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Stealth Mogul
Sometimes it pays to be nearly invisible. Just ask Jonathan Nelson (MBA 1983). He heads one of the most successful media and telecommunications investment firms youve probably never heard of Providence Equity Partners. My own mother doesnt know what I do, he only half-jokingly told the New York Times (September 14, 2003).
Nelson cofounded the Providence, Rhode Island, firm in 1991 and has quietly grown it into a $5 billion juggernaut. The company reports that it has produced average annual returns above 70 percent from year one. Yet for all its success, the firm has gone largely unnoticed in the business press. I love the fact that we are not covered, Nelson told the Times.
Among its successes, Providence turned its founding investment in cellular telephone operator VoiceStream Wireless into a hefty return when Deutsche Telekom bought the company and renamed it T-Mobile. It purchased and revived Wired magazine before selling it at a sizable profit to CondŽ Nast. Last year, Providence led a consortium that bought the largest cable television company in Europe.
A native of Providence and a graduate of Brown University, Nelson is content to stay put in his hometown. But success comes at a price. Providence has finally decided to open an office in Manhattan where maintaining its low profile will be a challenge.
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