Thomas O. Hicks, international businessman, communications mogul, sports entrepreneur, and philanthropist was born in Houston, Texas on February 7, 1946. He spent his early childhood in Dallas where his father, John Hicks, was an advertising salesman for television and radio stations. Hicks moved with his family to Port Arthur when his father purchased a small radio station, KOLE. By the time he turned 13, he had begun working at the station. By age 15, he was a weekend disc jockey, earning $20 per week. He attended Thomas Edison Junior High and graduated in 1964 from Thomas Jefferson High School where he lettered in football. These formative years in Port Arthur fueled his passions for radio and athletics.

After high school, Hicks attended the University of Texas, where he studied finance. Earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1968, he went to work at Continental Illinois in Chicago, where he helped set up a venture capital division. Finance and venture capital fascinated him and he went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California in 1970.

Hicks quickly immersed himself in the field of venture capital. He began his career on New York’s famed Wall Street, working in the investment departments at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company and J.P. Morgan. In 1974, he moved back to Texas to serve as President of First Dallas Capital Corporation, an affiliate of First National Bank of Dallas. Three years later in 1977 he created Summit Partners to do his first leveraged buyout. Operating through the subsequent private investment firms of Hicks & Haas, Inc. and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, Inc., Thomas Hicks has more than 25 years of experience in leveraged acquisitions and private investments, and has successfully raised more than $11 billion of private equity funds. He has consummated more than $38 billion worth of leveraged acquisitions.

Successful acquisitions include, among others, the Dr. Pepper and Seven Up Companies, A&W Brands, Inc., and Berg Electronics, Inc. Hicks’ greatest successes, however, have been in the two fields nurtured by his Port Arthur experiences: radio and athletics. Through his two communications companies, Chancellor Media and Capstar Broadcasting, he has created the largest radio operation in the country in terms of stations – over 400 in 77 markets. In addition, he is Chairman of the Board and Owner of the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars, winner of the 1999 Stanley Cup Championship, as well as Chairman and Owner of the American Baseball League’s Texas Rangers, reflecting his lifelong love of sports. Hicks also serves on the Board of Directors of numerous corporations, including among others Chase Manhattan and LIN Television. He is a former member of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System and continues to be an ardent supporter of his alma mater. Through his business acumen, leadership abilities, love of sports, and generous philanthropy, Thomas O. Hicks has contributed greatly to the quality of life in our nation.

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