CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (“MDP”), a leading private equity firm based in Chicago, announced today that it has engaged industry leader John Lewis as an Executive Partner in pursuit of attractive investment opportunities for MDP’s funds across the information services landscape. In particular, Mr. Lewis, who most recently served as Global President of Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE:NLSN), will assist MDP in identifying and developing businesses with differentiated capabilities in data and business analytics.
“John is a successful operator with a deep understanding of what it takes to build and cultivate a strong franchise in information services,” said Scott Pasquini, a Managing Director at MDP. “His operating expertise complements our capabilities well and we are excited to add John’s contributions to the long-term success of our information services investments.”
“We are thrilled to be working with John as we look to secure compelling investment opportunities in this exciting sector,” adds Zaid Alsikafi, a Managing Director at MDP and co-head of the firm’s TMT Services team. “MDP’s expertise and resources, coupled with John’s background, create a unique proposition with which to source and grow cutting-edge businesses focused on data analytics.”
Mr. Lewis has a proven track record of achievement over a multi-year career spanning a variety of business situations, including globally scaled businesses, start-ups and turnarounds. Most recently, in his capacity as Global President of Nielsen, he oversaw Nielsen’s global “Buy” business and its ex-North America “Watch” business, which comprised approximately two-thirds of Nielsen's more than $6 billion of annual revenue during his tenure. In addition, Mr. Lewis completed and successfully integrated more than 10 strategic acquisitions while at Nielsen.
Prior to Nielsen, Mr. Lewis was CEO of Knowledge Networks, a venture capital-backed early stage company where he succeeded the founding CEO and led its transformation into a more differentiated provider of specialized market research. Previously, he led the Consumer Products division at The NutraSweet Company. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
“I’ve long admired MDP’s approach and I am pleased to be formally aligned with them to help identify attractive investment opportunities in the data and business analytics sector,” said Mr. Lewis. “MDP and I share a common conviction around the compelling opportunities this evolving field presents, as new ways of ingesting and analyzing data are developed to support the critical needs of consumer-facing businesses across a range of industry verticals.”
Mr. Lewis has also joined MDP’s TMT Services Advisory Group, which comprises outside industry executives who assist MDP with identifying new investment opportunities and generating value for MDP’s funds within existing investments. MDP leverages the expertise of this and other industry-specific advisory groups to supplement and enhance its investment strategy across each of its industry areas of focus. These advisory groups have provided MDP with direct introductions to target companies and management teams, unique insights on sector trends, due diligence assistance and post-investment value enhancement support.
About Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (MDP), based in Chicago, is a leading private equity investment firm in the United States. Since MDP’s formation in 1992, the firm has raised seven funds with aggregate capital of approximately $23 billion and has completed approximately 130 investments. MDP is currently investing out of its most recent fund, $4.4 billion MDCP Fund VII, in businesses across a broad spectrum of industries, including telecom, media and technology (TMT) services; basic industries; business and government services; consumer; financial and transaction services; and health care. For more information, please visit http://www.mdcp.com.