Tom Castro is an entrepreneur, investor, and corporate director who is active in civic affairs and public policy. Castro is the Founder and CEO of El Dorado Capital, a Houston-based boutique investment firm that partners with a select number of growth companies. El Dorado is also a vehicle for Tom to mentor younger entrepreneurs.
Tom serves on the Boards of Nielsen Holdings (NLSN; NYSE; S&P 500) and Cumulus Media (CMLS; NASDAQ; Russell 2000). Nielsen is a global data analytics and media measurement company that operates in over 100 countries. Cumulus is the second largest audio company in the U.S. by the number of stations, operating 428 stations in 87 media markets nationally. The company reaches over 250 million listeners per week via its radio stations, audio, and podcast networks. Tom was a director of Time Warner Cable (TWC; NYSE; Fortune #125) for 10 years until its recent sale. In his cumulative 16 years of board service, he has served on Audit, Nominations/Governance, Compensation, and Finance committees.
Castro is recognized for his pioneering work in the broadcasting and marketing fields. He founded and managed six companies in the media, consumer Internet, marketing services, and energy export sectors. He has raised more than $350 million of capital for his businesses that have operated throughout the U.S. and in Latin America. With a partner, Castro bought his first radio station at the age of 25, making him the youngest radio station owner in the U.S. at the time.
Tom is active in civic and community affairs nationally. He serves on the boards of the Texas Charter Schools Association (Chairman) in Austin; Spelman College in Atlanta; and YES Prep Charter School Network in Houston. Tom is a member of the U.S. Board of IESE, the Barcelona, Spain-based business graduate school; and is an Advisory Trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund, New York. He recently completed his terms on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington; Professor Michael Porter’s Institute for a Competitive Inner City in Boston; Teach for America (National) in New York City; the Surdna Foundation of New York where he served on the committee which invests Surdna’s $1billion endowment; and Unidos US, Washington D.C..
A native of the Watts community in Los Angeles, Castro was educated at Harvard College; the University of Madrid, Spain; CIDOC in Cuernavaca, Mexico; and Loyola Jesuit High School in Los Angeles. Tom was the first person in his family to attend college and received a scholarship to Harvard where he studied International Affairs. Tom is married to Jacqueline Diaz who grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. They are the parents of Alejandra, a recent graduate of Amherst College and newly minted consultant at Bain, and Antonio, a student at Southern Methodist University.
