Thomas W. Weisel
STIFEL FINANCIALAbout Thomas W. Weisel
Thomas W. Weisel, age 84, has served on Stifel Financial Corp.’s Board since 2010 and is not independent due to his employee role. He is a Senior Managing Director at Stifel (since 2011) and a renowned investment banking entrepreneur who founded Montgomery Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. before Stifel acquired TWP; his recognitions include the NVCA Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stifel Financial Corp. | Senior Managing Director | 2011 – present | Senior operating role following TWP combination |
| Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. | Founder, Chairman & CEO | 1999 – 2010 | Built a leading growth-focused investment bank |
| Montgomery Securities | Founder, Chairman & CEO | 1971 – 1997 | Built a premier West Coast investment bank |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASDAQ | Former Board Member | Not disclosed | Prior public company directorship |
| U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Foundation | Member; former Chairman | Not disclosed | Sports governance and philanthropy |
| USA Cycling Foundation | Member; former Chairman | Not disclosed | Sports governance and philanthropy |
| San Francisco Museum of Modern Art | Former Trustee | Not disclosed | Arts governance |
| Museum of Modern Art (NY) | Former Trustee | Not disclosed | Arts governance |
| Stanford Endowment Management Board | Former Board Member | Not disclosed | University endowment oversight |
| Harvard Business School | Former Advisory Board Member | Not disclosed | Academic advisory role |
| Empower America | Former Chairman & Board Member | Not disclosed | Policy/advocacy leadership |
| California College of the Arts | Former Capital Campaign Chair | Not disclosed | Fundraising leadership |
| The Sports Neurology Clinic, Inc. | Trustee | Not disclosed | Healthcare nonprofit governance |
Board Governance
- Independence: Not Independent (employee director) .
- Committee assignments: No committee memberships disclosed for Mr. Weisel in the 2025 proxy .
- Board activity and attendance: The Board met 9 times in 2024; incumbent continuing directors’ attendance across Board and committee meetings exceeded 80%. Executive sessions of independent directors occurred quarterly. 55% of directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Lead Independent Director: David A. Peacock; the role includes presiding over executive sessions, calling meetings of independent directors, ex officio role on committees not otherwise served, and participating in CEO evaluation and succession planning .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount / Terms | Applicability to Weisel |
|---|---|---|
| Director cash retainer (non‑employee directors) | $100,000 annual cash retainer | Not applicable – as an employee director, he receives no pay for Board service |
| Committee chair / Lead Independent fees (non‑employee directors) | $30,000 (each chair); $30,000 (Lead Independent Director) | Not applicable |
| Reimbursement | Travel and similar expenses reimbursed for Board meetings | Policy applies; separate from compensation |
| Aircraft allowance policy (perquisite governance) | Committee approved airplane allowance; any personal flight activity attributable to a Company employee (including Mr. Weisel’s historical/anticipated usage) is included in the employee’s annual compensation | Indicates a monitored perquisite subject to compensation reporting |
Directors who are also employees do not receive compensation for service as Company or subsidiary directors (policy explicitly applies to Messrs. Kruszewski and Weisel) .
Performance Compensation
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director equity (non‑employee directors) | $150,000 in stock units issued annually (June 5, 2024), vesting quarterly over one year; ASC 718 grant-date fair value — Not applicable to Weisel as an employee director |
| Company incentive design for executive officers (policy) | PRSUs place significant weight on ROCE and include TSR in the evaluation framework; clawback policy adopted for incentive-based compensation effective Oct 2023; “double trigger” required for accelerated vesting upon change in control; no excise tax gross-ups, no SERPs, no repricing, hedging prohibited; pledging requires Committee approval |
No Weisel-specific performance metrics or award values are disclosed; he is not a named executive officer, so executive pay detail for him is not itemized in the proxy .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company directorships: None disclosed for Mr. Weisel in the 2025 proxy (contrast with other directors whose current or last-5-year public directorships are listed) .
- Prior public company board: Former Board Member, NASDAQ (historical) .
- Compensation Committee interlocks: The Company discloses no current Committee members are or have been Company officers; no interlocking relationships disclosed for the Committee .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Core expertise: Founding and leading two investment banks (Montgomery Securities; Thomas Weisel Partners), extensive entrepreneurial and operational experience in financial services; significant industry recognition (NVCA Lifetime Achievement Award; George Steinbrenner Sports Leadership Award; U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame) .
- Board value-add: Deep capital markets and broker-dealer experience; broad nonprofit and institutional governance exposure (sports, arts, academic) .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | As of | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficially owned shares | April 7, 2025 | 14,788 shares (held by the Thomas W. Weisel Trust) |
| Percentage of outstanding | April 7, 2025 | <1% (asterisk per table) |
| Stock units (unvested/other) | April 7, 2025 | 11,045 stock units (not deemed “beneficially owned” under SEC rules) |
| Total (shares + stock units) | April 7, 2025 | 25,833 (sum of beneficial shares and stock units per proxy table) |
| Pledging / margin | Policy | Directors and executive officers hold no shares in margin accounts and have pledged no shares to third parties (anti‑hedging and anti‑pledging policy) |
Insider Trades (last disclosed)
| Date | Type | Shares | Avg. Price | Est. Proceeds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-22 | Sale | 13,000 | $115.01 | ~$1,495,130 | https://www.tradingview.com/news/tradingview:7f86f5b5deb85:0-stifel-financial-corp-director-sells-shares/ |
| 2024-11-22 | Sale (reported) | 13,000 | — | ~$1.495M | https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Insider+Sale%3A+Director+at+%24SF+%28SF%29+Sells+13%2C000+Shares |
Beneficial ownership table reference total shares and stock units; outstanding shares were 103,033,074 as of the record date (context for % calc) .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Deep sector expertise as a founder/operator of prominent investment banks; broad external governance experience (sports, arts, academic) enhances network and oversight capacity .
- Company policies prohibit hedging; pledging requires Committee approval; disclosure states directors and executive officers have no pledged or margin-held shares, aligning with shareholder‑friendly practices .
- Board held 9 meetings in 2024 with >80% attendance among continuing directors; independent directors meet in regular executive sessions led by the Lead Independent Director .
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Risks and potential red flags
- Not Independent: As an employee director (Senior Managing Director), Weisel’s dual role could pose perceived conflicts versus fully independent oversight .
- Perquisites optics: The Committee approved an airplane allowance policy noting historical/anticipated personal flight usage by Mr. Weisel and others, with such usage included in compensation—transparent but a potential optics concern for some investors .
- Related‑party exposure (structural): Stifel Bancorp may extend credit to directors/officers (including margin loans) only on market terms; all such loans were performing at year‑end 2024—appropriate controls disclosed, but investors often scrutinize any related‑party credit to insiders in financial institutions .
- Insider sale: Weisel’s open‑market sale of 13,000 shares on Nov. 22, 2024 may be viewed neutrally or as a potential signal depending on trading context and overall ownership levels; no hedging/pledging concerns disclosed .
Overall, governance quality benefits from strong board structures (lead independent role, executive sessions, risk oversight) and clear compensation risk controls (clawback, double trigger, anti‑hedging/pledging). The primary consideration for investor confidence is the non‑independent status and employee relationship of a long‑tenured director with occasional perquisite usage, which should be weighed against his industry expertise and the Company’s disclosed controls .