John M. Thompson, BESc'66, LLD'94

Former President, CEO and Chair, IBM Canada Ltd.
Former Chair, TD Bank Financial Group

Dr. Thompson received the Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal in 1989.

Q & A

What makes you proud to be Canadian?

I’m proud to be Canadian because we have a great democracy and society, live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, have an amazing and beautiful geography, have a great education system and have huge opportunities for the future. (And then there’s hockey and poutine!)

How did your Engineering degree launch your success?

My Engineering degree trained me to be a really good problem solver which helped in all aspects of my career. As well, I was taught computer programming and numerical methods in the early 1960s which let me capitalize on the emergence of the information technology industry.

As you reflect on the 150 year history of Canada, what do you consider the biggest Canadian engineering accomplishment?

There are numerous great Canadian engineering accomplishments over history. In my lifetime, some of the marvels I have seen personally and come to mind are: the James Bay Project, the Canada Arm and the CN Tower.