Senior Advisor to Blackstone Headlines Dean’s Lecture
Private Equity investing has proven to be the top performing asset class for pensions, endowments, foundations and high net worth individuals for over a twenty-five-year period. What was once a boutique industry now has over 4,000 investment firms and almost $1 trillion of capital waiting on the sidelines to be invested, albeit in what often is said to be a full-priced market.
Analyzing the growth of private equity investing and its potential is Blackstone Senior Advisor and Harvard Business School Lecturer John Dionne, who spoke at the Dolan School Dean’s Lecture titled, “Global Outlook for Private Equity Investing,” last semester.
Until he retired from his position as a senior managing director of Blackstone in 2013, John most recently served as the company’s global head of the private equity business development and investor relations groups, and also was a member of its private equity investment and valuation committees. During his tenure in this position, John led global fundraising efforts of more than $25 billion for three new private equity investment vehicles in the period immediately following the financial crisis.
“Hearing Mr. Dionne’s perspective on private equity investing was a special treat for our students,” said Don Gibson, PhD, dean of the Dolan School. “He shared experience as an advisor to Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms.”
John originally joined Blackstone in 2004 as the founder and CIO of the Blackstone Distressed Securities Fund, the firm's initial entry into the single-manager hedge fund business, with peak assets under management of more than $2 billion. Prior to Blackstone, John was a partner and portfolio manager for Bennett Restructuring Funds, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund specializing in financially troubled companies.
Currently, John serves on the board of directors of many companies and not-for-profit institutions, and has received academic honors while earning an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Scranton.
