Tom is a Founding Partner of Capvent AG. He has more than 14 years of direct and fund investment experience with growth companies in the U.S., private equity transactions in Europe, and direct and fund investments in Asia. Tom was very involved in many structured debt financings for high-growth companies on the West Coast of the US, mainly in Silicon Valley, from 1991 to mid-1998. The activities included sourcing and structuring the transaction, performing detailed due diligence on the company and its competitiveness, and corresponding monitoring of the deal and the firm. Previously, he was an Executive Director at Societe Generale in Zurich/London in charge of building the buyout business in Switzerland and Germany. While at Societe Generale, Tom Clausen, along with Varun Sood, played significant roles in several transactions that were primarily debt and mezzanine direct investments, with a focus on cash flow for primary source of repayment. Many of these transactions included a mandate to structure, arrange and advise acquisition and project debt finance Prior to that, Tom was a member of the senior management for Credit Suisse, and later for Credit Suisse First Boston San Francisco/Silicon Valley from 1991 to 1997. He has a law degree (lic. iur.) from the University of Zurich, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco with Beta Gamma Sigma Honours. Tom is a Swiss and Italian national, and speaks German, French and English.