Our Team

Tom Gayner
President

Tom Gayner serves as President and Chief Investment Officer of Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) and as the President of Markel Ventures, a Markel Corporation subsidiary. Tom joined Markel over twenty years ago and since that time has earned a reputation for his long-term approach to investing and building value. He also sits on the boards of the Washington Post Company, the Colfax Corporation and the Davis Series Mutual Funds. 

Bill Weirich
Managing Director

Bill Weirich joined Markel Ventures as a Managing Director in January 2011. Prior to Market Ventures, Bill was a Managing Director & Principal at Matrix Capital Markets Group. Bill joined Matrix in 1991 after a career with Praxair that included senior management and M&A experience as President of Union Carbide Industrial Services from 1983 to 1986 and President of Linde Gases of the Midwest from 1986 to 1990. He is a past President and Chairman of M&A International, Inc., a consortium of over 40 middle-market investment banking firms in the Americas, Europe and the Pacific Rim. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and his M.B.A. from Rutgers University. 

Michael Heaton
Managing Director

Michael Heaton joined Markel Corporation in 2007 and is a Managing Director of Markel Ventures. Prior to Markel, Michael was involved with various private ventures in retail and real estate. He sits on the board of Markel Ventures' portfolio companies. Michael received his B.S. in Economics from Brigham Young University and his M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business.

For more information on the Markel Ventures investment approach, call Bill Weirich at (804) 565-1987.

For investor relations call, Bruce Kay at (804) 965-1720.