Lightspeed Systems CEO Brian Thomas: “I’d like to start a movement to protect students — from school violence, bullying, self-harm and depression”

It would be a way to protect students — from school violence, bullying, self-harm and depression. We do what we can with our technology, but I wish I could combine our technology with a social movement so that I never again have to read a story of a young person committing suicide.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Thomas, president and CEO of Lightspeed Systems, which has evolved from a small start-up in Bakersfield, California, to an edtech software powerhouse in Austin, Texas. Under Brian’s leadership, Lightspeed has become the market leader in K-12 content filtering — more than 25,000 schools around the world use its software — and played a critical role in bolstering school safety. “I can’t tell you how many times school IT employees have contacted Lightspeed to tell us our technology has helped them identify students who were contemplating suicide, self-harming, or planning to harm someone else,” Brian said. “This gives us a strong sense of purpose.”