James C. Thyen, president and CEO of Kimball International Inc., is the 2007-08 College of Business Executive in Residence on Monday, October 1. He will meet with students and classes and offer two public presentations on the topic “To Live is to Change” at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Carter Hall.
Since 1950, Kimball has grown from a company with fewer than 30 employees to an international organization with facilities in seven countries and three continents, and employs more than 7,000 people worldwide. It became a publicly traded company in 1976 and was named to the Fortune 500 list for the first time in 1988.
Kimball was founded as The Jasper Corporation, a small contract furniture manufacturing company in Jasper, Indiana. In 1959, the company acquired the W.W. Kimball Piano Company, and began production of electronics for its organ business two years later with the formation of Kimball Electronics.
Today, Kimball Electronics provides design, engineering, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of electronic assemblies and circuit boards for the automotive, industrial, medical and public safety industries. Its furniture manufacturing segment produces three brands: Kimball Office, Kimball Hospitality, and National.
Thyen joined Kimball in 1966 and has served in various financial and executive capacities. He joined the company’s Board of Directors in 1982, and has served as president since 1997. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Xavier University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University.
For more information about the event, contact the College of Business at 812/464-1718.
Wendy Knipe Bredhold
USI News and Information Services
wkbredhold@usi.edu
812/461-5259
