Nick Donofrio leads the strategy for developing and commercializing advanced technology across IBM's global operations. His responsibilities include IBM Research, the Personal Systems Group, the Integrated Supply Chain and Integrated Product Development teams, the Import Compliance Office, Government Programs, Environmental Health and Product Safety, Quality, and IBM's enterprise on-demand transformation team. He also heads the IBM Technology Team, is a member of IBM's Strategy Team, and is chairman of the board of governors for the IBM Academy of Technology. In addition to his strategic business mission, Mr. Donofrio leads the development and retention of IBM's technical employees and is a champion for diversity throughout the IBM global technical community.
Mr. Donofrio joined IBM in 1967 and 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.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from 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 and in 2002 he received an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Donofrio is a strong advocate of education and vigorously promotes mathematics and science as the keys to economic competitiveness. He is particularly focused on advancing education, employment and career opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women. From 1997 through 2002, he served as Chairman of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).
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 member of the Board of Directors for the Bank of New York, and he serves on the Board of Trustees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
In 2002, Mr. Donofrio was recognized by the Institution of Electrical Engineers -- the largest professional engineering society in Europe -- with the Mensforth International Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to the advancement of manufacturing engineering. In 2003, he was named Industry Week magazine's Technology Leader of the Year, the University of Arizona's Technical Executive of the Year, and was presented with the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award by the Society of Women Engineers for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in the engineering field.
