Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> January 26, 2004
THOMAS P. SMITH is President, Director and co-Founder of Taser
International, Inc. Mr. Smith has served as President of the company
since April 1994 and as a member of the Board of Directors since 1993.
Mr. Smith and his brother founded the company in September 1993. Mr.
Smith had primary responsibility for establishing the operations and
logistics of the company in the beginning while his brother focused on
research and development and marketing. From 1994-1996, Mr. Smith was
responsible for the accounting, finance and operations. In 1996, Mr.
Smith had responsibility for moving the manufacturing operations from
the US to Mexico using a Cessna 414 that he piloted to commute weekly
from Scottsdale to Mexico. He ran the manufacturing and operations areas
in the US and Mexico through 2001 and the final relocation from Mexico
back to Scottsdale. Starting in 1997, Mr. Smith began his involvement in
the export sales activities in addition to his manufacturing and
operations responsibilities. After the company's IPO in May 2001, Mr.
Smith moved full-time into the company's sales area where his primary
responsibility remains today. Mr. Smith also oversees the highly
sensitive area of aircraft security and has spent over a year assisting
with lobbying efforts in Washington, DC. He holds a BS degree in Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and an MBA
degree from Northern Arizona University. Mr. Smith joined Andersen
Consulting in mid-1991, working specifically in the areas of
operations, distribution and logistics. He left Andersen Consulting to
join Jostens Learning as a Program Analyst in late 1992. His primary
area of responsibility focused on order processing and distribution
along with financial reporting. Profile
Mr. Smith: My brother and I started the company back in 1993, so we are
a little over 10 years into this. We spent the first seven
