Nicholas M. Donofrio ’67

IBM Fellow, Retired IBM Executive Vice President

A 44-year IBM veteran, Nicholas Donofrio is a renowned global business leader who over the past 15 years helped restore IBM’s return to its familiar position as a global technology and innovation leader. He is a tireless champion of the engineering and technical professions, and personally commits hundreds of hours each year to work with women and underrepresented minorities to enrich the technical professions around the world with a diversity of culture and thought.

Donofrio's first exposure to IBM was in 1964 as a college intern, working on the development of the legendary System/360 mainframe computer while studying for his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Rensselaer. 

Donofrio has led virtually all of IBM’s manufacturing and development teams over the years — from semiconductor and storage technologies, to microprocessors and personal computers, to IBM's entire family of servers. Among the many milestones accomplished under Donofrio's leadership, IBM has:

• Generated more patents than any other company for 15 consecutive years.
• Reengineered and revitalized its systems business, including the mainframe.
• Developed leading-edge CMOS semiconductor technology.
• Developed the world’s fastest supercomputers designed to help scientists unravel the mysteries of both physical and life sciences.
• Developed breakthrough microprocessor architectures, including Power and Cell, which are the engines for every major consumer gaming platform and a host of other computing applications.
• Advanced open industry standards.
• Developed state-of-the art Services Oriented Architecture assets and skills.
• Entered a ground-breaking research partnership with The National Geographic Society to map how human kind populated the planet.
• Developed and nurtured one of the largest and most capable technical talent pools in the industrial world.