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Managing Partner
ONA Capital
Malcolm Thompson:
Mal Thompson grew up in the small town of Bristol, NH alongside his sister, two brothers, and parents. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics and earning a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. Mal attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Ranger School prior to taking leadership of an Airborne Infantry Platoon in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. Over the next few years, he served in numerous leadership and staff positions before volunteering for Special Forces training. Earning his Green Beret in 2000, Mal was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, also stationed at Fort Bragg, where he took command of an Operational Detachment Alpha (‘ODA’ or ‘A Team’). Over the next few years Mal deployed to Bosnia, Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Iraq conducting training, assistance, advisory, and combat missions in support of strategic objectives as both a Commander of an A Team and Operations Officer.
After nine years of service, Mal left the Army to attend Harvard Business School, graduating in 2006. He moved to California and began a career in finance, which has included stints at investment banks and a family investment fund. In 2019, Mal took a position at a small, automated controls company focused on the water space, where he served as CFO and CEO. He left that Company in 2021 to focus on investing in ‘dual-use’ technology companies that serve both commercial and national security interests. Mal served as an Independent Director of a water technology company outside of Toronto until its sale in early 2024. He served as the first COO at Deep Fission, a nuclear energy company focused on delivering small modular reactors that are buried roughly a mile below ground for safety and containment, until mid-2025. Additionally, he has acted as an advisor for a local food science company and is a board member of the West Point Alumni Association of the Bay Area. In 2010, Mal married his wife Kathryn, and together they have two daughters and a son. They live in Mill Valley and split their time alternating support for Bay Area and New England sports teams.
