Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> October 30, 2000
TOM MADSEN, President and CEO, leads Key Technology, Inc. with nearly 30
years of engineering and management experience. In 1972, he moved to
Walla Walla, Washington to work for Key Electro Sonic in Milton-
Freewater, Oregon. There he held various positions, including Vice
President of Engineering (1975), Vice President of Operations (1979),
and President (1980). Three years later, Mr. Madsen and a small group of
investors organized a management buy-out of the company and formed Key
Technology, Inc. In July 1993, he led Key Technology through a
successful initial public offering of its common stock, which is traded
on the NASDAQ National Market System. A native of the Portland area, Mr.
Madsen holds a Bachelor of Science-Mechanical Engineering degree from
Oregon State University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and a
graduate of the Stanford Executive Program. Active in his community, Tom
serves as a Board member for Key Technology, Inc. and the local YMCA. He
was named 1997 Small Business Person of the Year for Eastern Washington
by the US Small Business Administration. In the fall of 1999, Mr. Madsen
was inducted into the Oregon State University Academy of Distinguished
Engineers. He is past Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Food
Processing Machinery and Supplies Association, and was the 1985
recipient of Food Engineering's Innovator of the Year Award. Profile
Technology, Inc.?
Mr. Madsen: We like to think of Key Technology as a new technology
company, built on the foundation of a
