Description
Book SynopsisAn insider''s view of the investment banking world from someone who is actually shaping it Powerful, controversial and determined, Thomas Weisel is known for his unwavering focus on winning the race, whether he is competing in a national cycling championship, sponsoring Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong or negotiating with business competitors. For twenty-seven years he ran one of the major investment banks on the West Coast, bringing public companies such as Applied Materials, Siebel Systems and Yahoo! and was instrumental in establishing San Francisco as an alternative financial center to Wall Street. In 1997 he sold his company to NationsBank, which later merged with Bank of America. Unhappy with his treatment after the merger, Weisel trumped Bank of America by negotiating a separation package that included $500 million in stock options and the ability to hire away crucial Bank of America management. Within two years, the investment bank he started, Thomas Weisel Part
Trade Review
San Francisco investment boutique Thomas Weisel Partners just offloaded another 100 employees (spurring more rumors the firm will be sold), but its 62-year-old founder is busy charging up other hills. Weisel, a renowned cyclist, has been promoting his new autobiography, Capital Instincts: Life as an Entrepreneur, Financier, and Athlete, and doling out the tome to clients. The book isn't exactly flying off the shelves (Amazon rank: 9,136), but it's packed with testosterone-charged tales of Weisel's athletic, business, and art-collecting exploits--including his recent $40 million sale of abstract impressionist art. Chapter 1: "Never Underestimate Thom Weisel." (Fortune Magazine, March 31,2003)
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
Never Underestimate Thom Weisel.
Life on the Edge of a Precipice.
Of Midget Boys and Men.
Breaking Away.
A Goof Place to Be.
Passion Is Good.
Skiing, Cycling, Selling Stocks.
Postal Services.
The Buildup.
Politics and Art.
The Big Sale.
The Big Boom.
Conflicted.
The New Age and Old Age.
Endnotes.
Timeline.
Index.
