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Thomas C. Hoster ’72, Class Agent
Tom Hoster is currently in his 17th year as class agent. He has also served as class vice president, member of the class executive committee, special gifts solicitor, and Annual Giving and telethon volunteer.
At his first long-ago phonathon, he recalls, “Asking for money didn’t come naturally. But now I just put on my AG hat and ask away. My kids grew up hearing me on the phone saying, ‘Hi, it’s Tom Hoster, Class of ’72, calling to remind you that there are just a few weeks left in the Annual Giving year. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.’ My kids could recite that patter from a very early age.”
Hoster reflects, “I believe it is important to give back to the world in some way. For some people, it’s Habitat for Humanity, for some a soup kitchen, their church, or some other organization. For me, it’s Princeton. It’s an institution I can believe in, and one that makes a difference in the world.” He is proud of his class’s giving record, noting, “Our strength is in participation.” Indeed, Hoster says, the Class of 1972 is the youngest class to post 10 straight years of AG participation greater than 60 percent.
Hoster is chief financial officer of EndoGastric Solutions in Redwood City, California. His company creates innovative medical devices that treat acid reflux disease with an incisionless, transoral procedure. He joined EGS after a long career in finance, operations, and management, including serving as CFO for several Silicon Valley start-ups. Before moving to California, Hoster was a banker in New York City.
Although he holds an MBA from Stanford University, he credits Princeton with giving him his first business experience, as head of the Student Refreshment Agency. “We served food at football games and other athletic events,” he says. He majored in electrical engineering, but did not pursue it professionally: “I’ve always been a finance and business person.”
Hoster cherishes a number of Princeton family connections: his father, the late Emil W. Hoster Jr. ’37; his uncle, the late David H. Hoster ’38; his brother David H. Hoster II ’67; a cousin, Theodore S. Hoster ’66; and his current favorite undergraduate, daughter Zoë D. Hoster, a member of the Class of 2009. A younger daughter, Halsey, lives at home in Palo Alto, California, with Hoster and his wife, Joan. |
