African-Americans in Silicon Valley Leave Imprint on Today’s Technology

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John W. Thompson

For ten years, John W. Thompson served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Symantec. Founded in 1982, the company is one of the world’s largest software firms. Symantec provides small businesses and corporations with storage and systems management solutions and security for their information technology. Although Thompson retired in 2008, he remains the Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. During his tenure, he was credited with helping to guide Symantec into a leadership role in its industry. He aided in diversifying their customer base and significantly increased the firm’s revenue.

Thompson guided Symantec’s transformation from a consumer software developer to a worldwide leader in IT security solutions for both individuals and corporations. At the time of his retirement, Thompson said, “I am proud of our team’s accomplishments over the past 10 years as we’ve transformed the company from a consumer software publisher to the leader in Internet security, data protection and storage management.”

Thompson has served as the chair of the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology. The task force was designed to identify and evaluate technology-based solutions that improve the efficiency and security of aviation. Before working at Symantec, Thompson held senior executive positions in software development, marketing and sales at IBM, where he worked for 28 years.

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