Thomas Theobald

Eager to see the world, Cincinnati native Tom Theobald studied abroad with three other classmates in post-war Vienna in 1956. The city was grim, but amidst the rubble, it was an exciting time of revival that exposed Tom to a variety of new perspectives. Motivated to work internationally, Tom’s experience in Vienna served as a building block, giving him skills necessary to succeed as an international banker and investor. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Tom started a 27-year career at Citibank, rising to Vice Chairman and head of international banking, and served as Chairman and CEO of Continental Bank Corp. until it was sold in 1994. Today, an active private investor, Tom takes us on a look back to his study abroad days 60 years ago.

IES Abroad: As a student at College of the Holy Cross, what led to study abroad in Vienna?

Thomas Theobald: I ended up at Holy Cross College without properly understanding what it was. I really didn’t much enjoy my time there (rest assured, the college is a lot less harsh now), and I was looking for some way out. I didn’t want to transfer to another school, and I heard by accident about the Vienna opportunity. Vienna was particularly interesting at that time in 1956. The Russians had just left. It was as grim as Berlin. You could walk for blocks, and there would be just wood fencing around rubble. It was devastated. Clean up hadn’t really begun because no one knew what would happen until after the Russians left. It was really exciting to be there. There were spies! Of course, it was a very plain style of life. In the winter, no matter who you were, the vegetables were sauerkraut and potatoes. The opera had just reopened. It was very different from the United States, which, of course, had not been war damaged. The other attraction, besides the political situation in Austria, was that I was coming from a German-speaking background from a hundred and fifty years before. My ancestors had come from Germany to Cincinnati. After studying Latin and Greek, which had no immediate prospects of usage, learning a living language, one that related to my family background, sounded like fun.

IES Abroad: What are some of your greatest memories from your time in Vienna?

TT: No sooner had the academic year started then the Hungarian Revolution occurred. It was the first big breakdown of the Eastern Block. The border opened, not in a true fashion, but the guards were overwhelmed, and 100,000 to 200,000 people left Hungary and walked over the border to Austria. They were pouring into Vienna, and the reaction was, “How do we help?” There were posters around the University about how you could go to some abandoned barracks used for military training in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The buildings were in terrible condition, and the rats were pretty big! People were streaming in with nothing but maybe a small handbag filled with clothes and big ambition. Students were recruited to clean barracks, cook, serve food, and so on. It was an amazing experience. It went on for a couple months. Ironically, not more than 10 or 11 years later, I ended up in Sydney, Australia working. All of the real estate moguls were Hungarians who had left in 1956. I probably had seen them in the barracks! 

Also, we went on cheap excursions, and certainly one of the more memorable ones was over Christmas break when a group of us went skiing and stayed in some farmhouse type place. I don’t recall any lifts. On Christmas Eve, we went walking through the woods looking for a chapel that was out among the trees lit by candles. There was a Christmas Mass there with probably thirty people in this tiny church. It was snowing. It is a fantastic memory that one would never see anywhere else. I think about it every Christmas Eve.

IES Abroad: What were the most formative experiences or classes you took while studying abroad?

TT: I went with a particular interest in history. We had some really outstanding teachers, people who later showed up as professors at Yale and elsewhere. Modern European history was being taught in Vienna by people who had lived through it until just a few years before. The intricate mess of different countries and cultures, what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was now all these little countries with small populations. As an American, you are used to one big, open country; whereas, in Europe, it was all these little bits and pieces. It was an amazing reduction of perspective from the whole world into a bunch of narrow little valleys where people hated each other or got into wars over small disagreements. It taught us that the world was a whole lot more complex than the little attention American history books gave to the rest of the world. We came to understand that there was no talking about Europe – Europe was just pieces of geography. For example, the French are different from the Germans, but it didn’t explain how they got into wars and other unpleasantries, which doesn’t make much sense from the typical U.S. perspective.

That was really useful exposure. If you read newspapers published from different locations, even today, it is a different world. It really impressed me that “Hey, wait a minute, these people see it from a very different perspective!” That has been a very useful lesson. Another thing that I had not had exposure to was the world of art. You could go wondering free through the Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum or you could go to the opera with no advance preparation. I remember buying tickets for the standing section at the opera. It was 27 shillings, around $1.10 at the time. You could just drop in. We all saw lots of opera.

IES Abroad: You have had a remarkable career as a banker and investor: 27 years at Citicorp/Citibank rising to Vice Chairman and head of international banking, Chairman and CEO of Continental Bank Corp. until it was sold in 1994, partner with private equity firms William Blair and Chicago Growth Partners, and now an active private investor. What inspired you to become an international banker and investor?

TT: I knew growing up in Cincinnati that I wanted to see more of the world, even though I didn’t know what it was like. I went to Vienna because it sounded exciting to see some stranger parts of the world. It seems odd to say that about Vienna today, but back then, it was a dark, grim place. Studying abroad was along the path rather than a big turn in my interest to work internationally. All during the time I was at Harvard Business School, I took classes in international business. I went to work for Citibank because it was by far the most international bank or business of any kind at the time. They were operating in over 100 countries. It was certainly useful to have spent time in Vienna. Every time I got off an airplane while I was with Citi, I had to reassemble my bearings to adjust to the culture.

IES Abroad: Did your experiences in Vienna influence your career path?

TT: My study abroad experience in Vienna was a building block. It was a piece of what sounded good to me. It was a reaffirmation that it would be rewarding to see the world. Another thing that may be harder to grasp today…when I got out of graduate school in 1960, it was sort of exotic, even in a big company, to go outside of the U.S. People would say, “It may not be good for your career path. Who is going to remember you? What you are learning may not be relevant to what goes on here in America.” It was a very different attitude. Now, people look at it as great experience as we move to being more global. Back then, it was dubious. You needed a certain amount of conviction that this would be a good idea, something that everyone today takes for granted. 

IES Abroad: What skills have been most important to successfully navigating your global career?

TT: There are cultural differences in the U.S. Growing up in the Midwest, people were considerate, willing to listen, and treated others with respect. I worked in New York for 25 years, and it wasn’t the same. If you didn’t go out in the morning wanting to ‘kill’, you probably wouldn’t have a successful day. I guess there are too many rats in the cage. You had better be the stronger rat. I had a big advantage, just by the accident of where I happened to be born, of being open. I was interested in the rest of the world and, even more fundamentally, I was curious. “Why is that happening?” “Why is so-and-so over there doing something?” I would find somebody to have lunch with and ask, “What do you do here?” That, I think, is one of the career advantages that I had. I was put in all sorts of different jobs – radically different – because I was curious. That is different than saying, “Here is my job. Let’s get the damn thing done and go home and have a nice party.” That is a universal value. In school you have a syllabus, and they are going to teach you A, B, and C. But when you are on your own, you have to open the doors and ask, “What is this?” That is fundamental career advice, no matter where you are. You want to distinguish yourself by having a broader understanding of where you are, and what you are doing.

IES Abroad: You have supported scholarships for students from economically disadvantaged Chicago families to study through IES Abroad. Generally-speaking, what drives your philanthropy?

TT: I have tried to use what resources I have in a fairly focused way on what I see is a big problem. The one that struck me, and that has seen the least progress, is educational achievement in the primary and secondary years, K-12. I have focused on trying to help on an individual level to achieve better outcomes. If a student is in a totally dysfunctional home, it can be terrifying. Homes matter, no matter what. You can offset a difficult family background, to a degree, by having a well-organized school that operates in a coherent way. I started several approaches on this in Cincinnati, Chicago, and New York. Mentoring is important in this success as well. I am intrigued by the IES Abroad opportunity for a kid to broaden his or her horizons.

IES Abroad: What advice do you have for students who are considering studying or interning abroad?

TT: Expand your horizon constantly by always asking, “Why is that? What just happened? Why does someone do that? What might happen next?” To me, curiosity is always a positive. There is a saying, “Curiosity kills a cat.” But I don’t think so. Looking and asking in a work situation or a social situation is very rewarding. It is an exercise to do all your life. You can learn constantly by just observing and asking why. It is a life skill!