Thom Weisel

{{Short description|American banker, businessman, and investor}} {{redirect|Thomas Weisel|the investment banking firm|Thomas Weisel Partners}} {{Resume-like|date=May 2018}}

{{Infobox person |name = Thomas "Thom" Weisel |image = |other_names = |birth_name = |birth_date = February 1941 |birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin |death_date = |death_place = |known_for = Financier for high tech companies in Silicon Valley |education = |alma_mater = Stanford University (1963)<br>Harvard Business School (1966) |employer = Robertson, Coleman, Siebel & Weisel<br>Montgomery Securities<br>Thomas Weisel Partners |occupation = Founder of Montgomery Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners |years_active = 1966 - present }}

'''Thomas "Thom" Weisel''' (born February 1941) is an American banker, businessman, and investor. He was one of the pioneers in the development of the high tech industry in Silicon Valley. Weisel is the founder of Montgomery Securities and later Thomas Weisel Partners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-19/weisel-banks-on-his-silicon-valley-reputation-to-generate-deals-for-stifel.html |title=Thomas Weisel Banks on His Reputation to Bring Deals to Stifel |work=Bloomberg |date=September 19, 2010}}</ref>

==Biography== Weisel was born in February 1941 at the Mayo Clinic, son of Wilson Weisel a prominent surgeon and Betty Amos Weisel. Weisel was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics in 1963. Weisel was a champion speed skater as a teenager and won five national age-group championships at speed skating, and came third at Olympic trials in 1959.<ref name=SFGateSep02>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CHRONICLE-PROFILE-Thom-Weisel-Wheeler-dealer-2797446.php|author=Julian Guthrie|title=Wheeler-dealer of high finance / S.F. banker backs Tour de France champion|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=15 September 2002}}</ref>

In 1966, Weisel received an MBA from Harvard Business School.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurs/tomweiselbio.html |title=Thomas "Thom" Weisel |work=Harvard Business School web site}}</ref> He began his career as a research analyst working for William Hutchinson on the West Coast.<ref name=capinstincts />

In 1971, Weisel co-founded Robertson, Coleman, Siebel & Weisel (the firm had begun with three partners in 1969). In 1978 Weisel became chief executive of the firm and prompted the departure of his co-founders Sandy Robertson and Robert Colman. Weisel changed the name of the firm to Montgomery Securities. Robertson left the firm in October 1978 and founded Robertson, Colman, Stephens & Woodman, the predecessor of the investment banking firm Robertson Stephens.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Deal-Will-Marry-Longtime-Rivals-Robertson-3009962.php |title=Deal Will Marry Longtime Rivals. Robertson Stephens, Montgomery together again |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=April 14, 1998}}</ref>

Montgomery Securities was behind numerous initial public offerings during the rise of tech stocks in the 1980s and 90s, including AMGen in 1983, Micron Technologies in 1984, and Yahoo! Inc. in 1996.<ref name=BloombergCampbell>{{cite news|last1=Campbell|first1=Dakin|title=Thomas Weisel Banks On His Reputation To Bring Deals To Stifel|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-09-19/weisel-banks-on-his-silicon-valley-reputation-to-generate-deals-for-stifel|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|date=September 21, 2010}}</ref> The firm was one of four investment banks that, as a group, were referred to as the “Four Horsemen,” due to their prominence in the underwriting of the IPOs of many of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley at the time.<ref name="BloombergCampbell" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Robbins-roth|first1=Cynthia|title=From Alchemy To Ipo: The Business Of Biotechnology|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=073820482X|page=[https://archive.org/details/fromalchemytoipo00robb_0/page/40 40]|year=2000|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fromalchemytoipo00robb_0/page/40}}</ref> From 1989 to 1996, Montgomery Securities raised $57.3 billion in equity and underwrote 293 IPOs.<ref name=SFGateMontgomery>{{cite news|title=Montgomery Securities Sold|url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Montgomery-Securities-sold-3111646.php|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=SFGate}}</ref>

In 1997, Weisel spearheaded a $1.3 billion acquisition of Montgomery Securities by NationsBank.<ref name="CapitalInstincts">{{Cite book |last=Brandt |first=Richard |url=http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/75/04712141/0471214175.pdf |title=Capital Instincts |isbn=0-471-21417-5|date=2003-02-07 }}</ref> The following year, however, NationsBank acquired BankAmerica Corp. The newly combined investment banking units later became known as Banc of America Securities.

In January 1999, Weisel, together with other personnel from the former Montgomery Securities secured venture capital funding from Silicon Valley investors and launched investment banking and wealth management firm Thomas Weisel Partners. The firm closed its first year of business with revenue of $186 million, completing $23 billion in transactions, including advising Yahoo! in their $4.6 billion merger with GeoCities. The firm's performance led Investment Dealer's Digest to name Weisel Investment Banker of the Year in 1999, and Harvard Business School used Thomas Weisel Partners as a field case for six years.<ref name=HBSStudy>{{cite web|last1=DeLong|first1=Thomas J.|title=Thomas Weisel Partners (B): Year One|url=http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=27044|website=Harvard Business School|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=PRNewswire>{{cite web|title=Thomas Weisel Partners Announces Strong 4th Quarter and Annual Results|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thomas-weisel-partners-announces-strong-4th-quarter-and-annual-results-72059757.html|website=PRNewswire|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=TAO>{{cite web|title=TAoO Weisel Profile|url=http://www.techoregon.org/thomas-w-weisel|website=Technology Association of Oregon|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref> Weisel also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Venture Capital Association in 2006, in part due to the success of Thomas Weisel Partners.<ref name="TAO" /> The firm became part of Stifel Financial in 2010, which Weisel joined as co-chairman.

===Professional sports=== Weisel has been active in professional sports as an investor, board member, manager, and participant for most of his career. In 1982, he was a bronze medalist in the U.S. Master's Skiing Championship.<ref name=TeamUSA>{{cite news|title=United States Olympic Foundation to honor Kissinger, Weisel|url=http://www.teamusa.org/Media/News/USOC/United-States-Olympic-Foundation-to-honor-Kissinger-Weisel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926113053/http://www.teamusa.org/Media/News/USOC/United-States-Olympic-Foundation-to-honor-Kissinger-Weisel|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 26, 2015|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=Team USA|date=December 8, 2011}}</ref> Weisel is also a five-time National Master's Cycling champion, and three-time World Master's Cycling champion (1990–1992).<ref name=ForbesBanner>{{cite news|last1=Klug|first1=Lisa Alcalay|title=A banker's banner year|url=https://www.forbes.com/1999/08/26/feat2.html|accessdate=26 September 2015|work=Forbes|date=August 26, 1999}}</ref>

Since 1977, Weisel has been on the board of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team and was elected chairman in 1983, a position he held until 1994.<ref name=USSA>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Tom|title=Weisel Honored by Olympic Foundation|url=http://ussa.org/news/weisel-honored-olympic-foundation|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=USSA|date=December 16, 2011}}</ref> During this time, Weisel was responsible for merging the U.S. Ski Team with the U.S. Ski Association, and overhauling its governance and funding.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brandt|first1=Richard|title=Capital Instincts|isbn=0-471-21417-5|page=150|url=http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/75/04712141/0471214175.pdf|date=2003-02-07}}</ref> In 1999, the USSA awarded him the Julius Blegen Award, their highest honor.<ref name="USSA" /> Weisel was also honored by the United States Olympic Foundation in 2011 with the foundation's George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award. The award was given in recognition of Weisel's financial support and leadership since 1977.<ref name="USSA" /> In April 2018, Weisel was inducted in the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Squaw Valley, California.

Weisel started Montgomery Sports in 1987 as a cycling venture. The team was renamed Subaru-Montgomery in the early 1990s, then Montgomery-Bell (for Bell Sports), and finally renamed for the U.S. Postal Service. He is also the founder of the USA Cycling Development Foundation and has served as its chairman since 2000.<ref name="USA Cycling">{{cite web|title=CYCLING LEADER WEISEL RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS STEINBRENNER AWARD|url=http://www.usacycling.org/cycling-leader-weisel-receives-prestigious-steinbrenner-award-.htm|website=USA Cycling|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref> As chairman, Weisel reorganized and restructured the foundation similar to the USSA, revamping the organization's board and funding sources.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brandt|first1=Richard|title=Capital Instincts|isbn=0-471-21417-5|page=176|url=http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/75/04712141/0471214175.pdf|date=2003-02-07}}</ref> In 2000, Weisel organised a bailout of USA Cycling which was experiencing financial difficulties.<ref name=Guard15Jan>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jan/15/lance-armstrong-associates-legal-proceedings|author=Matt Seaton|title=Lance Armstrong's associates: who might be drawn into legal proceedings?|newspaper=The Guardian|date=15 January 2013}}</ref>

Weisel was an important financial backer of Tailwind Sports, a company formed to manage the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team (USPS), which cyclist Lance Armstrong joined in 1998. Weisel formed a relationship with Armstrong early in Armstrong's career and was a primary source of support and funding. In a 2002 article, Armstrong credited Weisel for founding and investing in the team in its early stages, before its championship wins.<ref name="SFGate9/02">{{cite news|last1=Guthrie|first1=Julian|title=Thom Weisel / Wheeler-dealer of high finance / S.F. banker backs Tour de France champion|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CHRONICLE-PROFILE-Thom-Weisel-Wheeler-dealer-2797446.php|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=SFGate|date=September 15, 2002}}</ref> Armstrong had previously been a team member of Weisel's Subaru-Montgomery team. Tailwind Sports were the owners of the USPS team for the first five of Armstrong's Tour de France wins.

In 2006 Weisel contributed to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" with fellow Tailwind Sports owners to support cyclist Floyd Landis when he was accused of doping offences. In 2010 Landis filed a lawsuit against Weisel, Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, Bill Stapleton, Barton Knaggs, Tailwind Sports, and Capital Sports and Entertainment under the False Claims Act, alleging that the defendants had defrauded the federal government. A federal suit was filed in 2013, but the government declined to name Weisel, Knaggs, Stapleton, and Capital Sports and Entertainment as defendants.<ref name="OutsideOnline9/15">{{cite web|last1=Lindsey|first1=Joe|title=5 Things You Need to Know About the Government's Case Against Armstrong|url=http://www.outsideonline.com/1967031/5-things-you-need-know-about-governments-case-against-armstrong|website=Outside Online|date=10 April 2015 |accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref>

Weisel vehemently denied Landis's allegations, and claims against him were dropped by a federal judge in June 2014.<ref name=marinij>{{cite news|title=Ross resident Thomas Weisel no longer part of case against Lance Armstrong|url=http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20140623/ross-resident-thomas-weisel-no-longer-part-of-case-against-lance-armstrong|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=marinij.com|date=June 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="USAToday9/15">{{cite news|last1=Schrotenboer|first1=Brian|title=Lance Armstrong loses bid to have lawsuit dismissed|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/cycling/2014/06/19/lance-armstrong-lawsuit-us-government-doping/10999179/|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=USA Today|date=June 19, 2014}}</ref>

===Art collection=== Weisel is a collector of modern art, and an elected trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.<ref name=SFMOMA>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfmoma.org/about/about_bot|title=SFMOMA - Board of Trustees|work=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art|date=16 January 2013}}</ref> Weisel also served on the board of trustees for the New York Museum of Modern Art from 1996 to 2011. His personal collection contains American art from the early New York school, the California figurative movement, and Native American art spanning 1000 years with a focus on the American Southwest.<ref name="SFGate5/14">{{cite news|last1=Guthrie|first1=Julian|title=Thomas Weisel: high-finance banker, high-quality art collector|url=http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Thomas-Weisel-high-finance-banker-high-quality-5450065.php|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=SFGate|date=May 4, 2014}}</ref>

In November 2002 Sotheby's held an auction of 21 pieces from Weisel's 700 piece art collection, including pieces by artists Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, and Wayne Thiebaud.<ref name="Vogel">{{cite news|last=Vogel|first=Carol|title=A Collector Is Selling 21 Treasures Out of 700|work=The New York Times|page=3|date=11 November 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/11/arts/a-collector-is-selling-21-treasures-out-of-700.html}}</ref><ref name="CitRev">{{cite news|last=Horsley|first=Carter|title=A Private American Collection - Sotheby's|work=The City Review|date=12 November 2002|url=http://www.thecityreview.com/f02sco1.html}}</ref> The Sotheby's sale was expected to bring between $43 million and $60 million, but realised $33 million on the night, with eight of the twenty-one works left unsold at the initial auction. The star piece was De Kooning's ''Orestes'' which sold for $13.2 million.<ref name="Vogel2">{{cite news|last=Vogel|first=Carol|title=A Buyer's Market for Contemporary Art|work=The New York Times|page=8|date=13 November 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/13/nyregion/a-buyer-s-market-for-contemporary-art.html}}</ref>

In 2014, Weisel donated around 200 pieces of art from his Native American collection to the De Young Museum in San Francisco, and in 2016, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will rename three of its California art galleries after Weisel.<ref name="SFGate5/14" /> Weisel also endowed the SFMOMA's curator of painting and sculpture in 2014.<ref name="SFGate5/14" /> He has gifted pieces to the SFMOMA and NYMOMA from his personal collection including works by Mark Grotjahn, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Serra, Andreas Gursky.<ref name="SFGate5/14" />

===Personal=== In 2010, Weisel married his current wife, Janet Barnes. Barnes spent 25 years in the finance industry, and currently serves on the board of the de Young Museum of Fine Arts.<ref>{{cite web |title=de Youngsters |url=https://deyoung.famsf.org/members/support-groups/deyoungsters |website=deyoung.famsf.org |publisher=Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco |access-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205150628/https://deyoung.famsf.org/members/support-groups/deyoungsters |archive-date=December 5, 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Outside of her professional roles, Barnes is also a mountain climber, skier, and cyclist.

Weisel has seven children (six living and one deceased) and eight grandchildren. The oldest three children are employed in real estate development, investment management, and educational publishing. The youngest three currently attend school. Weisel's third son won the U18 National Slalom Championship in 2013 and served on the U.S. Ski Team.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McKee|first1=Hank|title=Weisel, Lathrop win U18 honors in opening slalom|url=http://www.skiracing.com/stories/weisel-lathrop-win-u18-honors-opening-slalom/|accessdate=26 September 2015|publisher=SkiRacing|date=March 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kipling Weisel Profile|url=http://alpine.usskiteam.com/athletes/kipling-weisel|website=US Ski Team|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref> His second son died in 2017 due to complications from lupus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wyatt Weisel Obituary - (1971 - 2017) - Menlo Park, CA - San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/sfgate/187541886|access-date=2021-03-11|website=www.legacy.com|language=en}}</ref>

In 2003 Richard L. Brandt wrote a biography of Weisel, ''Capital Instincts: Life As an Entrepreneur, Financier, and Athlete''.<ref name="capinstincts">{{cite book|author=Richard L. Brandt|title=Capital Instincts: Life As an Entrepreneur, Financier, and Athlete|url=https://archive.org/details/capitalinstincts0000bran|url-access=registration|accessdate=16 January 2013|date=7 February 2003|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-471-21417-5}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|2}} {{refbegin}} *{{Cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/CHRONICLE-PROFILE-Thom-Weisel-Wheeler-dealer-2797446.php |title=Thom Weisel / Wheeler-dealer of high finance / S.F. banker backs Tour de France champion |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=September 15, 2002}} *{{Cite web |url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/769268/thom-weisel-the-man-behind-the-man-in-the-yellow-jersey.html |title=Thom Weisel, the Man Behind the Man in the Yellow Jersey |work=The Street |date=August 2, 1999}} *{{Cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323783704578246001221628488 |title=Thom Weisel /New Twist in Armstrong Saga |work=The Street |date=January 17, 2013}} {{refend}}

== External links == Thomas Weisel Website- http://thomas-weisel.com/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weisel, Thom}} Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:American art collectors Category:American chief executives of financial services companies Category:American financial company founders Category:American financiers Category:American investment bankers Category:American male speed skaters Category:American sports businesspeople Category:Businesspeople from Milwaukee Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Private equity and venture capital investors Category:Silicon Valley people Category:Speed skaters from Milwaukee Category:Stanford University alumni Category:20th-century American sportsmen