Chris Carlson

Senior Product Manager

Joining FirstWatch with over 40 years of experience in EMS, public safety, and finance, Chris joins our team with a unique perspective and skill set that enables him to easily identify our client’s needs and facilitate solutions to their problems. Chris works daily applying his experience to product design and production as he draws from his past experiences designing and implementing new product innovations.

As a former paramedic, firefighter, and Fire Chief, our clients benefit from Chris’s past experiences in roles that many of our clients hold today – he is able to help identify what to measure and how to measure it in order to provide greater efficiencies and safety to communities, first responders and public health officials. In addition to his field experience, Chris has held a variety of leadership roles including serving as a Board Member of the League of California Cities and California Fire Chiefs Association, Chief Operations Officer at Transcare, and Vice President of Xerox Corporation. Chris holds both an MBA and Bachelor’s Degree from University of Redlands, and an Executive Fire Officer Certification from the National Fire Academy.  He has significant entrepreneurial and venture capital experience, working in a leadership role with 2 different financial services firms.

Of all the jobs Chris has held, he’s found being a firefighter/paramedic to be the most rewarding. His love of working with and helping people is what has kept him in the public safety industry all these years. Outside of his work at FirstWatch, Chris enjoys his time outdoors – an avid and pathological baseball fan, he also enjoys surfing, golfing, fitness, you name it!