Bert Thornton
Vice Chairman Emeritus of Waffle House
Albert S. (Bert) Thornton was born in New Orleans, LA in 1945, grew up in Tampa, Florida. and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a full football scholarship.
Bert served two years as an artillery officer in the United States Army and served one tour with the 5th Battalion, 2nd Artillery in South Vietnam.
Upon separation from the service, he worked as a systems analyst and salesman in NCR’s IT Division, and in 1971, Bert joined Waffle House as a manager trainee. Four years later, he became a Vice President and in 2004 was named President and Chief Operations Officer. Today, he is the retired Vice Chairman Emeritus of Waffle House.
Bert is also very active at Georgia Tech, serving from 1996-2000 as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Trustees. In 2001 and 2002,he was named President of the Alumni Association. He has been a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees since 2001 where he has served on the Finance, Development, and Stewardship Committees. In 2016 Bert received the Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award, the highest award conferred by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.
Bert is a member of the board of directors of The Studer Community Institute in Pensacola, Florida and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of West Florida, College of Business- Center for Entrepreneurship.
He also has an Advisory Board role with The Museum School of Avondale Estates, a top state-ranked charter public elementary-middle school in DeKalb County, Georgia where he is a former founding trustee of the school.
Bert is the author of three books. His first, Find an Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Lifewas awarded the Bugbee-Falk national book award and is recommended by the Association of University Programs in Healthcare Administration in over 100 colleges and universities. It is a self-mentoring handbook for the development of rising high achievers and emerging leaders. Bert’s second book, High Impact Mentoring: A Practical Guide to Creating Value in Other People’s Lives (co-authored with Dr. Sherry Hartnett) is a handbook for both personal mentors and C-suite leaders. High Impact Mentoring coaches how to conduct a one-on-one positive, successful, impactful mentoring experience and how to scale that singular effort up to create a successful mentoring program in any size organization. Bert’s third book, The Missing Degree: Leadership and Business Management Skills They Failed to Cover in Your Technical/Professional Training, bridges the gap between formal education and the omitted leadership and business skills now needed by technically and professionally oriented high achievers.
Bert lives in Perdido Key, Florida with Kathy, wife of 53 years, Kathy and Bert have three daughters: Aspen, Chaice, and Mayson. All three girls are very successful graduates of Georgia Tech.
