Recommended by: WiseSuit Staff 

For over three decades, Thomas W. Weisel has been one of the leading figures of the financial scene that blossomed along with Silicon Valley, becoming an integral part of its phenomenal success.

In Capital Instincts, you'll follow Thom Weisel from his youth as an extraordinarily talented athlete from Milwaukee, to his present position as one of the most influential investment bankers of our time.

He rejected the New York financial scene in 1969 to join the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, taking public such companies as Amgen, Micron Technology, Siebel Systems, and Yahoo! He may be one of the last of a generation of influential financial entrepreneurs in a world now dominated by giant conglomerates.

A controversial figure, Wesiel took over control of Montgomery Securities in a power struggle that solidified his reputation as a no-holds-barred businessman decades ago. Through accounts from colleagues, competitors, and Weisel himself, you'll learn how he built Montgomery to a position of prominence, selling the firm to NationsBank in 1998 for $1.3 billion - probably the biggest mistake of his career.

In 1998, Weisel walked out of NationsBank - now called Bank of America after its acquisition of the San Francisco bank - after a dispute over control. He took key partners and hundreds of millions of dollars with him to start over at the age of 58.

His new company, Thomas Weisel Partners, reached nearly half a billion dollars in revenues in two years, one of the fastest growing companies in history. The firm was then battered by a recession, the death of the dot-com industry, and an industry wracked by scandal. But Weisel's rapid restructuring of his firm, told even as it happens, is a powerful lesson in business crisis management.

A mix of intellectual might, passion, and powerful egos, Capital Instincts distills Weisel's approach to success throughout his life. Weisel himself adds commentaries on the U.S. economy, the future of the stock market, and the current crisis in the industry. Capital Instincts is an extraordinary tale of life, business, and sports from one of the most impressive leaders of our age.

About the Authors: 

Thomas Weisel is the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Thomas Weisel Partners, a research-driven merchant bank exclusively focused on the growth sectors of the U.S. economy. Weisel has expanded the firm into a multifaceted merchant bank that, in only four years, has orchestrated $135 billion worth of public and private stock offerings and mergers. He is founder and president of Tailwind Sports, which manages the U.S. Postal Service cycling team, and was an Olympic-class speed skater and the former chairman of the U.S. Ski Foundation.

Richard Brandt has twenty years' experience as a leading business journalist. He was a senior reporter for BusinessWeek for fourteen years and editor in chief of the technology business magazine Upside for four years.

Categories:  Leadership ,  Biography,  Corporate Finance