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Portrait of Jonathan Nelson

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

Jonathan Nelson

Jonathan Nelson is Dynasty Equity’s Co-Founder and Executive Chairman.

Prior to Dynasty Equity, Jonathan founded Providence Equity Partners, a premier asset management firm. He has over 35 years of private equity investing experience. Jonathan was the Chief Executive Officer of Providence from 1989 when he founded the firm, through December 31, 2020, after which he has held the position of Executive Chairman. The firm pioneered a sector-focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Providence has invested in over 200 companies and has become a leading private equity firm specializing in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education, software and services. Under Jonathan, Providence established a successful history of launching new strategies, including the original technology, media, and telecom private equity strategy, credit solutions, growth equity, and public equity platforms.

At Providence, Jonathan helped lead some of the most innovative sports and entertainment investments, including the formation of the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (“YES”) in partnership with the Yankees and Nets (at the time, the first partnership between a private equity firm and sports to form a regional sports network), a partnership with Major League Soccer (“MLS”) to form MLS Media, overseeing the marketing, promotion and operational execution of MLS’ commercial rights (at the time, the first partnership between any major professional sports league and an investment firm), a partnership with the National Football League focused on investing in sports and entertainment related media assets, and serving as a founding investor and only institutional capital in Hulu (a strategic content platform alongside News Corp, NBC Universal, and later Disney).

Previously, Jonathan was a Managing Director of Narragansett Capital, which he joined in 1983. At Narragansett Capital, Jonathan specialized in private equity investments in the cable television, broadcasting, and publishing sectors.

Jonathan currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ambassador Theatre Group and as a Board Member of The Chernin Group. He has also served as a director of numerous other Providence portfolio companies, including Bresnan Communications, Eircom plc, Hulu, Language Line, MetroNet (now AT&T Canada), MLS Media, Univision, VoiceStream Wireless (now T-Mobile US), Warner Music Group, Western Wireless Corporation (now AT&T Corp.), and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES).

Jonathan received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. Jonathan is a Trustee of The Rockefeller University and The Institute for Advanced Study. Jonathan was previously a Corporation Member and Fellow at Brown University (1999 to 2022) and a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School. He was awarded the Brown University President’s Medal in 2022 and Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2014.