Tom Alberg co-founded Madrona Venture Group in Seattle in 1995 with Jerry Grinstein, Paul Goodrich and Bill Ruckelshaus. He first invested in Amazon.com in the company's Series A financing in 1995 and served on its board for 23 years, stepping down in May 2019, and he was a director of Impinj from 2000, the longest serving outside member of that board. Before founding Madrona he was president of LIN Broadcasting Corporation and executive vice president of McCaw Cellular Communications, and earlier was a partner and chair of the executive committee at the law firm Perkins Coie, where he was principal counsel for The Boeing Company and Alaska Airlines. He died on August 5, 2022, at the age of 82.
Education
Harvard College (cum laude)
J.D., Columbia Law School
Previous Experience
Attorney, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Partner and chair of the executive committee, Perkins Coie
Executive Vice President, McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc.
President, LIN Broadcasting Corporation
Notable Investments
Amazon.com AMZNImpinj PI
Career Timeline
1990
Took a role at McCaw Cellular Communications.
1995
Co-founded Madrona Venture Group with Jerry Grinstein, Paul Goodrich and Bill Ruckelshaus, and invested in Amazon.com's Series A financing.
1996
Joined the board of directors of Amazon.com.
2000
Joined the board of Impinj representing Madrona, which led Impinj's first venture financing with ARCH Venture Partners.
2019
Stepped down from the Amazon.com board after 23 years of service.