David Thompson is Director of the Corporate Environmental Department for the Panasonic Corporation of North America; he has worked for Panasonic for 21 years and since 1995 has headed parent company Matsushita's corporate environmental department, with responsibility for environmental compliance, state and federal government policy. He has been involved in environmental issues since 1991, when Panasonic played a key role in establishing the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, which was founded to address the environmental issues facing the rechargeable battery industry. In 1994, he began work with the newly formed Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. He is also chairman of the Electronic Manufacturers Coalition for Responsible Recycling, vice chairman of the Environmental Issues Council for the Electronics Industries Alliance and a member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Third-Party Organization Project. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Missouri, a master's degree in Japanese studies at Washington University, a second master's in international relations at the University of Tsukuba (Japan) and studied international economics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.