Todhunter “Tod” Weir Bensen passed away on Aug. 10, 2017 in California.
Born on Dec. 24,1962 in New York City, Tod and his mother were surrounded by hospital staff singing Christmas carols, a portent of the outstanding life he was to lead.
After attending Greenwich High School, Tod graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1984. While at college, he played lacrosse and ultimate Frisbee, rowed crew, and made lifelong friendships as a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
After graduating from Dartmouth he worked on Wall Street for two years at L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin as a Corporate Finance Analyst before moving to London, where he worked at Cazenove & Co., the UK’s leading investment bank, for 20 years. After building the company’s Equity Capital Markets practice, where he led hundreds of IPOs for companies around the world, he set up Cazenove Private Equity (CPE). As founder and CEO of this $450 million fund, he built one of Europe’s leading venture capital businesses.
Within the first year that Tod was living in London he met the love of his life, Fiona Aitchison, originally from New Zealand. They married in 1994 in the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy, with their reception at the House of Lords. With a passion for travel and adventure, the couple visited 52 countries and eventually decided to relocate to California, seeking new professional pursuits. In 2005, Tod handed over the management of CPE.
Once in California, he became aware of WildAid, a charity with the mission to end the illegal wildlife trade in endangered animal parts. He was influenced by the similarities between the organization’s management talent, ambition, and achievements and those of the world’s best venture capital-backed companies. After working with WildAid on various projects, Tod joined the board as Chairman from 2008 until 2013 and remained an active board member until his passing.
While continuing his venture capital investing, in 2014, he also founded his own start-up company, StudentVox. He started the company when he realized that he could utilize technology to facilitate communication between college applicants and enrolled college students during the admissions process.
Tod was a lover of all sports, both as a participant and a spectator. As a young boy, he was introduced to fishing by his Gramps in Mystic, CT, and remained a lifelong fisherman, fishing in places from Alaska to Mozambique, Australia to Scotland, Belize to Malaysia. During his California years, he became an avid Golden State Warriors fan and season ticket holder.
Tod also was a voracious reader, keen poker player, rescue advocate and dog lover, scuba diver, comedy show and concert goer, dynamic story teller, and generous and inclusive friend.
In addition to his wife, Fiona Bensen, Tod is survived by his parents, Roger & Anne Bensen (Connecticut); sisters, Brooke Glidden (husband, John, and son, Johnny, New Jersey) and Kim Crowell (husband, Brad, and children, Anna, Catie, and Will, Massachusetts); brother, Britt Bensen (California); aunt and uncle, Sandra & Bob Calhoun (children, Andrew, Rob, and Gordon, Virginia); parents-in-law, Dave Aitchison & Shona Reichardt (New Zealand); sister-in-law, Debs Cassar (Australia); brother-in-law, Ross Aitchison (New Zealand); and many nieces and nephews Down Under. Tod was predeceased by his loving grandparents, George & Florence Bensen and John & Minetta Weir. Tod was also survived by his beloved dogs, Ike & Petey, and predeceased by Otis & Spunky.
He has physically left us much too soon, and his laughter and prolific stories will be greatly missed, but his personality and spirit will be with us forever. As one of his friends has said, “he lived twice a life in half a lifetime.” We will carry wonderful memories of Tod in our minds and hearts forever.
A remembrance and reflection service will be held at the Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley, CA on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 at 3 p.m., with a celebration of Tod’s life to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to WildAid at www.wildaid.org
