Retired Chairman

First Chicago NBD Corporation

Richard L. Thomas is Retired Chairman, First Chicago NBD Corporation and The First National Bank of Chicago. He retired in May, 1996, after 38 years at the bank.

Mr. Thomas joined The First National Bank of Chicago in 1958, and soon took on increasing responsibilities in domestic and international banking. In 1965, he opened and managed the bank's first foreign branch in London. He was named senior vice president and general manager of the holding company, First Chicago Corporation, when it was formed in 1969, and was promoted to executive vice president in 1972. The next year, he was elected a director and vice chairman of the corporation and then of the bank. He was elected president of the parent company in May, 1974, and became president of the bank in December, 1975. On January 1, 1992, he was elected chairman, president and chief executive officer. He became chairman of First Chicago NBD Corporation upon its formation December 1, 1995.

Mr. Thomas is currently a director of Commonwealth Edison, and was previously a director of CNA Financial Corporation, Exelon Corporation, The PMI Group, Inc., Sabre Holdings Corporation, and Sara Lee Corporation. He is also a trustee of Rush University Medical Center, a director of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and a director of Millennium Park, Inc. He is also a life trustee and past chairman of the board of Kenyon College, a life trustee and past chairman of the board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and a life trustee of Northwestern University.

In addition, Mr. Thomas is a past president of The Bankers Roundtable, the Association of Reserve City Bankers, and the Association of Bank Holding Companies, as well as a past chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He is also a member and past chairman of The Commercial Club of Chicago and past chairman of the Civic Committee, a member and past president of The Economic Club of Chicago, a past chairman of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, past general campaign chairman of the United Way/Crusade of Mercy, and a past chairman of the Glenwood School for Boys.

In 1993, Mr. Thomas received the Daniel H. Burnham Award for Distinguished Leadership from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and in 1994 he was named the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago "Statesman of the Year," as well as Crain's Chicago Business "Executive of the Year." In 2002, Mr. Thomas received “The Marshall Field History Maker Award for Distinction in Corporate Leadership and Innovation” from the Chicago History Museum.

He received his B.A. degree summa cum laude in 1953 from Kenyon College, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. After study as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Copenhagen in 1954, he joined Inland Steel Company's management training program, but was called to military duty the following year. After serving with Army Intelligence in Iceland, he entered the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, where he received his M.B.A. degree with distinction in 1958, was named a George F. Baker Scholar, and decided on a banking career.

He was born in Marion, Ohio, on January 11, 1931. He and his wife, Helen, live in Winnetka, Illinois.