Two Sigma has appointed Tom Hill to the newly created role of Chairman of Two Sigma’s private investment business, which includes Two Sigma Impact, Two Sigma Ventures and Sightway Capital.
Two Sigma has appointed Tom Hill to the newly created role of Chairman of Two Sigma’s private investment business, which includes Two Sigma Impact, Two Sigma Ventures and Sightway Capital.
In his role as Chairman, he will be responsible for setting the strategy and growth plans across the company’s current private investment businesses and will lead any expansion of Two Sigma’s private investment business. Hill previously held a consulting role with Two Sigma since early 2019 and recently joined full-time.
Two Sigma began investing in the private markets over a decade ago under the belief that it could successfully bring its disciplined, scientific approach alongside its technology and data science expertise to new investment strategies. As part of Two Sigma, the private investments business has access to expertise in data science, technology, and a range of corporate specialties, and seeks to support their portfolio companies with those resources.
Currently, Two Sigma’s private investment business consists of three businesses:
Two Sigma Impact, launched in late 2020, is a private equity business focused on workforce impact that seeks to combine active, principled ownership and data science with the goal of achieving superior returns and positive social outcomes. Two Sigma Impact made its first investment in November 2020 in Penn Foster, a data-driven digital learning platform.
Two Sigma Ventures, an early-stage venture capital business investing in transformative companies harnessing information growth and computing power to change the world. Two Sigma Ventures has made over 75 of investments since inception in 2012.
Sightway Capital, a private equity business focused on investing in and building companies in data rich industries such as financial services and real assets. Sightway Capital currently has 14 portfolio companies.
“We have known Tom for over 20 years and he has always been a strong advocate for the ability of technology and data to help solve the toughest challenges across financial services, which is core to Two Sigma’s mission,” says David Siegel, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Two Sigma.
“Our private investments business is an important part of the future of Two Sigma and we are confident in our ability to deliver differentiated returns in private markets under Tom’s leadership,” says John Overdeck, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Two Sigma.
Prior to January 2019, Tom was the President and CEO of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management and Vice Chairman of Blackstone Group where he served as a member of the Board of Directors. During his 25 years at Blackstone, he built the firm’s hedge fund solutions business from less than USD1 billion into the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds with more than USD75 billion in assets under management when he retired at the end of 2018.
“Two Sigma has built a business over the past 20 years guided by the principle that data and technology can make us better investors,” says Hill. “I am excited by the opportunity and challenge ahead as we continue to look for ways to accelerate the application of Two Sigma’s data science and technological capabilities across our private investment business.”
Before joining Blackstone in 1993, Hill began his career at First Boston, later becoming one of the co-founders of its mergers and acquisitions department. After running the mergers and acquisitions department at Smith Barney, he joined Lehman Brothers as a partner in 1982, serving as co-head and subsequently head of investment banking. Later, he served as co-chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers and co-president and co-chief operating officer of Shearson Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.
Hill is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School.
