Ben Gisz

Ben Gisz is one of three partner-owners of TDM Growth Partners, a Sydney-based, invitation-only investment firm known for taking concentrated, long-term positions in a small number of high-growth companies. He joined TDM in 2011 as the firm's third owner, alongside Tom Cowan and Hamish Collette, after more than a decade of sharing a passion for investing with them. TDM had roughly A$70 million under management when Ben joined; the partners have since grown assets under management to well over A$1.5 billion.

Before TDM, Ben built a career across equities research, investment banking, and private equity. He began professionally as an equities analyst (spending around six years at Investec, working alongside future colleagues), and went on to hold roles in corporate advisory and private equity with the Investec Group and Credit Suisse. TDM lore notes his rural upbringing and that his first "investment" was a flock of Merino sheep — a story the firm ties to its emphasis on ownership, hard work, and humility.

At TDM, Ben is closely associated with the firm's "We Are Owners" value, which he frames as the mindset that drives genuine, day-to-day care about the businesses TDM backs. He is an active investor who takes board and governance roles in portfolio companies rather than a passive capital allocator, reflecting TDM's operationally engaged, "proud owners of enduring growth companies" model.

Ben currently sits on the Board of Directors of SomnoMed (ASX: SOM) and serves as a Non-Executive Director of Pet Circle. He was previously a Non-Executive Director of Pacific Smiles Group (ASX: PSQ) from September 2012 to November 2021. Outside work he is a father of three and, per TDM's team page, an occasional tennis player and bagpipe performer.

• Concentration over diversification: TDM runs a deliberately small book — never more than ~15 companies — so each position gets deep attention and capital.
• Large, growth-stage checks: Typically US$75–300 million per company, spanning late-stage private rounds through public-market ownership. This is growth equity, not angel or seed investing.
• "Enduring growth companies": The firm looks for durable, compounding businesses with excellent management, strong culture, and long-term structural tailwinds — and intends to hold for the long term.
• Active ownership: TDM provides "enduring capital" plus hands-on help with scaling culture, operating excellence, strategy, and leadership transitions; partners frequently take board seats (as Ben has with SomnoMed, Pet Circle, and previously Pacific Smiles).
• Ben's own framing: "Ownership is what makes me care every day. It's a million small things which can't be taught but can be inspired."