Nick Donofrio
Nicholas Donofrio | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 7, 1945 Beacon, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, Scientist, Business executive |
| Known for | Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology at IBM, IBM Fellow |
Nicholas Michael Donofrio (born September 7, 1945) is an American engineer and scientist who held the position of Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology at IBM until his retirement in 2008. Following his departure, he was honored with the title of IBM Fellow, the company’s most prestigious technical distinction. Donofrio is credited with seven patents in technology, belongs to several esteemed scientific and technical societies, and participates on multiple scientific advisory boards.
In recognition of his advancements in semiconductor memory technology and his leadership within the computing field, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1995.
Biography
Donofrio was born in Beacon, New York in 1945. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967, followed by a Master of Science from Syracuse University in 1971.
He began his career at IBM as an engineer in 1967 and steadily advanced through managerial roles until reaching executive leadership.
Donofrio contributes as a board member to the National Commission on the Future of Higher Education, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and serves as a Director for Liberty Mutual Group.
His academic honors include honorary doctorates awarded by institutions such as Polytechnic University of New York (1999), University of Warwick (2002), Marist College (2005), University of Edinburgh (2006), Pace University (2009), Maynooth University (2010), and Syracuse University (2011).
Books
In May 2022, Donofrio released his memoir titled If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes via Scribe Media. The book encapsulates insights gained from nearly sixty years in innovation and business, spotlighting pivotal technologies like IBM's S/360, RS6000, Blue Gene, the Genographic Project, and Watson. It includes conversations with more than twenty industry leaders, such as former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, Apple executive Jon Rubinstein, and AMD CEO Lisa Su. The memoir also weaves in formative experiences from Donofrio’s upbringing by working-class parents.
The book was co-written with Michael DeMarco, founder of American Journeys, and edited by David Yaun, a veteran communications professional at IBM.
Awards and positions held
- Chairman, Center for Advancing Innovation (2014–present)
- Chairman, Quantexa (2017–present)
- Technology Leader of the Year awarded by Industry Week magazine (2003)
- Technical Executive of the Year from University of Arizona
- Recipient of the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award from the Society of Women Engineers
- Cooper Union Urban Visionaries Award for Engineering
- Recognized among Business Week magazine’s Top 25 Innovation Champions
- Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering (U.K.)
- Commencement keynote speaker and advisor at Neumont University
- Contributor to U.S. Department of Education’s Commission on Higher Education (2006)
- Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Former board member at Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (retired 2017)
- Board member at Wigix, Inc.
- Board member at Advanced Micro Devices
- Trustee at Clarkson University
- Trustee at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Co-chairman of New York Hall of Science
- Board member for The Council for the United States and Italy
- Honorary title holder: IBM Fellow
- Awarded the Industrial Research Institute’s IRI Medal in 2010
- Trustee at MITRE Corporation
- Board member at HYPR Corp
- Board member at Topcoder, Inc.
- Board member at Sproxil
- Chairperson for the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education
- Honored with the International Peace Honors Award in 2022