2009 30 under 40 winners

Thad Ziegler, 33

Chief operations officer, Thad Ziegler Glass Ltd., San Antonio, Texas

Ziegler is part of the fifth generation to join his family’s 115-year-old company. He grew up watching his grandfather and father build their business with honesty and integrity, and he continues to focus on serving his customers. “I deal with customers on all sides of the business now and I get a lot of constructive criticism calls. These people are not problems; they are an opportunity to improve our business. The ones who are calling are the ones who care enough to do something about it. It’s my job to figure out what I can do to fix the problem.”

He and his family focus on changing trends and innovation in order to remain relevant to their customers. “As the industry changes, you have to learn about new products. We’ve added our insulating line and a beveling line. We bought an automatic cutting table to keep up with demand. We’re making changes inside the company to value-added products.”

One-word description of the glass industry: Family
One-word description of self: Fun-loving
Career history: 2000-present, chief operations officer, Thad Ziegler Glass Ltd., San Antonio, Texas; 1998-2000, purchaser, Thad Ziegler Glass Ltd.
Education: 1998, Bachelor of Business Administration, finance, University of Texas, Austin
Diversions: Hanging out with his wife, playing guitar, traveling, golfing
Family: Wife, Anna
Favorite book: “Angels and Demons,” Dan Brown
If a movie were made about your life, who would you cast to play you? Will Ferrell. “He’s amazingly funny and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is much better with a sense of humor.”
Connections: IH-35 North @ AT&T Center Pkwy., 3055 N. Pan Am Expressway,
San Antonio, TX, 78219, 210/224-2061, tcz@zieglerglass.com, www.zieglerglass.com
 

 
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