THOM TILLIS - Speaker Bio

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.  Thom and his family relocated from Fairfax, Virginia to Cornelius in 1998.

Thom's management consulting career has provided him with a deep understanding of fiscal management, policy making, and transformation of complex organizations.  Thom 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 as the Chairman.  Thom was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the world's largest accounting and management consulting firms, which sold its management consulting practice to IBM in 2002.

Since being elected in 2006, Thom has distinguished himself as a hard-working representative in the legislature.  At the end of his freshman term, Thom was elected to the House Republican Whip, one of two elected leadership positions in the House Republican Caucus.

Thom 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.

Thom has established himself as a rock solid fiscal/free-market conservative and an outspoken opponent of tax increases and wasteful government spending.  At the same time, Thom has also demonstrated an ability to work across the aisle to pass important legislation, and he has established a solid reputation for professionalism.

Prior to serving in the legislature, Thom served on the Cornelius Town Board and the Cornelius Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.  Thom served as the President of the Hopewell High School PTSA in 2005-2006.  Thom has also served on several volunteer boards for community non-profit organizations and youth athletics.

Thom's very active lifestyle includes single-track mountain biking and boating/water sports.  Thom loves dogs and he has a tradition for naming them after great conservatives, among them Reagan, Abe, and Ike (his most recent addition).