Thomas Sandell
Thomas Sandell
Thomas Sandell, a Swedish former badminton prodigy, has established a diversified firm specializing in risk arbitrage, equity special situations and credit opportunities. Their UCITS hedge fund is widely considered one of the highest performing funds worldwide.
He is known for designing award-winning furniture with firms such as IKEA of Sweden, Offecct, Garsnas and Kallemo – heading the studio sandellsandberg alongside Ulf Sandberg and Joakim Uebel.
Early Life and Education
Thomas Sandell is an internationally acclaimed Swedish designer and architect known for furniture design, interiors and major buildings. After earning his degree at Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology he founded Sandellsandberg with Ulf Sandberg and Joakim Uebel in 1995.
After beginning his career at Bear Stearns and earning an MBA from Columbia University, Sandell set up Sandell Asset Management – a hedge fund dedicated to global risk arbitrage, equity special situations, and credit opportunities – in 1998.
In 2019, New York authorities agreed on a $105 million settlement with Sandell over his attempts to avoid state and city taxes, although he never admitted wrongdoing and has since moved to London where he serves on The New Leader’s Group of Institute of International Education – administrator of United States Fulbright Program.
Professional Career
Sandell decided to spend two years covering European stocks for Atlantic Finance rather than returning home and playing badminton due to his keen interest in global economics and investment opportunities.
He co-founded Sandellsandberg with Ulf Sandberg and Joakim Uebel in 1995, one of Sweden’s premier architectural offices that is widely known for furniture design and interior projects, drawing heavily from Scandinavian culture while upholding eco-sustainability principles in their work.
Sandell is a highly skilled financial professional, adept at event-driven trading strategies such as merger arbitrage. Additionally, he executes various events such as REIT conversions, MLP drop-downs, exchange offers, minority squeeze-outs and dutch tenders. Furthermore, he is widely renowned for having extensive job knowledge while working independently and with high levels of autonomy.
Achievement and Honors
This award honors an alumnus who has made significant contributions to Western University, exhibited courage in leadership, and displayed exceptional dedication. It is open both alumni and non-alumni alike.
He has achieved great success at such an early age by having three articles accepted for publication by esteemed journals. This feat alone is truly amazing!
In 1995, Ulf Sandberg and Joakim Uebel co-founded the architecture office sandellsandberg to realize successful projects in design and architecture. Within this firm, his designs showcase modernity while remaining true to Nordic heritage; similarly, furniture produced by this studio includes popular models like Ikea Vago and other pieces by Iittala or Asplund brands.
Ayse Papatya Bucak (English) recently won residencies at both Betsy South Beach and Millay Colony for the Arts as well as receiving an esteemed fellowship to attend Summer 2021 Sewanee Writer’s Conference.
Personal Life
Thomas Sandell keeps much of his personal life private, rarely discussing it in interviews. We do know he is married with children. Additionally, he is involved with charity; being a trustee for Friends of ARK (Absolute Return for Kids), which funds initiatives against diseases, abuse and poverty affecting children around the world.
In 1998, Sandell established Sandell Asset Management, a hedge fund focused on event-driven strategies and equity long/short trading. He has also invested in real estate; owning multiple high-end properties in New York City such as his penthouse at 70 Vestry and townhouse on the Upper East Side valued at over $53 million; making investments across other cities such as Stockholm.
Net Worth
Thomas Sandell has amassed an estimated net worth of approximately $1.3 billion and is the founder of Sandell Asset Management Corp, a hedge fund company specializing in global risk arbitrage, equity special situations and credit opportunities. Additionally, its UCITS hedge fund was named The Hedge Fund Journal’s best performing risk arbitrage fund.
Financially, he made headlines by criticizing Compuware’s CEO and directors for taking too long to decide on an acquisition offer. Furthermore, in New York he attempted to avoid paying $450 million in taxes by opening a temporary Florida office and declaring it the sole American office for tax purposes.
He shares an opulent Manhattan townhouse with his wife, Ximena Torti. Their residence features an ornate Moroccan lounge, a billiards room complete with red slag glass sconces and porthole windows for playback of movies, as well as an elegant formal dining area.