26 Facts About Thom Weisel

Thomas "Thom" Weisel was born on February 1941 and is an American banker, businessman, and investor.

Thom Weisel was one of the pioneers in the development of the high tech industry in Silicon Valley.

Thom Weisel was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics in 1963.

Thom 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.

In 1966, Thom Weisel received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Thom Weisel began his career as a research analyst working for William Hutchinson on the West Coast.

In 1978 Thom Weisel became chief executive of the firm and prompted the departure of his co-founders Sandy Robertson and Robert Colman.

Thom Weisel changed the name of the firm to Montgomery Securities.

In 1997, Thom Weisel spearheaded a $1.3 billion acquisition of Montgomery Securities by NationsBank.

The firm became part of Stifel Financial in 2010, which Thom Weisel joined as co-chairman.

Thom Weisel has been active in professional sports as an investor, board member, manager, and participant for most of his career.

Thom Weisel is a five-time National Master's Cycling champion, and three-time World Master's Cycling champion.

Since 1977, Thom Weisel has been on the board of the US Ski and Snowboard Team and was elected chairman in 1983, a position he held until 1994.

Thom Weisel started Montgomery Sports in 1987 as a cycling venture.

Thom Weisel is the founder of the USA Cycling Development Foundation and has served as its chairman since 2000.

In 2000, Thom Weisel organised a bailout of USA Cycling which was experiencing financial difficulties.

Thom Weisel was an important financial backer of Tailwind Sports, a company formed to manage the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, which cyclist Lance Armstrong joined in 1998.

Thom Weisel formed a relationship with Armstrong early in Armstrong's career and was a primary source of support and funding.

In 2006 Thom Weisel contributed to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" with fellow Tailwind Sports owners to support cyclist Floyd Landis when he was accused of doping offences.

Thom Weisel vehemently denied Landis's allegations, and claims against him were dropped by a federal judge in June 2014.

Thom Weisel is a collector of modern art, and an elected trustee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Thom Weisel served on the board of trustees for the New York Museum of Modern Art from 1996 to 2011.

In 2014, Thom 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 Thom Weisel.

Thom Weisel endowed the SFMOMA's curator of painting and sculpture in 2014.

Thom Weisel has gifted pieces to the SFMOMA and NYMOMA from his personal collection including works by Mark Grotjahn, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Serra, Andreas Gursky.

Thom Weisel has seven children and eight grandchildren.