Thomas O. Hicks is chairman, founder and partner of Hicks Holdings LLC, a Dallas-based family office that owns and manages the Thomas and Cinda Hicks Family's real estate, corporate assets and investments. Hicks Equity Partners LLC, the private equity firm led by Hicks, targets acquisitions, buyouts, buy-and-builds, corporate divestitures and selected growth capital investments, typically investing $15-$100 million per portfolio company, in companies with enterprise values between $50-$500 million. Previously, Hicks co-founded and was chairman from 1989 through 2004 of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, Inc., (HMTF), a nationally prominent private equity firm specializing in leveraged acquisitions. During his tenure as chairman, HMTF successfully raised over $12 billion of private equity funds, consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions, and was one of the world's most active private investment firms. From 1984 to 1989, Hicks was co-founder and co-CEO of Hicks & Haas, a Dallas-based private equity firm. From 1995–2011, he was the owner and chairman of the Dallas Stars, a National Hockey League club, which won the 1999 Stanley Cup Championship. He was also instrumental in the development and building of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, which opened in July 2001. Hicks was the owner and chairman of the board of the Texas Rangers baseball team, and of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington from June 1998 to August 2010. He serves on the boards of directors of Drilling Tools International, H-D Advanced Manufacturing Company, and Standard Pump Parts; is a member of the University of Texas Chancellor's Council; and formerly served on the Board of Trustees for The Center for Strategic and International Studies. Hicks graduated with an MBA from the University of Southern California in 1970 and a BBA from the University of Texas in 1969. He is the father of six children and he and his wife Cinda reside in Dallas.