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Nicholas M. Donofrio began his career in 1964 at IBM, where he remained for 44 years in increasingly responsible roles, including those of Division President for Advanced Workshops, General Manager of the Large-Scale Computing Division, and Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology.
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 (now NYU); in 2002 he received an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Warwick, England; in 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Technology from Marist College; in 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Pace University awarded him an honorary doctorate in Sciences in 2009; the National University of Ireland, Maynooth awarded him an honorary doctorate in Sciences in 2010; in 2011 he was awarded an honorary degree in science from Syracuse University and in 2017 he was awarded an honorary degree in humane letters from Southern VT College. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary associate degree from Naugatuck Valley Community College. And in 2019 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering from Drexel University.
Donofrio is a Life Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the UK-based Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the US-based National Academy of Engineering, a member of the New York Academy of Science and the CT Academy of Science and Engineering. He served a term as a Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation (2009-2012) and also served on the US Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board (2008-2012). He was a member of the CT Board of Regents for Higher Education (2011-2016 and as Board Chairman from 2013-2016). He is an Executive in Residence and Industry Advisory at Northeastern University’s Center for Technology Management and Digital Leadership.
Donofrio serves as Chairman of the Board of Quantexa (London England), Lead Director of the Board of Sproxil Corporation (Cambridge MA) and Lead Director of HYPR Corp (New York, NY). He also served as co-chair of the Board of the New York Hall of Science (2007-2017) and now serves as Chairman Emeritus.
He is a member of the Board of Security Score Card, New York Genome Institute, Syracuse University (Life Trustee), Medici Group and Ravenpod Inc and was recently named as a founding Trustee for the USA National Semiconductor Technology Center operator Natcast.
He served as a Board member of National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (1982-2002 and as Board Chair 1997-2002), Clarkson University (1987-1992), RPI (1993-2013), In-Roads National Board (2004-2008), Top-Coder (2009-2013), O’Brien & Gere (2013-2016), BNY Mellon (1998-2017), Liberty Mutual (2010-2018), AMD (2009-2018), APTIV (2009-2022), MITRE (2010-2022), The Peace Tech Lab (2014-2023) and National Association of Corporate Directors (2013-2024).
He currently serves as an advisor to Epirus, Flowx.ai, Tera Group, Bloom Value, X994, BBI, Grey Market Labs, Mitchells, Cultiv Ventures and StarVest Partners.
Mr. Donofrio is focused sharply on advancing education, employment and career opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women. He served for many years on the Board of Directors for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and was NACME's Board chair from 1997 through 2002. He served on the National Board of Directors for INROADS (2005-2008), a non-profit organization focused on the training and development of talented minority youth for professional careers in business and industry.
In 2005, Mr. Donofrio was appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a 20-member delegation of business and university leaders charged with developing a new national strategy for post-secondary education that will meet the needs of Americas diverse population and address the economic and workforce needs of the country's future.
In 2006, he was named IBM’s delegate to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a coalition of 190 companies united by a shared commitment to economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. Circa 2003-5, he was one of the key leaders for the US Council on Competitiveness’ National Innovation Initiative study and report ‘Innovate America’.
In 2002, Mr. Donofrio was recognized by Europe's Institution of Electrical Engineers 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.
In 2005 he was honored by CNBC with its Overall Technology Leadership Award. In 2006, he was honored by The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art with the Urban Visionaries Award for Engineering; was named one of Business Week magazine’s 25 Top Innovation Champions and received the Robert Fletcher Award from Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering for distinguished achievement and service.
In 2008, he was honored with SHPE’s Renaissance Engineer award. In 2008, for his leadership in supporting the US Government’s need for high performance computing as the NNSA managed our country’s nuclear stockpile and weapons systems, the NNSA presented Nick with their Gold Medal for Distinguished Service; the first time the agency honored an individual who was not a government employee.
He formed NMD Consulting in 2008 as he graduated from IBM. His autobiography, If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes, was released on May 31, 2022. Most recently, in 2024, Mr. Donofrio was awarded the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) Percy Pierre Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also named a Sigma Xi Fellow.