About B. Thomas Golisano

B. Thomas Golisano

July 2011

B. Thomas Golisano founded Paychex, Inc. in 1971 and is chairman of the company’s board. Until October 2004, he served as president and chief executive officer of the company. As much as he is known as a savvy businessman who built – from the ground up – a top national provider of payroll and business solutions, Golisano is also known as a generous philanthropist.

Since 1985, Golisano has donated more than $145 million to charities, including a combined total $34 million to Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Golisano’s 2002 gift of $14 million transformed the hospital, especially its critical care services for kids. In addition, the Golisano Foundation, which he founded in 1985, has given $1.6 million to the University of Rochester’s Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities to establish the Institute for Innovative Transition, which serves young adults with developmental disabilities. Golisano’s new gift of $20 million will jumpstart the construction of a whole new facility designed to meet the medical needs of the region’s children and families.

Golisano demonstrates ongoing generosity and commitment to the greater Rochester community, home of Paychex corporate headquarters, and other organizations in upstate and western New York. He has focused much of his giving on healthcare, education and services for those with intellectual disabilities. For example, a 2010 gift to Special Olympics International expanded training and increased the number of health care professionals to provide screenings at Special Olympics events to help meet the unmet healthcare needs of people with intellectual disabilities, and ensure that athletes can receive follow-up care.

Golisano has made transformative donations to every health system in the Rochester area, to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, and many higher education institutions in western New York including Rochester Institute of Technology and Niagara University.

Golisano, is the founding sponsor of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, and is the major underwriter this year for the sixth consecutive year. The CGI convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges in the areas of education, poverty, health and the environment.

A native of Irondequoit, NY, a suburb of Rochester, Golisano is a graduate of the State University of New York at Alfred.