About Thom Tillis

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Family

THOM TILLIS, age 49, and his wife of 22 years, Susan, and their children Lindsay and Ryan, have lived in the North Mecklenburg area for 12 years.  TILLIS began working in the Charlotte area in 1996 and he relocated from Fairfax, Virginia to Cornelius in 1998.  TILLIS's very active lifestyle includes single-track mountain biking and boating/water sports.  Tillis loves dogs and he has a tradition for naming them after great conservatives, among them Reagan, Abe, and Ike (his most recent addition).

Professional / Education

TILLIS left IBM in 2009 to focus his attention on serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and leading the 2010 House Republican Caucus Campaign Committee.  TILLIS was an executive with IBM Corporation where he led a management consulting practice focused on the financial services industry.  Prior to joining IBM in 2002, TILLIS was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the world's largest accounting and management consulting firms.  TILLIS' 22-year career in technology and management consulting has provided him with a deep understanding of fiscal management, policy making, and transformation of complex organizations.  TILLIS' experience includes responsibility for executing large-scale complex information technology and business improvement projects.

Tillis has deep experience with financial services, utilities, telecommunications and media/entertainment industries.  Among several leadership roles, TILLIS has led business units with hundreds of staff and budgets exceeding $200 million annually.  TILLIS has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland.

Public Service

TILLIS was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006 and he has distinguished himself as a hard-working representative in the legislature.  At the end of his freshman term in 2008, TILLIS was elected the House Republican Whip, one of two elected leadership positions in the House Caucus.  In 2009, TILLIS was the highest rated legislator for promoting a friendly-business environment among the 120 members of the NC House.

TILLIS has been appointed to several important House and joint House/Senate committees, including the Finance, Banking and Financial Institutions, Judiciary, Education, Science and Technology, Ways and Means/Broadband, Information Technology Oversight, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Oversight, Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Oversight, Internet Access to Rural Areas Oversight, and Local Government committees.

TILLIS was elected to the Town of Cornelius Board of Commissioners, where he served from 2003 through 2005.  During his tenure on the Cornelius Town Board, TILLIS served on a number of advisory boards and working groups focused on the Huntersville-Cornelius area, including:

• Chairman of the Dispatch Advisory Board, which oversees the North Mecklenburg 911 Dispatch operation, a partnership between Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson College.

• Member of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, which includes the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson.

• Member of the working/negotiation group of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson officials for the regional economic development agreement (Brookwood Business Park).

• Member of the Fire and Rescue Advisory Board, which oversees the private/public partnership between the Town of Cornelius and the Cornelius-Lemly Volunteer Fire Department.

In 2002, TILLIS served on the Cornelius Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, where he also participated on several ad hoc committees focused on improving recreation and leisure options for the North Mecklenburg area.

Community Service

TILLIS is very active in a variety of charities/non-profits.  For his contributions to the Lake Norman Area communities as a participant in non-profit organizations and as a Commissioner in the Town of Cornelius, TILLIS received the Duke Power Citizenship and Service Award for outstanding service to the Lake Norman and North Mecklenburg Community.  TILLIS has been very active in education-related issues and he views improving schools as a top priority.  TILLIS founded Hopewell High School Project Hope, an activist group, which played a role in significant changes at Hopewell High School.  TILLIS was also elected President of the 2005-2006 PTSA for Hopewell High School, and he continues to work for education reform and school improvement.