Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Holden Spaht earned a degree in economics from Dartmouth College, studied international politics at the University of Cologne on a Fulbright Scholarship, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Today he is a managing partner at Thoma Bravo, the world's largest software-focused investment firm, where over two decades he has led some of the sector's most transformational and successful deals. Through his work across more than two dozen company boards, he has built a reputation for partnering with great leaders to build some of the world’s most important technology companies.

Holden brings that same instinct for ambitious, enduring change to the institutions closest to him. He is a trustee of Dartmouth College and chaired the board of trustees of Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco from 2019-2023, where he helped guide the institution through a global pandemic and a safe return to campus.

Alongside his wife, Claire, Holden co-founded the Spaht Family Foundation to support the issues most foundational to their lived experiences: the holistic wellbeing of young people, conservation and climate change, and the arts.