Tom Biegala

Tom has been working in frontier technology as an investor and engineer for 20 years. His passion for the space started with research on cutting-edge OLED and photovoltaic technologies as an engineering student at Cornell University. Since then, Tom has been involved in all phases of a company’s lifecycle, from newco formation and early R&D through to scale-up and IPO.

Prior to co-founding Bison Ventures, Tom worked at Cascade Asset Management Company, the investment office that manages the assets of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Gates family.

Tom started his career at Intel Corporation as a manufacturing engineer, and later did work developing next generation solar photovoltaic technologies at two university spinouts. While completing his MBA, Tom transitioned from engineering to venture capital with a role at Altira Group, an energy technology focused venture capital firm.

In his spare time, Tom loves to enjoy a good Howlin’ Wolf vinyl record along with his two hound dogs that occasionally sing along. He equates identifying the next once-in-a-generation technology company to finding the next great band before they make it big.

Tom received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Northwestern University. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Energy and Sustainability at Northwestern University, and he is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee at Prime Coalition, a non-profit organization that provides catalytic capital for climate innovation.