Budget Hearing Centers is owned and operated by Paul A. Thulin, President/CEO. Mr. Thulin lends to the Company over thirty (30) years of successful medical and business management/marketing experience, i.e., the founder of two national financial services companies. In addition, Mr. Thulin is a Licensed Minnesota Hearing Practitioner that has been practicing for over ten years.
Highlights of Mr. Thulin’s career began in 1973 when at the age of twenty-six he was promoted to the position of National Marketing Director for Studebaker Worthington Corporation’s medical equipment leasing subsidiary. Studebaker Worthington was a New York based Fortune 50 conglomerate. To achieve this recognition he developed finance and true lease finance programs for companies such as IBM, DuPont Medical Systems, and Bell Emergency Helicopters. In 1980 Thulin founded United American Leasing Corporation (UALC) and built this medical and computer leasing company into a nationally recognized business with fourteen (14) offices coast to coast generating $250 million in annual revenue.
As President and sole stockholder of UALC he was instrumental in raising millions of dollars in debt and equity for the business forming funding partnerships with
major organizations such as EDS, Goldman Sacs, and the Bank of Tokyo. During late 1989 after almost a decade of ownership Mr. Thulin sold the $250 million dollar company to Bell Atlantic Corporation, the largest of the Baby Bells. Bell Atlantic purchased UALC to merge the Company into their new Bell Atlantic TriCon Leasing Subsidiary. Mr. Thulin became Executive Vice President/COO of Bell Atlantic TriCon and over the next five years helped build the company into Bell Atlantic’s largest and most profitable subsidiary, generating over $7 billion in annual revenues. Mr. Thulin was promoted to Chief Executive Officer during that period. In addition to his innovation and leadership he was awarded the coveted Bell Atlantic Silver Cup of Excellence by the President of Bell Atlantic. Bell Atlantic sold TriCon to Greyhound Financial during the mid-1990s. After a short time with Greyhound, Thulin retired at age 47.
At the age of 55, Thulin went back to college not to study or teach business management or marketing but to build upon his 30 plus year involvement in the medical industry, i.e., in particular the field of Audiology. After receiving significant private medical training specializing in Audiology, Thulin interned with a veteran Audiologist for two years learning the clinical side of the profession. Thulin passed his Minnesota License Exam and since that time has become a successful Audiology Specialist. Over the years Thulin has prescribed hearing aids for over 1,000 patients in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul areas.
Mr. Thulin is a graduate of the University of Arizona, receiving a graduate degree in Business Administration and also completed his Master’s Degree in the same discipline. He has worked with both Retail and MA patients over the years.