Carl D. Thoma is a founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo. Previously, he was a co-founder and managing director at Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner and its predecessor funds since 1980. Carl began his career at First Chicago Equity Group, where he helped build a leading private equity firm. He is a recognized pioneer of the buy-and-build strategy that is the foundation of Thoma Bravo's strategy today.
Carl and his wife, Marilynn, are passionate about philanthropy and art collecting, which led them to form the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation to support arts and education initiatives through art grants, scholarships, fellowships, and endowments. In 2024, they launched the Thoma Scholars program, which offers full-ride scholarships to under-supported students from Northwest Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico.
Carl currently serves on the boards of the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts and New Mexico School for the Arts. He received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in accounting and agriculture economics from Oklahoma State University.
