Jonathan M. Nelson

Jonathan M. Nelson, founder and CEO of Providence Equity Partners LLC, named his private-equity firm after its home city, but he runs it with the bravado and damn-the-torpedoes swagger that this contentious, small state has trouble achieving.

While Rhode Island remains mired in debates about economic development, Providence Equity Partners, founded in 1989, charges into business, tagging up big wins and big losses in a rollercoaster ride that makes Wall Street notice.

Business writers from Forbes and The New York Times call Nelson, 59, an atypical character in ego-driven Wall Street because of his willingness to admit to mistakes in the company’s acquisitions.

The firm, with offices in Providence, New York, Europe and Asia, was a Wall Street darling about a decade ago, but a series of stumbles sent it temporarily reeling. For example, in February 2015, a Providence Equity investment named Altegrity filed for bankruptcy during a flurry of fraud accusations.

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“Everyone made mistakes,” Nelson told the Times, attributing part of the problem to “style drift” outside its areas of expertise: media and telecommunications. “The key is, who learned from it? I like to think we did.”

According to Forbes, Nelson is the Ocean State’s only billionaire, a distinction that is allowing him to give back to his hometown. Early this year, he gave Brown University, from which he graduated in 1977, $25 million to launch an interdisciplinary center for entrepreneurship. He believes that Brown students are “aspiring entrepreneurs,” and the center will help them develop their talents through academics, applied experiences and mentorship opportunities. •

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