Executive Profile

Timothy E. Thorsteinson

President, Chief Operating Officer

Tim Thorsteinson is president and chief operating officer of the Grass Valley Group. The privately held digital broadcast and video equipment company focuses squarely on helping broadcasters and video professionals make a successful transition to digital content production and distribution, and to take advantage of the video opportunities presented by increasing digital bandwidth.

Prior to the Grass Valley Group, Thorsteinson served as president of the Video and Networking Division (VND) of Tektronix. During his tenure as VND president, Thorsteinson drove an intense R&D program focused on the transition of the worldwide broadcast industry from analog to digital and into the multimedia age, and targeted several new adjacent, growth markets for similar programs. As well, he transformed the division into a highly efficient operation. Thorsteinson was instrumental in the sale of VND to the Grass Valley Group.

He joined Tektronix in October 1991 and in August 1997 was named president. Before heading VND, Thorsteinson was president of Tektronix Pacific Operations, one of three units established to accelerate growth in key international markets. Under Thorsteinson's leadership, the Pacific region became an important contributor to the company's success. During his tenure in the Pacific region, he moved operational management to the area, building a strong local executive team. He re-engineered the company's largest business in the region, changed measurement sales to a direct model, and expanded the color printer distribution channel. In China, he formed a wholly owned distribution company, expanding sales capacity, and created a product development effort in Beijing. He also boosted printer, and video, and networking sales across the Pacific region.

Before joining Tektronix, Thorsteinson was at Santa Clara, California-based National Semiconductor Corporation for 12 years, serving as director of quality performance. He designed several highly successful programs focused on process re-engineering and total quality management and received Singapore's coveted Gold Medal Award, the nation's equivalent of the Malcolm Baldridge Award. He also helped National Semiconductor transform its relationship with AT&T to become the telecommunications giant's most valued supplier.

A native of California, Thorsteinson attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and received a bachelor of arts degree in 1976.