Early Life and Education
Carl Thoma was born in October 1948 and grew up on a ranch in the Oklahoma panhandle. He earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University in 1971. Following this, he pursued a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1973.
Rise to Success
Thoma began his career at Arizona-Colorado Land & Cattle Co. He then transitioned to the private equity industry, working at First National Bank of Chicago. In 1980, he co-founded Golder Thoma & Co., which later became Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner (GTCR). In 1998, GTCR split, leading to the formation of Thoma Cressey Equity Partners. He is best known as a founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity firm focused on software and technology investments.
Key Business Strategies
Thoma is recognized for pioneering the "buy-and-build" strategy, a consolidation approach in the private equity industry. Thoma Bravo focuses on acquiring and growing software and technology companies. The firm has grown to manage over $160 billion in assets as of November 2024. Thoma Bravo has made hundreds of software deals since 2003 and currently oversees a portfolio of over 75 companies, generating approximately $30 billion in annual revenue.
Philanthropy
Carl Thoma and his wife, Marilynn, established the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation. The foundation supports arts and education initiatives through grants, scholarships, fellowships, and endowments. In 2024, they launched the Thoma Scholars program, which provides full-ride scholarships to students from Northwest Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and Eastern New Mexico.