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Jerry W. Thomas
Jerry W. Thomas graduated from Arlington High School and enrolled in Arlington State College in 1959. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in economics from Arlington State College (now the University of Texas at Arlington) in 1963. The following year he received his MBA from the University of Texas in Austin.
While attending UTA, he was an ROTC cadet from 1959 through his graduation in 1963. Mr. Thomas was recognized as a Distinguished Military Student. He served as the Captain of the Pistol team in 1962 and earned a place on the All American Pistol Team. In summer boot camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1962, he was recognized as the top cadet from the Southwestern US, and was the Trainfire Rifle Champion, shooting the highest score ever recorded by a cadet at Fort Sill. His senior year at UTA Mr. Thomas served as Deputy Corps Commander, headed up the Students Activity Board, and served on the Student Council. A day before he was scheduled to be commissioned, Mr. Thomas received a medical disqualification because of a perforated eardrum. His plan to enter the Army thwarted, Mr. Thomas set off to get his MBA and enter the business world.
He began his career at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City as a management trainee. Two years later he joined Anderson Clayton Foods as an assistant brand manager. Later he was promoted to brand manager of new products. In 1969 he joined MARC, a large U.S. marketing research firm. Over the next nine years, he worked his way up to Senior Vice President in charge of client service in the western half of the U.S. In 1978, he founded Decision Analyst, Inc. Over the past 28 years, the company has evolved into a major marketing research and marketing consulting firm with more than n 200 employees. The firm is a world leader in the development of internet-based research panels and related technologies, serving a number of large firms, such as Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Del Monte, Nabisco, Nestle, General Mills, Sprint, A T & T, Qwest Communication, and Southwestern Bell Telephone.
In addition to his professional career, Mr. Thomas has long been a supporter of UTA. He has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board that governs the graduate program in marketing research at UTA since 1994, helping to create one of the top graduate marketing research programs in the world. The Advisory Board provides over 20 graduate marketing research scholarships annually. Mr. Thomas was recognized as one of the Distinguished Alumni of UTA in 2000 and was inducted into the Military Science Department Hall of Honor in 2001. He served as President of the Cadet Corps Alumni Chapter from 2003-2006.
Mr. Thomas, his wife of 41 years, Betty, and his three sons (Jason, Justin and Jonathan) reside in Arlington, Texas.