Thom Weisel

Thom Weisel
Born	Template:Birth year and age Mayo Clinic
Occupation(s)	Financier, entrepreneur, investor
Years active	1971–present
Known for	Founder of Montgomery Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners; pioneer in Silicon Valley technology sector

Thomas "Thom" Weisel (born February 1941) is a prominent American financier, entrepreneur, and investor, widely acknowledged as a trailblazer in Silicon Valley's technology sector. He established Montgomery Securities and subsequently founded Thomas Weisel Partners.

Biography

Weisel was born in February 1941 at the Mayo Clinic and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He completed his undergraduate studies in economics at Stanford University in 1963, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966. His early professional experience included working as a research analyst on the West Coast.

In 1971, Weisel co-established Robertson, Coleman, Siebel & Weisel and assumed the role of CEO in 1978. After orchestrating the exit of co-founders Sandy Robertson and Robert Colman, he renamed the company Montgomery Securities. Robertson went on to create the forerunner of Robertson Stephens.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Montgomery Securities was instrumental in underwriting significant technology initial public offerings such as Amgen (1983), Micron Technology (1984), and Yahoo! Inc. (1996). The firm was part of the so-called “Four Horsemen,” a group of leading investment banks dominating Silicon Valley IPO activity during that era. From 1989 to 1996, Montgomery facilitated $57.3 billion in equity financing and managed 293 IPOs.

In 1997, Weisel guided Montgomery Securities through its $1.3 billion acquisition by NationsBank, which merged with BankAmerica Corp in 1998. The merged entity's investment banking division became known as Banc of America Securities.

January 1999 saw Weisel launch Thomas Weisel Partners, backed by venture capital from Silicon Valley investors. The new firm reported $186 million in revenue and handled $23 billion worth of transactions during its first year, including advising Yahoo! on its $4.6 billion merger with GeoCities. This achievement led to Weisel being named Investment Banker of the Year in 1999, and Harvard Business School used the firm as a teaching case for six years. Thomas Weisel Partners earned accolades such as the National Venture Capital Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 before being acquired by Stifel Financial in 2010, where Weisel took on the role of co-chairman.

Professional sports

Throughout his career, Weisel has been deeply involved in professional sports as an investor, board member, manager, and competitor. In 1982, he secured a bronze medal at the U.S. Master's Skiing Championship. Additionally, he is a five-time National Master's Cycling champion and won three consecutive World Master's Cycling titles from 1990 to 1992.

Since 1977, Weisel has been a board member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team and served as chairman from 1983 until 1994. He spearheaded the consolidation of the U.S. Ski Team with the U.S. Ski Association, revamping governance structures and funding mechanisms. The USSA honored him with its highest distinction, the Julius Blegen Award, in 1999. In 2011, he received the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award from the United States Olympic Foundation for his long-term financial support and leadership dating back to 1977. His contributions were further recognized with induction into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2018.

In 1987, Weisel founded Montgomery Sports as a cycling team venture that evolved through iterations such as Subaru-Montgomery and Montgomery-Bell before affiliating with the U.S. Postal Service. Since 2000, he has chaired the USA Cycling Development Foundation, where he implemented board restructuring and funding reforms akin to his work with USSA.

During financial challenges faced by USA Cycling in 2000, Weisel organized a critical bailout.

As a principal financial supporter of Tailwind Sports, Weisel played a key role in establishing and funding the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team (USPS), which Lance Armstrong joined in 1998. He was pivotal during the team’s formative years leading up to its championship successes. Tailwind Sports owned USPS throughout Armstrong’s first five Tour de France victories.

In 2006, Weisel contributed to the "Floyd Fairness Fund," created to support cyclist Floyd Landis amid doping accusations. Landis later initiated legal action against Weisel and others under the False Claims Act alleging fraud against federal authorities. Although a federal lawsuit was filed in 2013, Weisel was not named as a defendant by government prosecutors. He refuted all charges, and a federal judge dismissed claims against him in June 2014.

Art collection

Weisel is recognized as a contemporary art enthusiast and holds the position of elected trustee at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Additionally, he was a member of the board of trustees at the New York Museum of Modern Art between 1996 and 2011. His assemblage includes American artworks from the early New York School, the California figurative movement, and Native American pieces dating back a millennium, with an emphasis on the American Southwest.

In November 2002, Sotheby's auctioned 21 items from Weisel's extensive 700-piece collection. This selection featured artists such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, and Wayne Thiebaud. While the sale was projected to bring in between $43 and $60 million, it ultimately generated $33 million, with eight lots remaining unsold. The standout sale was De Kooning's Orestes, which commanded $13.2 million.

Weisel contributed approximately 200 Native American artworks to San Francisco's De Young Museum in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, SFMOMA honored him by renaming three California art galleries in his name. In 2014, he also established an endowment for SFMOMA’s curator of painting and sculpture. His generosity extends to gifting artworks from his collection to both SFMOMA and NYMOMA, including pieces by Mark Grotjahn, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Serra, and Andreas Gursky.

Personal

In 2010, Weisel married Janet Barnes, who has extensive experience in finance and serves on the board of the de Young Museum. She is passionate about mountain climbing, skiing, and cycling.

Weisel is a father to seven children, six of whom are living, and has eight grandchildren. His three eldest children pursue careers in real estate development, investment management, and educational publishing respectively; his three youngest are currently students. Notably, his third son earned the U18 National Slalom Championship title in 2013 and was a member of the U.S. Ski Team. Tragically, his second son died in 2017 due to complications related to lupus.

In 2003, Richard L. Brandt authored a biography titled Capital Instincts: Life As an Entrepreneur, Financier, and Athlete, chronicling Weisel’s life.

External links

Thomas Weisel Website - http://thomas-weisel.com/