very important role," says Western President and Vice-Chancellor Paul Davenport, who chaired the electoral board for the chancellor.
 
“His leadership will be a great asset to Western. His experience and service record reflect a deep appreciation for the importance of post-secondary education to Canada."
 
Thompson will be officially installed as chancellor at Fall Convocation on October 24 and will serve a four-year term through 2012. He succeeds Arthur Labatt, who has served the university since 2004 and whose term ends June 30.
 
“Western provided me with a tremendous education when I was a student," says Thompson, “but my more recent connections as an alumnus and volunteer have convinced me that the university has a hugely important role to play in shaping the future of Canada and the world. I am honoured to be asked to be a part of that important work."
 
Thompson has served as chairman of the board of directors at TD Bank Financial Group since April 2003 and is the recently retired vice chairman of the IBM board of directors.
 
At the IBM Corporation, he was responsible for identifying and cultivating major growth initiatives. In addition he had oversight responsibility for the company's worldwide technology, manufacturing and business strategy. 
 
Thompson began his IBM career in Canada as a systems engineer in 1966. There, he held a variety of management jobs, before being elected president and chief executive officer of IBM Canada, Ltd. in 1986.
 
In January 1991, Thompson moved to the United States to become corporate vice president of marketing, charged with developing IBM's strategy for entering the services business, now a $60 billion dollar operation for IBM. In October 1993, he became senior vice president of IBM's Server Group, responsible for mainframe and midrange computers. From January 1995 until August 2002, he was the senior vice president responsible for forming IBM's Software Group, after which time he was elected vice chairman of the IBM Board.    
 
Thompson's strong affiliation with Western began when he attended Western and graduated with a degree in Engineering Science. He has also completed executive management programs at the Richard Ivey School of Business and he received an honorary LLD from Western in 1994. Thompson chaired the advisory board at Western's Faculty of Engineering as well as co-chaired the University's Renaissance Capital Campaign from 1989-1994.  He belonged to the Corporate Higher Education Forum and served on three Premier of Ontario's Councils for education reform, human resources reform and industrial policy.
 
Thompson is a director of The Thomson Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics N.V.  He is also vice chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children and a director of the Atlantic Salmon Federation. He is a past director of the Hertz Corporation, the Robert Mondavi Corporation, the European Finance Foundation, the Conference Board of Canada and the Canadian Business Council for National Issues.
 
Western's chair of the Board of Governors, Michele Noble, also welcomed the appointment of Thompson who will, she said, serve as an ambassador for Western nationally and globally.
 
“This is a role for which Mr. Thompson is ideally suited. He is committed to Western's mission of providing the best student experience in a research-intensive university in Canada," Noble said. 
 
Thompson, 65, lives in Toronto. He is married with three grown children. In his leisure time, he enjoys being with his grandchildren, fly-fishing, boating and golf. 

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