Fred Thompson serves as Executive Vice President/Managing Director in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. He is also Global Leader of DHR’s Advanced Technology Practice. Prior to joining DHR International, Mr. Thompson served as Office Managing Director at Korn/Ferry International’s Denver office and Senior Client Partner in their Silicon Valley office. As a member of their Advanced Technology Markets, he managed senior-level executive search assignments primarily in the software and communications industries. Mr. Thompson brings with him 25 years of senior and executive management experience with software and telecommunications organizations. His professional background encompasses business development, marketing, product management, engineering and extensive international exposure, providing him with an exceptional combination of industry knowledge and a global network of contacts. Previous to his career at Korn/Ferry International, Mr. Thompson was Vice President, Communications Industry, at New Era of Networks (NEON), a software company specializing in e-business solutions and application generation. He was also responsible for all aspects of strategic planning, marketing and business development for the telecommunication and related industries. Mr. Thompson also held senior management positions at Informix Software, Sybase, Siemens - ROLM, Sun Microsystems and AT&T Bell Laboratories (Lucent Technologies) earlier in his career. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and completed his undergraduate studies at Alabama A&M University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.