Thomas O. Hicks is founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hicks Holdings LLC, a Dallas-based family office that owns and manages the Thomas and Cinda Hicks Family's real estate, corporate assets, and investments. Previously, Mr. Hicks co-founded, and was Chairman from 1989 through 2004 of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, Inc., a nationally prominent private equity firm specializing in leveraged acquisitions. During Mr. Hicks' tenure as Chairman, HMTF successfully raised over $12 billion of private equity funds, consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions, and was one of the world's most active private investment firms. From 1984 to 1989, Mr. Hicks was Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hicks & Haas, a Dallas-based private equity firm. The successful acquisitions of HMTF and Hicks & Haas included AMFM Inc., A&W Brands, Inc., Berg Electronics, Inc., Dr Pepper/Seven Up Companies, International Home Foods, Life Partners Group, Pinnacle Foods, Sybron International, and Yell Group plc, among others.
Mr. Hicks’ sports ownership assets include the Dallas Stars Hockey Club, of the National Hockey League and a 50% interest in the American Airlines Center.
Hicks Holdings is a partner with Estein Associates USA, Ltd. in the Victory Park project in downtown Dallas. Hicks Holdings is a developer of 40 acres of land adjacent to the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington; and of Champions Park, a 40-acre office/retail development in Frisco, Texas, adjacent to the Dr Pepper Ballpark and Dr Pepper Arena. Hicks Holdings also selectively makes corporate and real estate investments in South America. Through Hicks Cedar Park, the Austin, Texas suburb Cedar Park is home to the Texas Stars, Dallas’ American Hockey League development affiliate playing their second season in 2010-2011. The development includes a 6,700-seat Cedar Park Event Center and has a retail site of 17 acres adjacent to the facility grounds for mixed-use development, all being developed by Hicks Cedar Park.
Hicks Holdings’ majority-owned corporate holdings include DirecPath, a company formed to provide bundled DIRECTV programming, broadband voice and data services, security and other locally based services to multiple dwelling unit residences (MDUs) across the United States; Latrobe Specialty Steel, a leading manufacturer and distributor of specialty steel to the aerospace industry; Ocular LCD, Inc., a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of high-performance liquid crystal displays, modules and systems; and Grupo Pilar, a leading animal and pet food company in Argentina. In addition, Hicks Holdings also has a 40 percent stake in Anvita Health, an emerging leader in clinical decision support systems.
Mr. Hicks founded and served as Chairman of Hicks Acquisition Company I, Inc., a $552 million Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) which completed a successful merger with Resolute Natural Resources on September 25, 2009 to form Resolute Energy Corporation, which is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol REN.
Mr. Hicks purchased the Dallas Stars in February 1996 and is the team's Chairman of the Board and serves as Vice Chairman on the NHL Board of Governors. He also serves on the NHL Executive Committee and is Chairman of the NHL Audit and Finance Committee. The Stars were the 1999 Stanley Cup Champions, were Stanley Cup finalists in 2000, won the NHL's Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season record in both 1997-98 and 1998-99, and have captured seven division titles under Mr. Hicks' ownership.
Mr. Hicks serves on the boards of directors of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, The Center for Strategic and International Studies Board of Trustees, the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business Dean's Board of Advisors, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees, and the University of Texas Chancellor's Council. A former member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, Mr. Hicks served as Chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), which manages the $20 billion University of Texas Permanent University Fund and Long Term Funds. Mr. Hicks graduated with an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1970 and a BBA from the University of Texas in 1969. He is also a past recipient of the University of Texas’ Distinguished Alumnus Award, and has served several years as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
With strong ties to the community, Mr. Hicks has provided continuing support to numerous local organizations, and has also held various charity board memberships. The father of six children, Mr. Hicks resides with his wife Cinda in Dallas.
Thomas O. Hicks, Jr. joined Hicks Holdings LLC as Vice President in 2005. In addition to his involvement with Hicks Holdings, he is Executive Vice President of HSG, Hicks also serves as Alternate Governor for the Dallas Stars Hockey Club and is a member of the board of directors of Liverpool Football Club. Prior to his involvement with Hicks Holdings, Hicks was an analyst at Greenhill & Co. LLC, a New York-based merchant banking firm. As an analyst, Hicks was involved in numerous private equity, mergers and acquisition advisory and financial restructuring transactions. He also served as Director, Corporate and Suite Sales for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club in 2004 and 2005. Hicks, a resident of Dallas, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Campaign for Children in Crisis for Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization of North Texas, and is on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas, the Texas Rangers Foundation, Capital for Kids, SMU Athletic Forum and the University of Texas at Arlington Development Board.
Marcos A. Clutterbuck joined in 2005 and serves as managing director and partner of Hicks Trans American Partners (HTAP) based in the Buenos Aires office. Mr. Clutterbuck previously served as a Principal of HM Capital, which he joined in 1998. At HM Capital Mr. Clutterbuck focused on investments in South America and served as a Director of several portfolio companies including CableVisión, the largest cable television company in Latin America, Teledigital, Claxson, International Outdoor Advertising, a leading outdoor advertising company in Latin America, Editorial Atlántida and MercadoLibre, Inc. a New York Stock Exchange-listed online trading platform.
Mr. Clutterbuck currently serves as Director of several HTAP portfolio companies including Grupo Pilar, a leading animal feed and pet food producer in Argentina, of Dos Valles, a residential and commercial development in Bariloche, of Olympus S.A. a developer of a yet to be named high-end luxury resort featuring a Jack Nicklaus Golf Club and five star hotels also in Bariloche, and of El Desafío, a high end resort featuring a Greg Norman golf course and equestrian and polo facilities, all in Argentine Patagonia. Prior to joining HM Capital in 1998, Mr. Clutterbuck worked in consulting and banking. During that time, Mr. Clutterbuck was also an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Universidad Católica Argentina. Mr. Clutterbuck is an Economics graduate from the Universidad Católica Argentina and received his M.B.A, with distinction, from Stanford University.