President and CEOKansas Bioscience Authority
Tom Thornton is the first President and CEO of the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) and has served as the KBA's President and CEO since November 2006. Before joining the KBA, Tom served as President and CEO of the Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA), establishing it as one of the most respected technology development organizations in the country.
Tom has led several public/private task forces that have successfully sited large-scale federal research investment in Illinois. Tom was the Senior Vice President for Convergent Technology Group, a Seattle-based mergers and acquisitions advisory services firm; and Managing Partner for divine interVentures, Inc., an early-stage venture investment fund. Early in his career, Tom served as Director of Policy for Representative J. Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tom earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. A native of Ottawa, Ill., Tom lives in Fairway, Kan.