James Dunning, Jr
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
Founder & CEO
New York, US
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
THE MARQUE
In Their Own Right
Biography
James (Jim) D. Dunning, Jr. founded The Dunning Group Inc. in 1992. The Dunning Group invests in middle market companies where its management, operations and finance expertise can be leveraged.
In February 2014, Mr. Dunning was selected by the SEC and appointed by the US Southern District Court of New York as the Independent Monitor over the Harbinger Capital Partners entities. Mr. Dunning is a former Chairman of Freedom Communications Holdings, Inc., a diversified media company with 82 newspapers, including the Orange County Register, 8 broadcast TV stations and internet products which was sold in 2012.
As Chairman and CEO, Mr. Dunning led the management teams that acquired Ziff Davis Media (a leading technology and Internet magazine publisher), USA Pubs (magazine subscription database), The Peterson Companies (specialty magazines), Transwestern Publishing (yellow pages and database), SRDS (media data base and directory), and Yellow Book. During Mr. Dunning’s tenure at Petersen it developed from a publisher of special interest magazines into a complete marketing solutions company and one of the largest publishers of special-interest magazines in the U.S. Prior to starting his buyout business he was the Head of Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at Thomson McKinnon Securities and the President of Rolling Stone.
A former Trustee at the University of Pennsylvania and Deerfield Academy, Mr. Dunning graduated with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Record
Background
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1992 — Present
Founder & CEO
The Dunning Group Inc
A private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies with strong fundamentals, favorable competitive positions, attractive growth prospects and superior management teams. The Dunning Group seeks to acquire equity or mezzanine debt stakes in middle-market firms.
In The News
Newsfeed
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1 July 2022 · Bedford & New Canaan Magazine
Not Just the Guy With His Name on the Fields
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Formative Years
Education
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The Wharton School | University of Pennsylvania
BS in Economics
1970
Areas Of Focus