Paul Finnegan

Paul James Finnegan (born 1953) is a Chicago-based investor and philanthropist. In 1992, he co-founded Madison Dearborn Partners and currently serves as the firm's co-CEO. From 2014 to 2023, served as the Treasurer of the Harvard Corporation and the Chair of the Harvard Management Company.^[2][3]

Paul Finnegan
Born	Paul James Finnegan 71–72 Scituate, Massachusetts[1]
Education	Harvard University
Occupation(s)	Investor and philanthropist
Known for	Founder and co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners Treasurer of the Harvard Corporation
Spouse	Mary Finnegan

Life

Finnegan was born and raised in Massachusetts and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, graduating in 1971.^{[citation needed]} He graduated from Harvard in 1975, where he was a member of the College's ski team.^[4] He also attended Harvard Business School.^[5]

Business career

In 1992, Finnegan co-founded Madison Dearborn. He has served as co-CEO since 2007, when fellow co-founder and then-CEO John Canning Jr. was looking to buy the Chicago Cubs.^[6][7]

Finnegan is also a director at AIA Corporation, CDW, Government Sourcing Solutions LLC, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.^[5][8]

He is a major donor in Illinois politics, having donated $100,000 to Rahm Emanuel's campaign for mayor in 2015^[9] and another $200,000 to Emanuel's aborted run for mayor in 2019.^[10]

Philanthropy and non-profit work

Through the Finnegan Family Foundation, he has donated to causes in the areas of education, youth, health, and local Chicago community.^[11]

Finnegan has been a member of the Harvard Corporation since 2012, and has served as it treasurer since replacing Jim Rothenberg in 2014.^[12][13] He was on the search committee that selected Larry Bacow as the 29th President of Harvard University.^[14]

Finnegan serves of the board of Teach For America and a variety of Chicago metropolitan area non-profits.^[15]