Mr. Thompson graduated from Millikin University in 1971 with a BS in accounting. After brief stints in both public (Ernst & Ernst) and private accounting (Archer Daniels Midland), in 1972 he became a cash grain merchandiser in ADM’s Soybean Processing Division, and eventually managed all west coast sales efforts. In 1974, Mr. Thompson became the President of Lincoln Grain’s Country Elevator Division responsible for all facets of the operation. In 1977, he joined the retail brokerage industry and was a consistent top performer at both Lincoln Commodities, Inc. and Dean Witter & Co.

In 1991, as CEO of AccuTrade Inc., the forerunner of AmeriTrade, he directed one of the largest direct response advertising campaigns ever mounted within the securities brokerage industry. In his two-plus years as its senior executive, AccuTrade significantly increased its customer base, daily volume, gross revenues, safekeeping balances, and net income. In 1994, Mr. Thompson joined Fahnestock Viner Holdings, Inc. as the President and CEO of its newly formed deep-discount brokerage arm, Freedom Investments, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange member firm. 

In 1998, Mr. Thompson formed R. J. Thompson Securities, Inc. (“RJT”), an on-line deep discount brokerage firm. In June of 1999, after the conclusion of a successful private placement of securities of RJT, RJT acquired InfoComp International, Inc., a software development firm that owned several automated brokerage applications. In November 2001, RJT was acquired by TD Waterhouse, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto Dominion Bank.