Richard Thalheimer
Richard Thalheimer (born in 1948) is a former Little Rock resident and founder of The Sharper Image. The company got its name from a part-time office supply business Thalheimer started at age 24. Thalheimer promoted his photocopy machines as giving customers a "sharper image." His business, focusing increasingly on consumer-oriented gadgets, grew rapidly with the introduction of a runner's watch. Thalheimer was ousted as CEO by the company's board of directors on September 26, 2006, after missing sales targets and controversy sparked by a Consumer Reports investigation into Ionic Breeze air purifier. He remained on the board of directors until selling all his share of the company in May 2007; The Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy in February 2008. He now retails from a website called RichardSolo.
Thalheimer is a graduate of Hall High School. He graduated from Yale University in 1970, and from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco in 1974.
