Tom Smith

Tom has more than 20 years of experience in the venture capital business, spanning early- and expansion-stage venture investing, as well as large leveraged buyout transactions. Prior to founding Savano, he was a co-founder and General Partner of SmithDefieux Capital Partners, a pioneer of venture direct secondary investing. Before SmithDefieux, Tom was General Partner with Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, where he led several highly successful early-stage technology and Internet-related investments.

Previously, Tom was General Partner with Edison Ventures, where he co-directed the firm’s highly successful communications investment portfolio. He started his career as Vice President of Chase Manhattan Capital Corporation, the private equity affiliate of The Chase Manhattan Bank, where he worked with Gus Koven.

Tom served as a Director of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association for 12 years. Tom earned his MBA, Beta Gamma Sigma, from U.N.C. Chapel Hill and a BS, Magna Cum Laude, from Elizabethtown College.