Laurence Tosi
Laurence A. Tosi | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1968 |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Managing partner at WestCap Group; former CFO of Airbnb and The Blackstone Group |
Laurence A. Tosi (born 1968) is recognized as an American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the managing partner at WestCap Group, a private equity firm he established that oversees approximately $9 billion in assets. Prior to founding WestCap, Tosi served as the chief financial officer (CFO) for both Airbnb and The Blackstone Group, and held multiple positions at Merrill Lynch. His board memberships include companies such as Hopper, and he co-founded Ipreo Holdings LLC as well as the carbon capture enterprise Deep Sky.
Early life and education
Laurence Tosi was born on February 8, 1968. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1990, followed by a combined JD and MBA degree completed in 1994.
He personally financed his education and has since become a significant benefactor to Georgetown University and its 1789 scholarship program.
GE and Merrill Lynch (1990s-2008)
Following law school, Tosi practiced both litigation and corporate law at Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine before transitioning to General Electric where he was director of business development for GE's CNBC and NBC divisions. He remained with GE until 1999.
From 1999 through 2007, Tosi led corporate development globally at Merrill Lynch & Co, overseeing numerous strategic acquisitions and investments. Between 2004 and 2007, he held the roles of principal accounting officer for global finance and chief operating officer of global markets and investment banking at Merrill Lynch. During this time, he co-founded Ipreo Holdings LLC, a financial services company. Additionally, Tosi served as CFO of Merrill Lynch’s trading and investment banking division until 2008, along with responsibilities as finance director and senior vice president.
CFO at Blackstone Group (2008-2015)
Tosi was appointed chief financial officer of the Blackstone Group in June 2008. He utilized Blackstone’s capital to help launch iLevel, a data aggregation platform that was spun off in 2009, and took charge of the firm’s Innovations Fund. In 2011, despite an offer to become CFO at Apple, he opted to continue his tenure at Blackstone. By 2012, he was among the executives considered potential successors to CEO Stephen Schwarzman.
According to the New York Times, Tosi was instrumental in evolving Blackstone from primarily a deal-focused private equity firm into a broad asset management organization. He created an internal investment trust that invested in firms including Ipreo. From 2008 until his departure in 2015, Tosi managed the growth of Blackstone’s assets under management from $119 billion to $333 billion. Michael S. Chae succeeded him as CFO on August 7, 2015.
CFO at Airbnb (2015-2018)
In August 2015, Tosi joined Airbnb as CFO and relocated to Silicon Valley, California. His responsibilities encompassed payments systems, customer service operations, and corporate development initiatives. His period at Airbnb was characterized largely by capital raising efforts and geographic expansion. In 2016, he took part in a financing round for Palo Alto-based real estate technology company Point alongside investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Vikram Pandit. Furthermore, Tosi oversaw Airbnb’s $300 million acquisition of rental platform Luxury Retreats in 2017.
Bloomberg revealed that under Tosi’s leadership, Airbnb’s finance division created an internal hedge fund that deployed part of the company’s balance sheet into equities, currencies, and fixed-income assets. This fund accounted for roughly 30% of Airbnb's cash flow in 2017 and reportedly generated around $5 million each month. During his financial stewardship, Airbnb achieved profitability; the company recorded $93 million in profit on revenues totaling $2.6 billion in 2017.
Tosi exited Airbnb in 2018 to concentrate on his investment firm Weston Capital Partners alongside various board commitments.
WestCap (2019–present)
In 1997, Tosi established Weston Capital Partners, his own investment vehicle, which made early stakes in emerging companies such as Airbnb and Tradeweb. The firm secured a $750 million fund in 2018 and subsequently rebranded as WestCap Investment Partners LLC (WestCap), with Tosi acting as founder and managing partner. Headquartered in New York and San Francisco, WestCap specializes in technology-oriented startups and counts investors like Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec among its backers. By October 2020, WestCap was in the process of raising another $750 million fund, having garnered investor commitments totaling approximately $1.2 billion.
Tosi's investments through WestCap include firms like StubHub, Skillz, and the travel booking service Hopper in 2020. By the close of 2021, WestCap oversaw assets approximating $9 billion. Notable investments during 2021 featured Goodleap and iCapital, while in September 2022, Tosi co-founded the carbon capture enterprise Deep Sky. Under his guidance, WestCap also funded financial technology company Addepar and travel startup Flyr in 2025.
Boards
As of 2025, Tosi holds board positions at online travel platform Hopper Inc., travel enterprise Flyr, and GoodLeap, having joined the latter's board in 2021. He formerly served on Georgetown University's board and remains active in one of its financial subcommittees as of 2025.
See also
- Notable alumni of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine
- List of Georgetown University business alumni
- Notable people from Rye, New Hampshire