Tom's Roots
Tom Knox grew up in Philadelphia’s Abbottsford housing project. He is the oldest of four sons of Thomas and Margaret Knox.
Tom’s father was a steel worker at the nearby Midvale-Heppenstall Steel plant and his mother supplemented the family income by selling homemade pizzas to their neighbors. Tom worked to help his mother and father provide for his younger brothers.
At 16, Tom left high school and chose to join the Navy so that he could send a portion of his pay back to his family. After 4 years of service and 2 promotions, Tom left the Navy and returned to Philadelphia. Tom started working as a door-to-door salesman, but his entrepreneurial spirit soon led him elsewhere. He began creating and protecting jobs by starting his own businesses, and by turning failing businesses around.
Over the past three decades he has owned, managed, and sold his own software, banking, and health care insurance companies, including Disc Systems, Inc., Crusader Bank, Fidelity Insurance Group, Gimco International, and Kasser Industries. Tom rapidly developed a reputation as a tough negotiator and turn-around specialist.
Read more about how Tom Knox got into politics -> |