Thomas Groos is a partner of City Light Capital, a venture capital firm involved in the security, media and industrial sectors. He is also Executive Chairman of the Viking Group of Grand Rapids, MI, a global supplier of fire protection systems. Prior to becoming Chairman in 2007, Mr. Groos served as Chief Executive, President, and various other positions at Viking spanning a 24 year period. During his tenure the company evolved from a one location, USA based manufacturing company to a global manufacturing and distribution entity with 45 locations across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Revenues and profits grew by more than 50 times during his tenure with the company. Mr. Groos was also involved in the Tyden Group, a holding company for several security product companies, serving as Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors. A graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Business School, he developed an interest in manufacturing and operations during college summers working in construction, a machine shop and a foundry. He started his business career at WR Grace Company in Corporate Finance. Today he serves as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army of West Michigan and on the Board of the Deming Center for Productivity and Competitiveness at Columbia. He is a guest lecturer at Grand Valley State University Graduate School of Business and Columbia Business School.