NLGI Interviews Jim Hunt
Global Sales and Marketing Director Tiarco Chemical, LLC Dalton, Georgia By Mary Moon and Raj Shah
In August 2020, Jim Hunt accepted the gavel from Joe Kaperick and started his twoyear term as President of the NLGI. Jim has served on NLGI’s Executive Committee, chaired the Membership Committee, and been an active member of the Board for several years. Jim shared some words of wisdom about sales and management, his devotion to the NLGI, and one slightly pampered Yorkshire Terrier named Koko. To learn more about who drives the golf cart in the Jim’s household, read on! Career
NLGI: Please tell us a little bit about where you grew up and your education. JH: My childhood was almost nomadic by nature. My Mom remarried when I was seven years old. My Stepfather was responsible for setting up central offices for GTE Corporation. GTE had been General Telephone & Electronics Corporation and the
largest independent telephone company in the United States. In 1990, Bell Atlantic acquired GTE and renamed it Verizon Communications. Each time a new central office was completed, we would usually move to another location.
NLGI: How did you become interested in business?
My Brother and Stepfather were professionals in the telecommunications industry. Fibre optics was the next wave of communications, and I was very interested in being involved in this cutting-edge technology. So I enrolled at Tampa Technical Institute (Tampa, Florida), received my degree in Applied Computer Science, and planned to specialize in fibre optics R&D. Instead, I became a general manager (GM) for a specialty coatings manufacturing company in Tampa, Florida and managed over 30 people while I was still in my early twenties. I loved leading and managing a team, and I chose a different destiny and career path.
When I was 21, I started working in the chemical industry. My first job in the chemicals industry was working for a paint and coatings company in Tampa. My sales career began thirty years when I became an account manager for a chemical distributor in the south-eastern United States.
For example, my family and I spent two years (1975-77) in Tehran, Iran. This experience was truly the turning point in my childhood. I learned to appreciate all the freedoms and many other benefits we take for granted living in this amazing country of ours.
JH: I have always had a passion for business, starting at the age of nine when I had a newspaper route. What an experience! I learned about every aspect of the business, from receiving a product, converting the product (folding each newspaper), delivering the product, collecting receivables, and taking care of the accounts payable. I enjoyed the entire program, except collecting payments from my customers.
NLGI: What led you to join Tiarco Chemical? JH: I joined Tiarco Chemical to explore opportunities that I might never experience working at a larger corporation, and I wanted the opportunity to make a positive impact on our business and our employees. I was fortunate to
- 20 NLGI Spokesman | VOLUME 85, NUMBER 2 | May/June 2021
