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Executive Team 




TASER brings a wealth of management talent and experience to its leadership team.


 
Rick Smith  CEO, Director and Cofounder 
Mr. Smith has served as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company since 1993.  He is also cofounder of the Company. After graduating from Harvard cum laude in just three years (class of 1991), Mr. Smith entered directly into the Master of Business Administration Program at the University of Chicago, the youngest person accepted into his class that year.  In two years, he completed both a master's degree in international finance from the University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, and an M.B.A. with honors at the University of Chicago (normally a two-year program in itself), graduating in the top 5% of his class.  After completing graduate school in the summer of 1993, he cofounded TASER International with his brother on September 7, 1993.
 
Thomas P. Smith  Chairman of the Board and Cofounder 
Mr. Smith previously served as President of the Company from April 1994 until October 2006. Mr. Smith is currently the Chairman of the Board and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1993.  Mr. Smith and his brother founded the Company in September 1993.  Mr. Smith had primary responsibility for establishing the operations and logistics of the Company in the beginning while his brother focused on research, development and marketing.  From 1994 through 1996, Mr. Smith was responsible for accounting, finance, and operations. In 1996, Mr. Smith had responsibility for moving the manufacturing operations from the U.S. to Mexico.  He ran the manufacturing and operations areas in the U.S. and Mexico through 2001 and the final relocation from Mexico back to Scottsdale. Starting in 1997, Mr. Smith began his involvement in the export sales activities in addition to his manufacturing and operations responsibilities.

After the Company's IPO in May 2001, Mr. Smith moved full-time into the Company's sales area as President of the Company until October 2006.  Today, his primary responsibility as Chairman is investor relations and public affairs. Mr. Smith also oversees the highly sensitive area of aircraft security and has spent several years assisting with lobbying efforts in Washington, DC and multiple states.  He holds a B.S. degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. degree from Northern Arizona University.
 
Douglas E. Klint  President and General Counsel   

Doug Klint serves as TASER’s President and General Counsel and has been with the Company since December, 2002. As President, Klint oversees TASER’s Hardware Group including Operations, Research & Development, Human Capital, Advance Research, MarCom, Medical & Technical Services, and Government & Public Affairs. As General Counsel, Klint oversees TASER’s robust legal department, managing risk management, litigation, corporate governance, securities compliance, intellectual property, employment law, and patent law.

Klint joined TASER from Aspec Technology in Sunnyvale, California, where he served as CEO and previously as Vice President and General Counsel. Klint was Vice President and General Counsel for Gatefield Corporation and Zycad Corporation, as well as a partner in the law firm of Talle, Klint, and Trimble. Mr. Klint holds a B.A. degree from Gustavus Adolphus College and a J.D. degree, Cum Laude, from William Mitchell College of Law.

A native of Minnesota, Klint and his wife reside in Arizona but enjoy a retreat in Minnesota where they can enjoy the four seasons and their three children who live there.

 
Daniel M. Behrendt  Chief Financial Officer 

Dan Behrendt serves as TASER’s Chief Financial Officer. In his capacity as CFO, Behrendt oversees all aspects of corporate finance, information technology, and investor relations.

Mr. Behrendt joined TASER in May 2004 from Imperial Home Décor, after serving in a number of financial management positions for the Imperial Home Décor Group, including Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Vice President and Corporate Controller and finally Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. From 1995 to 1998, he served as the Manager of Business Planning and Analysis for Teledyne Fluid Systems, a division of Allegheny Teledyne. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Manager, Business Planning and Analysis for PCC Airfoils, Inc. From 1988 to 1991, Mr. Behrendt was a Financial Analyst for the Power Generation Group of Babcock and Wilcox, and from 1986 to 1988, he worked as an auditor for Arthur Andersen and Co. in their Cleveland, Ohio office.

Mr. Behrendt holds a B.S. degree in Accounting, Cum Laude, from Mount Union College and a Masters of Business Administration degree from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Raised in New Jersey with twenty years in Ohio under his belt, Dan has settled in sunny in Arizona and enjoys the weather upgrade by cycling year-round.

 
Raymond G. Rivera  Chief Information Officer 

Ray Rivera serves as TASER’s Chief Information Officer and is a founding member of TASER. Prior to joining TASER International, Inc. Rivera was the Information Technology Manager for the City of Peoria in Peoria, Arizona.

Rivera’s previous experience includes serving as the Systems Engineer Manager for Gateway Data Sciences located in Tempe Arizona, which specialized in system integration technology. Mr. Rivera was also a systems analyst for Columbia Pictures/Home Video in Burbank California.

Rivera holds a B.S. degree in Information Systems from DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona.

 
Jas Dhillon  Chief Strategy Officer 

Jas Dhillon joined TASER in August, 2008 as Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager of TASER Virtual Systems. As Chief Strategy Officer, Dhillon manages the expansion and progress of the company's strategic plans to enhance growth while overseeing all new product and business development.

Dhillon joins TASER International with 11 years of CEO experience and 12 years of Fortune 100 operational leadership, management consulting and venture capital experience.

Most recently, Dhillon was a Senior Executive at Microsoft(r), leading the team responsible for Business Development, Strategy, Product Innovation, and Mergers/Acquisitions for Microsoft Office Live, one of Microsoft's four strategic initiatives that spearhead Microsoft's transition to a "Software plus Service" business model. He was responsible for the Business Social Networking, Sales and Marketing Offers, and Unmanaged Communications Services platforms.

Prior to Microsoft, Dhillon was the CEO and Founder of "ZeroDegrees Inc.," a leading social networking company for business users, which was acquired by IAC InterActiveCorp. Dhillon served as CEO for two years post acquisition and continued driving the growth of the company. Before ZeroDegrees, Mr. Dhillon was CEO and Founder of Blueline Online Inc., now CTSPACE Inc., a market leader in secure inter-enterprise project collaboration and one of the early innovators in delivering project supply chain collaboration solutions via "Software as a Service" to Fortune 100 multinational customers.

Dhillon resides with his wife and twin boys in Santa Barbara, California.

 
Steven T. Mercier  Executive Vice President of Operations 

Steve Mercier joined TASER in February, 2008 as Executive Vice President of Operations. Mercier comes to TASER with more than 20 years of experience in operations. In his role, Mercier oversees all aspects of operations, including manufacturing, new product introductions, quality assurance and research and development.

Mercier began his 20 year career at Intel Corporation in Chandler, AZ in 1984 and held a variety of positions with Intel through 2006, culminating in the position of Global Operations Senior Manager for Corporate Strategic Operations.

After leaving Intel Corporation, Mercier formed his own firm, Mercier International Consulting in Scottsdale, AZ, and from 2006-2008 provided client organizations with operational assessments, identifying gaps, analyzing root cause, developing corrective actions and directing global implementation of new sites.

 
Irene Blomgren  Executive Vice President of Human Capital Development 

Irene Blomgren came on board with TASER in August, 2008. In her capacity as Executive Vice President of Human Capital Development, she is charged with recruiting key executives and staff, as well as implementing strategic human capital development programs including targeted training and a new leadership development program for recent college grads. These initiatives will help guide the company's future growth.

Blomgren joins TASER International with more than 13 years of experience as an executive recruiter and human resource consultant in the Silicon Valley. In 1997, she established Technology Resources, Inc. to partner with companies in high growth phases to develop and execute strategic recruitment and retention plans. However, after working with TASER International to hire the most recent executives and staff of the newly opened TASER Virtual Systems, she elected to transition out of her own practice and focus full time on building TASER International's future management team.

Blomgren holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.

A California transplant, Blomgren enjoys spending time at Lake Almanor in California with her husband and three children.

Last Updated: 2/8/2010 3:50 PM