Wine as an Investment (Tasting Included): SWAG!

Prior to co-founding TWT Investment Partners in 2009, Tim Clew was a Director in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“CS”) in New York City.  At CS, from 2001-2009, Tim was responsible for providing financial advisory services (including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital raising and capital structure and strategic advisory) to leading consumer products and food and beverage manufacturers throughout North America.  During that time, Tim was also instrumental in conceiving, building and helping to lead CS’s practice advising wineries.  CS’s winery practice became one of the most active financial advisors to the wine industry in the United States.  During this time, Tim was responsible for numerous successful transactions involving some of the largest US wineries and wine companies.  Additionally, Tim was able to develop relationships with many noted figures from across the U.S. wine industry.  Tim started his investment banking career in 1999 with CS in its Technology Investment Banking group.

From 1993-1996, Tim was a strategy consultant with the Strategic Services practice of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and later with Reed Consulting Group, a boutique energy and energy commodities consultancy now affiliated with Navigant Consulting.  In 1996, while in graduate school, Tim was also a co-founder and co-leader of Dwight Consulting Group, a Yale University-affiliated organization which centralized the community-development-focused consulting activities of all of Yale’s graduate and professional school students.  Tim received a B.A. (with Honors) in Political Science and Architectural History from Wesleyan University in 1993, and an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Political Economy from Yale University in 1999.  Tim also studied at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College).

Prior to co-founding TWT Investment Partners in 2009, from 2001-2008, Brian Mota gained direct principal investing expertise at WallerSutton Capital, LLC (“WallerSutton”), a $170 million private equity firm focused on making entrepreneurial and lower-middle market investments within traditional and emerging media, communications and information and marketing services industries.  At WallerSutton, Brian was responsible for performing comprehensive direct investment activities including sourcing, developing due diligence strategies, performing investment analysis, and executing and monitoring portfolio company investments.  Prior to joining WallerSutton, from 1995-2001, Brian worked at J.P. Morgan Chase in the Global Investment Banking division.  After several years as an Analyst, he was offered a direct promotion to Associate and afforded the opportunity to spend two years in the San Francisco office providing financial advisory services to a diverse group of West Coast clients.  While in San Francisco, Brian also developed a passion for wine and began building a private collection and a network of industry relationships.

When Brian relocated from San Francisco to New York to pursue private equity, his passion for wine fueled continued interest in IGW as a compelling alternative investment.  Capitalizing on his growing network of industry relationships, he embarked on research- and returns-driven wine investment endeavors primarily involving difficult to obtain IGW from California.  He continues to manage his private wine collection on a successful returns-oriented basis. Brian graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics and Finance from Lafayette College in 1995.