Candidate: Tom Swiers

Thomas L. “Tom” Swiers is a retired CPA in Illinois and California CPA and an executive manager and business owner who, since 1992 as the owner of The Summit Organization LLC, provided turnaround and restructuring assistance, corporate finance and merger & acquisition services for lower middle market clients primarily in the manufacturing, distribution and service industries. He had a talent for proactively solving a multitude of business problems faced by owner-operators in a rapidly changing global economy.

During his 55-year career, Mr. Swiers acquired and operated three manufacturing companies between 1985 and 1999. Functioning as President & CEO, Swiers was involved with all aspects of business operations for these companies that designed and manufactured hydraulic cylinders for construction and mining equipment OEM’s, branded sleepwear and playwear for infants and toddlers, and machined components for U.S. Navy nuclear reactors and flight-critical aircraft component parts.

Prior to Swiers’ first acquisition in 1985, seventeen of his prior twenty-two years of business experience was as a practicing CPA as a General Partner with the international accounting firm KPMG and a Senior Manager with Arthur Andersen & Co. With both of these firms, Swiers specialized in providing a broad range of services to privately held lower middle market companies including audit, tax, systems design and implementation, acquisition due diligence and general business consulting.

For a five-year period during the mid to late 70’s, Swiers held senior financial officer positions with two major sporting goods manufacturing companies and a NYSE listed defense contractor.

Swiers holds a B.S. in accounting from San Diego State University. He is a past recipient of the prestigious Los Angeles, California Junior Chamber of Commerce “Member of the Year” award, past president and director of United Way of Elk Grove, Illinois, served for twenty-two years as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Village of Kildeer, Illinois, past president of Sonoma Condominium Association, past president and board member of Village Vettes Corvette Club and for a seven year period represented District 2 as an alternate member of the Architectural Review Committee for The Villages.