Kevin Dunn

CAREER PATH: The first milestone of Dunn's twenty years in law was when he made partner with the banking group of the UKbased firm Travers Smith. From there he moved to Latham Watkins, where he tackled a myriad of banking, finance and regulatory issues. His next leap came in 2002 when he joined the commercial finance division of GE as its European general counsel. GE eventually promoted him to senior managing director of its European leveraged finance unit, where he stayed until the summer of 2007, when he left to join 3i.

LEGAL APPEAL: Dunn's exit from GE was prompted by his desire to return to the law. ?I jumped at the chance to manage the GE leveraged finance unit because it felt fresh after almost twenty years as an attorney,? explains Dunn. ?But after a while I realized my real affection remained for practicing law.? Soon after, a headhunter brought the 3i opportunity to his attention, which proved to be the right mix of the known and unknown. He sought experience with public market issues, since his time at GE didn't require such expertise. ?As a publicly listed private equity fund, 3i was a perfect chance. So many of my clients as both a banker and as a lawyer have been private equity firms, and here I could apply that experience in a public setting,? says Dunn.

ONE MAN, MANY HATS: 3i appointed Dunn both general counsel and company secretary, placing the oversight of a wide breadth of 3i's legal and governance concerns in his hands. As general counsel, he manages a legal team that advises the company on two fronts; on public market issues, and on the firm's investment activities, advising on the individual transactions. ?More often than not this amounts to overseeing and collaborating with outside counsel, ensuring a consistent quality and practices in all our dealings,? says Dunn. The compliance team and internal audit teams report to Dunn, and he chairs their corporate social responsibility committee as well. And finally, as corporate secretary, Dunn acts as a liaison between the board and management, and insures that 3i meets all regulatory requirements as a listed company on the London Stock Exchange. ?I also sit on 3i's management committee, which echoes my time at GE, where lawyers sat at the same table as managers,? says Dunn.

FRESH FROM THE SIDELINES: In what little free time he has left, Dunn's an avid Pilates practitioner and sails frequently, though as a father of two, he frequently finds himself on the sidelines cheering at his son's rugby matches or his daughter's track and swim meets.