You don’t get anywhere in this business without having a high-quality reputation.” ~ Thomas Weisel
Thomas Weisel of Thomas Weisel Partners LLC.
After graduating from Stanford University and Harvard Business School, Thomas Weisel began a high profile business career in San Francisco at the beginning of the Silicon Valley technology revolution. He built several legendary investment banks, including Montgomery Securities, and he is the brain behind the public offerings of more than 1,000 companies, including Yahoo and Amgen.
These days Thom Weisel focus less on investment banking and more on his other great loves—sports and art collecting. He has created several organizations that help finance skiing and cycling teams in the United States, and he donated his collection of about 200 pieces of American Indian art to the de Young Museum.
Intensely dedicated and competitive, Weisel has always striven to take up the best business opportunities. “I’ve always liked the idea of a balanced life, but when you run something, it’s all-consuming, and you have to be there every morning and every afternoon,” he says. However, now that he’s not in charge of the day-to-day operations of his investment firms, he has more time to dedicate to sports, family, and art.
Weisel believes in a strong work ethic and the importance of a good reputation in business. “You build a reputation one transaction at a time,” he notes. And his transactions—hiring talented athletes and business gurus with good communication skills—have brought him far in life.
He continues to advise a wide variety of organizations, including serving on the Board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern art, co-chairing Stifel Financial Company, and serving on the Board of Trustees for the US Ski and Snowboard Association.
