His name may not fall from the lips of Baltimore Orioles fans or Wall Street investors.
But without Jack Dunn IV and his family, the Baltimore Orioles likely would not be here today and several top businesses would have sunk leaving a trail of disgruntled investors, nasty lawsuits and irate workers.
Dunn is chief executive officer of FTI Consulting in Baltimore, a company that provides corporate finance restructuring, crisis management, forensic, litigation and economic consulting. It?s a company that has won top industry awards and grown dramatically over the years.
Dunn is also a minority investor in the Orioles. But “minority” doesn?t represent his family?s roots in the ball club.
And while Orioles baseball is dear to Dunn and his family, he also has a passion for his work, which he calls “putting together a first-class, world-class team of intellectuals” to help companies handle critical issues such as financial trouble and crisis management.
“The stakes are so high for everybody,” Dunn said, “but 80 to 85 percent of our business is repeat business.”
“They are selling very sophisticated skills to the ?C? suits ? the chairmans, chief executive offices and chief operating officers of major corporations,” said Gerry Holthaus, chief executive officer of Williams Scotsman, a Baltimore-based mobile and modular space company.
Holthaus said Dunn must manage some of the nation?s top economists, financial experts and lawyers who often help companies deal with a financial crisis ? whether it?s bankruptcy, a major court verdict affecting earnings or some other money catastrophe.
“That takes talent, a little charm and skill,” said Holthaus, “Not everybody can do that, but Jack can handle that kind of crowd.”
FTI Consulting was recently selected as one of the nation?s top small businesses by Fortune magazine, chosen for its management and consecutive quarters of positive earnings.
It had $800 million in revenue last year.
Dunn has been with the company since 1982. “We originally began as a forensic company to provide expert witnesses,” he said.
The company went public in 1996 and in 1998, it decided to focus on financial consulting. “It was the fastest-growing industry at the time,” Dunn said.
Dunn?s great-grandfather, Jack Dunn, is credited with reviving the Pre-St. Louis Browns? Orioles in the early 1900s, when the Orioles were a minor league team.
In 1953 the American League?s St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and the Browns? owner graciously ? he didn?t have to? bought the Orioles franchise name and team from the Dunn family. He also gave Jack Dunn IV?s father a job in the front office.
When his dad died in 1987, the Dunn family?s connection to the Orioles dropped too.
But in 1993, Peter Angelos, the new owner of the Orioles, asked Jack Dunn IV to become a minority investor.
Jack Dunn IV
» First job: Assistant General Manager of the Miami, Fla., Orioles, the farm team for Baltimore Orioles
» Education/credentials: Graduated from Gilman School, Baltimore; B.A. Princeton University; J.D. University of Maryland
» Best job perk: The ability to travel and to be engaged with some of the brightest minds in business, many of whom work for me.
» Daily e-mails received: About 100
» Daily voice mails received: About 15
» Essential Web sites: finance.yahoo.com, www.seizedpropertyauctions.com
» Career objective: To be part of building a company that changed the way an industry, conducted business and became a company built to last
» Hometown: Baltimore
» Birthdate: March 20, 1951
» Original aspiration: To become a professional baseball player and then a team owner
» Sports/hobbies: Watching Gilman middle school football, golf, watching pro baseball and football.
