Name Franklin Thomas | Spouse Dawn Conrada (m. ?–1972) | |
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Children Kyle Thomas, Keith Thomas, Hillary Thomas, Kerrie Thomas Parents Viola Atherly Thomas, James Thomas Education Columbia University (1963), Columbia University (1956) | ||
Franklin Augustine (Frank) Thomas (born May 27, 1934) is an American businessman and philanthropist who was president and CEO of the Ford Foundation from 1979 until 1996. Since leaving the foundation, Thomas has continued to serve in leadership positions in American corporations and has been on the board of the TFF Study Group, a nonprofit institution assisting development in South Africa since 2005. Thomas was Chairman of the nonprofit organization September 11 Fund since 2001 and has been involved the Friends of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
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Education
Thomas graduated from Columbia University, where he was a star basketball player and team captain, and the Columbia Law School (the latter in 1963).
Career
Thomas worked as an attorney for the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency (now HUD) in 1963. Thomas was named Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1964. He later served as Deputy Police Commissioner in Charge of Legal Matters for the New York City Police Department for two years, starting in 1965; he was the first African-American to hold the position. Thomas was also president and chief executive officer of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, a non-profit community development corporation, from 1967–1977.
Board of directors
In their article published in the Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, Fowler, Fronmueller and Schifferdecker argued that Thomas was one of eight Citigroup Inc., directors who served on interlocking directorates.
Thomas has served on the board of directors of Cummins, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Inc., Alcoa CBS and PepsiCo, Inc.