The company was ranked the 7th best place to work in the United States on the Great Places to Work annual 2012 Best Small & Medium Workplaces list. It isn't the first time OtterBox has been ranked, coming in at 22nd on Entrepreneur Magazine's list the previous year.
“As much as we seek to be a leader in providing protective solutions for mobile technology, we also strive to be a best-in-class employer,” said OtterBox President and CEO Brian Thomas (BBA '96, Industrial Marketing). It seems as though his efforts to do so are paying off.
Thomas also happens to be a WMU Alumnus. After becoming an account executive manager for Honda Manufacturing at Magna International, Thomas decided to leave Michigan and pursue a second undergraduate degree at Colorado State University. He chose secondary education and biology and taught high school for a short time.
In 2003, Thomas joined OtterBox which at the time was producing waterproof boxes and cases for PDA's, tablets, iPods—and even cigars.
Thomas was a sales representative for Cigar Caddy and realized quickly that the company had great potential to expand. He began creating relationships with companies like Apple and Hewlett Packard. Soon the company was expanding into the area of smartphones.
Thomas is careful to not take all the credit, however.
"In my eyes, founder Curt Richardson's wisdom, risk-taking and belief in me to 'run his baby,' have helped shape OtterBox into the company it is today," Thomas said.
To read more about what got OtterBox on the Great Places to Work List, please follow the links below:
OTTERBOX — Ranked #7 in 2012
OTTERBOX— Ranked #22 in 2011
To learn more about Brian Thomas, please follow the link below:
OTTERBOX.COM — BIO: BRIAN THOMAS