Tom Wagner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Allen Wagner III [1] July 1969 (age 56) [2] |
| Nationality | American [3] |
| Education | Villanova University [4] Columbia Business School [4] |
| Occupation | Financier [5] |
| Known for | Co-founder of Knighthead Capital Management [4] |
| Co-owner – Birmingham City | |
| Assumed office 13 July 2023 [5] | |
Thomas Allen Wagner III (born July 1969) is an American financier who is best known as the co-founder and co-CEO of Knighthead Capital Management. [4] [5]
He is also the current co-owner and chairman of association football club Birmingham City. [5]
Wagner graduated from Villanova University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He later graduated Beta Gamma Sigma from Columbia Business School in 1999. [4] [6]
In 2008, he co-founded Knighthead Capital Management LLC alongside Ara Cohen. [4] [7] The company is an investment firm that specialises in "fundamental analysis, operational and financial turnarounds and risk management". [8]
On 13 July 2023, Shelby Companies Limited (SCL), a subsidiary of Knighthead, became co-owners of association football club Birmingham City. [5] SCL currently own 45.96% of the EFL Championship side. [9] As a result of the takeover, Wagner became the club's chairman. [9] A month later, on 3 August 2023, former NFL player Tom Brady "entered a partnership" with SCL as a minority owner of Birmingham City. [10]
Since the takeover, plans to replace the club's current home of St Andrew's have been in the works. On 9 April 2024, SCL acquired a plot of land in Bordesley Green to use for a new stadium. [11] [12] The proposed New Birmingham City Stadium will host 62,000 spectators and be surrounded by a "Sports Quarter", which will be used by all of the club's teams. [13] [14] The project has an optimistic completion date of 2029. [15]
Despite relegation from the EFL Championship in Wagner's first season at Birmingham City, [16] the club was promoted straight back up as champions of EFL League One the following year. [17]