LAIRD THOMAS, Founder & Managing Partner: Energy / Natural Resources
A Founder and Managing Partner of Corsair Merchant Partners, Corsair Merchant Partners Group & Corsair Advisory Partners Group; Mr. Thomas (based in Denver) has extensive global business development and corporate relationship building skills and background, encompassing the following countries: Canada, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Panama. With respect to the U.S. Mr. Thomas has served as Managing Director for LTL Energy and Corsair Energy, both Wyoming entities. Mr. Thomas is strongly focused on financing and capitalizing energy projects and has considerable experience raising funds for numerous startup entities. In 2004 as President of Global Funds (a Colorado based PE firm) he was instrumental in raising capital for the first foreign depository based in Colorado, which was later acquired by a US Hedge Fund. Mr. Thomas is a major shareholder in Fuel Recovery, a company that owns the worldwide rights to a fuel conversion technology utilizing any carbonaceous feedstock. He worked with major companies such as Shell, BASF, ICM, Flour and was instrumental in introducing Marathon Oil into an investment and R&D opportunity. From 1990 to 2002 Mr. Thomas was Operations Manager for AAA Brokerage; duties included developing operating budgets, HR, client relations, and contract negotiations. Mr. Thomas completed his first startup in IT with computer software marketed to the leasing industry in 1985. He then sold the company to his partner in 1987 and took a sabbatical for a 2 year stint in Pakistan and South Asia. He returned in late 1989 to start a private marketing company in the USA. Mr. Thomas attended AIMS Community College in Colorado majoring in Management Science and Information Systems. Mr. Thomas then attended Colorado State University majoring in Watershed Science & Hydrogeology.