Private equity pioneer Carl D. Thoma has put down roots in Dallas after decades in Chicago, bringing both his investment track record and a world-class art collection to the city’s growing cultural landscape.
Raised in rural Oklahoma, Thoma earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University in 1971, followed by an MBA from Stanford.
That agricultural background shaped his early thinking on scalable business models. He cut his teeth at First Chicago Equity Group in the 1970s before co-founding Golder Thoma & Co. in 1980 with Stanley Golder. The firm later became GTCR, where Thoma helped pioneer the “buy-and-build” strategy of acquiring fragmented companies, improving operations, and growing them through add-on deals — an approach now foundational to modern private equity.
In 1998, he formed Thoma Cressey, later rebranded Thoma Bravo, which shifted focus to software and technology. Today the firm, still with Chicago headquarters and a Dallas presence, manages more than $180 billion in assets and ranks among the world’s largest software-focused private equity houses. Thoma remains a founder and managing partner alongside Orlando Bravo and others.
In 2021, Thoma and his wife Marilynn relocated from Chicago to Preston Hollow.
“We had long standing ties to Texas, and it felt like the right time to make it home,” he said. “Being headquartered in the Dallas Arts District, the nation’s largest contiguous urban arts district, has only reinforced that decision, giving us the chance to collaborate with neighboring institutions and contribute to the city’s vibrant art scene.”
The couple has established the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, a Dallas-based private foundation supporting arts, education, and community grants. Its Thoma Scholars Program offers financial support up to the full cost of attendance at Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech University for students from rural Northwest Oklahoma, West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico.
“The Thoma Scholars Program reflects our belief that education can change lives,” Thoma noted. “Many are the first in their families to attend college.”
In 2024 the foundation opened a roughly 9,500-square-foot headquarters and exhibition space on Cedar Springs Road near the Arts District.
“Rather than organizing exhibitions by medium or period, our team curates exhibitions around ideas that inspire new ways of looking at the collection,” Thoma explained.
Current shows and partnerships include Spectacles of Power and Faith: Colonial South American Art from the Thoma Foundation at the Meadows Museum (Aug. 23, 2026–Jan. 24, 2027) and a Crow Museum of Asian Art exhibition opening Nov. 7, 2026.
“Dallas has an incredibly vibrant, collaborative arts community with outstanding museums, ambitious artists, and dedicated collectors,” Thoma said.
He and Marilynn continue collecting actively, guided by curiosity rather than market trends, and maintain additional space in Santa Fe. The foundation’s future focus, he added, remains expanding public access, museum partnerships, and support for artists and scholars.
Author
Josh Hickman
Josh Hickman is a national award-winning journalist, visual artist, sometime musician, and author of seven books. His writing For People Newspapers often focuses on arts & culture, local small businesses, local history & government, and interesting personal stories. His paintings include a commission for Dallas County and a donation to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
