Title
Judge, Thomas B. oral historyCatalog Number
102792225Type
DocumentDescription
Tom Judge has been active in the private equity industry since 1980 and currently serves as senior advisor to a number of firms, in the United States and Europe, active in varied aspects of private equity. From 1980 to 1995, he managed the AT&T venture capital portfolio that grew from zero in 1980 to commitments of $1.5 billion in 180 partnerships formed by ninety firms. This portfolio has, on average, returned 25 percent per year since inception or a multiple of over 200. During his fifteen-year tenure at AT&T, Tom was considered the “dean” of institutional investors. Prior to managing the venture capital portfolio for the AT&T Investment Management Corporation, he was involved in all aspects of the administration of employee benefit assets at AT&T for seventeen years.Tom was one of the first institutional investors to introduce an expected return on venture capital partnership investments. In 1982 he established an expected return of 15 percent. In 1987, he introduced to the private equity industry the concept of vintage year performance measurement, and in 1990 he was a member of a small committee that proposed valuation guidelines which became the de facto industry standard.
Tom also co-founded the Institutional Limited Partners Association, which has grown to a membership of over one hundred institutions. He was one of the first institutional investors to recognize the importance of managing the stocks distributed by private equity partnerships and, in 1988, hired an investment management firm to manage distributions from the AT&T pension fund venture capital portfolio to enhance the return on the total private equity portfolio.
Tom has been a frequent speaker at private equity and pension fund conferences and seminars worldwide. He retired from AT&T in September 1995. In that same year, he was inducted into the Private Equity Hall of Fame. He is also an honorary Kauffman Fellow. Tom holds an undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University, and he earned his MBA at Seton Hall University.
Date
2011-10-19Contributor
| Judge, Thomas B., Interviewee |
| Kolker, Carole, Interviewer |
