Thomas Holmes is an American executive. Holmes was born in Wilmington,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where his father, John Thomas Holmes, was chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Holmes' father died when Thomas was 10 years old. Holmes graduated from Wilmington High School in 1941. Holmes served as a naval pilot in the Pacific Theatre in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He then attended the

University of Missouri–Rolla Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busin ...

(UMR) with the help of the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

. He majored in

mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. He went on to work for

Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technologies) ...

for 30 years, eventually becoming

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in 1980, stepping down in 1988. In the 1990s, he was chairman of

W.R. Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the ...

. He is known among residents of Wilmington for providing a full scholarship that allows other Wilmington High students to study at UMR."A gift for Wilmington's future"
''Wilmington Advocate'', December 14, 2006.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Thomas American chief executives Living people People from Wilmington, Massachusetts Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni Year of birth missing (living people)