Stanley C. Golder (February 16, 1929 – January 5, 2000) was an American

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

and

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

ist.Q&A column
, an interview of Michael Weisbach, Finance professor at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, about Stanley Golder, ''M&A Advisor'', November 30, 2007Stanley C. Golder
a donor profile at the UIUC website He is the namesake of the Stanley C. Golder Center for the Study of Private Equity at the

, from which he graduated (

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

, 1951).

Career

His early jobs were with

First National Bank of Chicago First Chicago Bank was a Chicago-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863. Over the years, the bank operated under several names including The First National Bank of Chicago and First Chicago NBD (following its 1995 merger with ...

and its affiliates, promoted up to executive vice president. In early 1970s he was made president of First Capital Corporation of Chicago and First Chicago Investment Corporation. In the 1970s, Golder built the private equity program at First Chicago Corp. where he is noted primarily for backing

Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

and for efforts as chairman of the National Venture Capital Association and the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies to change federal laws allowing pensions to invest in private equity.Private Equity Pioneer Golder Dies
Buyouts, January 24, 2000. In 1980 he left First Chicago to found " Golder, Thoma & Cressey" private equity investment company, later known as

GTCR GTCR LLC is a Chicago, Illinois-based private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, leveraged recapitalization, growth capital and rollup transactions. The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services & tec ...

, from which he retired as partner in 1993, but remained consultant. Golder Thoma received much of its initial funding from

William M. Blair William McCormick Blair (May 2, 1884 – March 29, 1982), was an American financier. Early life William McCormick Blair was born May 2, 1884, in Chicago. His father, Edward Tyler Blair, was the son of William Blair, who founded the first wholesal ...

and upon leaving First Chicago, Golder was replaced by John A. Canning Jr. who would go on to found rival Chicago private equity firm

Madison Dearborn Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts of privately held or publicly traded companies, or divisions of larger companies; recapitalizations of family-owned or closely held companies; ...

Personal

Stanley Golder was married to Joan Jacobi Golder. He was president of the Chicago chapter of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

"Stanley Golder, venture capitalist", an obituary by Stephanie Zimmermann, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', January 10, 2000. In 1994 the Golders received the Human Rights Medallion from the American Jewish Committee. Among Golders' charitable deeds was a $1.5 million gift to the UIUC to endow the Stanley C. and Joan J. Golder Distinguished Chair in Corporate Finance. Stanley Golder died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at Evanston Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golder, Stanley Private equity and venture capital investors American financiers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Jewish American philanthropists 2000 deaths 1929 births 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews