Dyfarnu Doethuriaeth er Anrhydedd i’r mentergarwr technoleg, John Thompson

Ganghellor Prifysgol Aberystwyth, yr Gwir Anrhydeddus Arglwydd Thomas o Gwmgiedd gyda John Thompson, cyflwynwyd gyda Gradd Doethur er Anrhydedd

Yn rhan o ddathliadau’r Graddio eleni, cyflwynwyd gradd Doethur er Anrhydedd gan Brifysgol Aberystwyth i’r mentergarwr technoleg, John Thompson.

Graddiodd John Thompson o Aberystwyth mewn Cyfrifiadureg yn 1992, a dechreuodd ar ei yrfa mewn ymchwil technegol yn gweithio i'r Weinyddiaeth Amddiffyn.

Yn 2001 roedd yn un o sefydlwyr Commerce Decisions Ltd lle y bu'n Brif Swyddog Gweithredol, gan gydweithio'n agos â'i frawd Ian (a raddiodd o Aberystwyth mewn Astudiaethau Busnes) i greu meddalwedd i helpu cwsmeriaid ledled y byd i ymgymryd â phrosiectau caffael cymhleth. Mae'r feddalwedd wedi'i defnyddio mewn 12,000 o brosiectau, gwerth £265bn gyda'i gilydd.

Gwerthodd John y cwmni i QinetiQ plc ym mis Hydref 2008 mewn cytundeb gwerth £12m.

Yn 2012 creodd UserReplay Limited, sef technoleg i helpu perchnogion gwefannau i ddeall a datrys materion sy'n achosi rhwystredigaeth i gwsmeriaid.

Erbyn hyn mae'n gadeirydd ac yn ymgynghorydd i sawl cwmni technoleg sydd ar gamau cynnar eu datblygiad.

Cafodd John Thompson ei gyflwyno gan yr Athro Qiang Shen, Cyfarwyddwr Athrofa Mathemateg, Ffiseg a Chyfrifiadureg ar ddydd Iau 19 Gorffennaf 2018. Mae’r cyflwyniad ar gael isod, yn yr iaith y’i traddodwyd.

Cyflwyniad i John Thompson gan Yr Athro Qiang Shen:

Ganghellor, Is-Ganghellor, darpar raddedigion, gyfeillion.  Pleser o’r mwyaf yw cyflwyno John Thompson am radd Doethur er Anrhydedd, Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, prospective graduates and supporters.  It is an honour and a privilege to present John Thompson for an Honorary Doctorate Degree at Aberystwyth University.

John is a leading player in the software industry, with strong connections to Aberystwyth, coming to study in the Department of Computer Science in 1989. He recalls being given 4 megabytes of storage per student to last for 3 years, and I doubt the department’s graduands sitting here today would have been impressed had we given them a similar allocation. But back in the early nineties, 4 megabytes represented a huge amount of storage for an undergraduate used to dealing in just kilobytes.

John graduated with the top 1st for his class of 1992 and went on to do four years research into Requirements Engineering for Software and Systems for the Ministry of Defence.

In 2001 John co-founded Commerce Decisions Ltd and working with his brother Ian Thompson - himself an Aberystwyth alumnus - built a software company that supported customers in 12,000 complex procurement projects, with a combined value of $350bn. Clients included London 2012, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Australian Government. Indeed, the first University to become a customer of the software was Aberystwyth, after the software was adopted by the Welsh Government in 2006.  According to John, this was sheer coincidence but it may reflect the fact that Aber is an innovative University and an early adopter of new technologies. John eventually sold the company to QinetiQ plc in a deal worth £12m in 2008, and was delighted to learn that the executive put in to run the company by QinetiQ was also an Aberystwyth alumnus.

In 2012 John started his second business project - User Replay Limited. UserReplay is a technology for improving eCommerce sites by enabling website owners to understand and resolve issues causing frustration to consumers.

In 2015 John commenced investigating Machine Learning techniques which could potentially bring a step change to the field of eCommerce analytics, and returned to Aberystwyth to discuss ideas with Prof Chris Price, Dr Richard Jensen and myself. This resulted in a successful joint Aberystwyth/UserReplay project, funded by InnovateUK, which led to a new UserReplay software system that is now used by leading global eCommerce companies throughout the USA and Europe.

In January this year John stepped down after 17 years in CEO positions to start a portfolio career with multiple business interests. He is now a non-executive Chairman at two software companies with multi-million pound turnovers, retained as an advisor to a number of London based tech start-ups, and by a leading UK Venture Capital company.

John has made a substantial and important contribution to society. His efforts have created over one hundred jobs, and the software he created at Commerce Decisions has added value to major Government projects with total budgets of $350bn around the world. John always says his Computer Science degree from Aberystwyth was pivotal in helping develop his business career.

Aber has always been very important to John and he has enjoyed returning to the Department to speak as a guest lecturer on a number of occasions over the last 26 years, and we look forward to further inspiring visits in the future.

It is not only John who has strong connections to Aberystwyth. His son Joe is currently studying for a degree in Computer Science and we believe that this is the first father/son combination for the Department. His daughter Susie will be coming to Aber this September to study International Politics. Both John’s sister (Susie) and brother (Ian) are Aber Alumni, with Susie graduating from the History department in 1998 and Ian from the Business School in 2001.

The connections of John’s extended family with Aber are just as strong. Both John’s brother-in-laws are also graduates of the Computer Science department – and his sister-in-law graduated in Law in 2000. John’s family is indeed steeped in Aber’s history.

Ganghellor, mae’n bleser gen i gyflwyno John Thompson i chi am radd Doethur er Anrhydedd.

Chancellor, it is my absolute pleasure to present John Thompson to you for an Honorary Doctorate Degree.

Anrhydeddau Prifysgol Aberystwyth 2018

Bydd Prifysgol Aberystwyth yn anrhydeddu naw o bobl yn ystod seremonïau graddio 2018, a gynhelir yng Nghanolfan Gelfyddydau’r Brifysgol rhwng dydd Mawrth 17 Gorffennaf a dydd Gwener 20 Gorffennaf.

Cyflwynir chwe Chymrawd er Anrhydedd i unigolion a chanddynt gysylltiad ag Aberystwyth neu â Chymru ar hyn o bryd neu yn y gorffennol, ac sydd wedi gwneud cyfraniad eithriadol i’w dewis feysydd.

Cyflwynir un radd Doethuriaeth Er Anrhydedd hefyd; mae’r rhain yn cydnabod unigolion sydd wedi bod yn eithriadol o lwyddiannus yn eu maes, neu sydd â record hir o ymchwil a chyhoeddi nodedig.

Cyflwynir dwy radd Baglor er Anrhydedd. Cyflwynir y rhain i unigolion sy’n aelodau o staff Prifysgol Aberystwyth heb radd lefel-mynediad, i gydnabod eu gwasanaeth hir, eu cyfraniad a’u hymrwymiad i’r Sefydliad; ac i aelodau o’r gymuned leol sydd wedi gwneud cyfraniad sylweddol i Aberystwyth a’r cyffiniau.

Cymrodoriaethau er Anrhydedd:

Cyflwynir Cymrodoriaethau er Anrhydedd i:

• Yr Athro Ann Sumner – hanesydd celf, curadur arddangosfeydd, a chyfarwyddwraig amgueddfa
• Bonamy Grimes MBE – gwe-entrepreneur a chyd-sylfaenydd y wefan cymharu prisiau teithiau awyren, Skyscanner
• Euryn Ogwen Williams – darlledydd profiadol a ffigwr arloesol yn y cyfryngau yng Nghymru
• John Dawes OBE – cyn-chwaraewr a chyn-hyfforddwr rygbi rhyngwladol
• Yr Athro Menna Elfyn – bardd a dramodydd arobryn
• Ei Anrhydedd y Barnwr Milwyn Jarman QC – barnwr blaenllaw.

Urddwyd yr awdur a’r ysgolhaig, yr Athro Meic Stephens yn Gymrawd er Anrhydedd Prifysgol Aberystwyth mewn seremoni arbennig yng Nghaerdydd ddydd Iau 3 Mai 2018. Bu farw yr Athro Stephens ar ddydd Iau 3 Gorffennaf.

Gradd Doethur er Anrhydedd:

Cyflwynir gradd Doethur er Anrhydedd i’r entrepreneur technoleg a dylunydd meddalwedd, John Thompson.

Graddau Baglor er Anrhydedd:

Cyflwynir gradd Baglor yn y Gwyddorau er Anrhydedd i gyn Reolwr Gorsaf Dân Aberystwyth, Eric Harries, a drefnodd ac arwain 50 o deithiau dyngarol i Ddwyrain Ewrop i gynorthwyo rhai diniwed a ddioddefai oherwydd rhyfel.

Cyflwynir Gradd Baglor yn y Celfyddydau er Anrhydedd i Sue Jones-Davies, actor a chantores, cynghorydd tref, a chyn Faer Aberystwyth.

John Thompson

Left to right: University Chancellor Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, John Thompson, University Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Treasure

Rhannu