G. Richard Thoman

Gordon Richard Thoman
Born	United States
Nationality	American
Other names	G. Richard Thoman, Rick Thoman
Alma mater	McGill University; Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University; Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	President and CEO of Xerox Corporation; CFO and Senior Vice President at IBM

Gordon Richard Thoman—also referred to as G. Richard Thoman or Rick Thoman—is an American executive known for his roles as President and CEO of Xerox Corporation, as well as CFO and Senior Vice President at IBM.

Early life and education

Born in the United States, Thoman holds American nationality. He completed his secondary education in Kingston, Ontario, where his father was a professor of economic geography at Queen's University. During high school, Thoman actively participated in basketball and the debate team, achieving predominantly A grades.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. During a summer break, he gained experience working at a bank located in Marseille, France. Subsequently, he pursued advanced studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, obtaining three graduate degrees: a master's in international studies, another master's in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, and a PhD in international economics from Tufts.

Prior to his tenure at McKinsey & Company, Thoman held financial positions at Citicorp and Exxon.

Career

Thoman developed a longstanding mentorship under Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. after their initial encounter at McKinsey & Company, later collaborating with him at American Express, RJR Nabisco, and IBM.

At IBM, Thoman served as Senior Vice President and general manager of the Personal Systems Group, where he successfully orchestrated a business turnaround. He was subsequently elevated to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As Gerstner aimed to extend his CEO leadership into the 1990s, Thoman explored executive opportunities beyond IBM.

Thoman’s appointment as President and COO of Xerox marked him as the designated successor to Paul Allaire, which positively impacted Xerox’s stock value. Beginning June 30, 1997, he became the first individual from outside Xerox's ranks to be positioned to ascend to CEO.

On April 1, 1999, Thoman assumed the role of CEO at Xerox while Allaire continued as chairman. To appease supporters of Allaire—specifically CFO Barry D. Romeril and William F. Buehler who were overlooked for succession—allaire arranged for their appointments as vice-chairmen on the board.

Between 1999 and 2000, Thoman led the American delegation in the Transatlantic Dialogue alongside European CEOs and officials aimed at harmonizing corporate regulations; this included a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac.

Both Allaire and Thoman envisioned transforming Xerox to thrive in the Digital Age; Thoman’s experience with IBM’s turnaround made him well-suited for this challenge. Nevertheless, many senior executives within Xerox remained loyal to Allaire and regarded Thoman as an outsider, which constrained his influence and ability to implement managerial reforms. This internal resistance led to multiple unsuccessful restructuring efforts during his leadership, notably within the sales division.

Thoman stepped down on May 11, 2000; Allaire reassumed the CEO position while elevating Anne M. Mulcahy to President and COO.

Following his departure from Xerox, Thoman joined Evercore Partners as a senior advisor.

Together with Allaire, Romeril, and three other senior Xerox officials, Thoman contributed to a $22 million settlement resolving SEC allegations of accounting fraud that had inflated profits by $1.4 billion between 1997 and 2000. Although no individual was found culpable of misconduct, Xerox reimbursed all but $3 million of the settlement—the remainder was classified as an unreimbursable SEC penalty.