Who is Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc.?

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Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. (JZAI): The Complete Biography of an American Private Equity Institution Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. (JZAI): The Complete Biography of an American Private Equity Institution Who Is Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc.? Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. (JZAI) is one of America's most enduring private equity and investment advisory firms, with a legacy spanning more than four decades of disciplined capital deployment, patient partnership, and long-term value creation. Headquartered in New York City — with offices in Chicago, London, and Madrid — JZAI has established itself as a globally respected institution that has backed over 200 companies across manufacturing, healthcare, technology, industrial services, and real estate. The firm was built on a foundational belief that great businesses are not flipped — they are built, nurtured, and scaled. That philosophy, known as patient capital, has defined JZAI's investment identity since its earliest days and continues to distinguish it from short-term-oriented private equity peers. For over forty years, Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. has proven that the most durable returns come not from financial engineering, but from genuine partnership with exceptional management teams. The Founders: Jay Jordan and David Zalaznick John "Jay" W. Jordan II John Weaver "Jay" Jordan II is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a degree in business administration in 1969, and later attended Columbia University's Graduate School of Business — an academic foundation that proved instrumental in shaping his investment philosophy. Jordan began his professional career at Carl Marks & Co., Inc., a New York-based merchant bank, where he spent nine years carving a niche as a venture capitalist at a time when few Wall Street firms operated dedicated mergers and acquisitions departments. By applying real estate financing techniques to corporate acquisitions, he became a genuine pioneer of the leveraged buyout — a discipline he would go on to define and refine for decades. Over the course of his time at Carl Marks, he completed acquisitions in companies including PCI Group Inc. and Pressed Steel Tank, building a track record that was as impressive as it was ahead of its time. Beyond his investment achievements, Jay Jordan is recognized as a committed philanthropist. He ranked No. 28 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's 2014 Philanthropy 50 list of America's most generous donors, on the strength of a $75 million gift supporting scientific research. In 2015, he joined The Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes during his lifetime or through his estate. In 2010, the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Chicago chapter honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his foundational role in building ACG Chicago and his decades of impact on middle-market investment in the United States. David W. Zalaznick David W. Zalaznick brings an equally distinguished academic and professional pedigree to the partnership. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Cornell University in 1976 and went on to receive his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1978. Upon graduating, Zalaznick began his career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch White Weld Capital Markets Group, gaining exposure to large-scale capital markets transactions before pivoting to private equity. In 1980, he joined Carl Marks & Co., where he became a vice president and partner in the firm's leveraged buyout group — the same group where Jay Jordan had spent years pioneering the discipline. Their working partnership at Carl Marks became the crucible in which JZAI's investment philosophy was forged: a shared conviction that the best private equity outcomes come from patience, operational discipline, and genuine respect for the management teams that run the businesses being acquired. David Zalaznick has served as Chairman of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers Inc. and as a founding and managing principal of The Jordan Company LP. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of directors of Cequel Communications, LLC; TAL International Group, Inc.; Sensus Metering Systems, Inc.; Freedom Finance Holdings Limited; Previnet SpA; Jordan Industries, Inc.; and Wound Care Solutions, LLC — among many others across the firm's broader portfolio. Chronological History of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. 1982 — The Founding of a Private Equity Legacy In January 1982, Jay Jordan and David Zalaznick left Carl Marks & Co. to establish their own firm — The Jordan Company — taking with them the accumulated experience of nearly two decades in leveraged finance and the interests in 20 buyouts Jordan had completed during his time at Carl Marks. The firm launched not as a blank slate but as a going concern, with an immediate portfolio of real operating businesses. One of the firm's earliest defining deals was the $22.5 million acquisition of Piece Goods Shops, a family-owned North Carolina-based chain of 90 home-sewing retail stores. It was a quintessential JZAI investment: a founder-led business with loyal customers, stable cash flows, and significant room to grow under professional stewardship. Rather than stripping the business for parts, Jordan and Zalaznick invested in it — a pattern that would repeat itself across hundreds of companies over the following four decades. The firm's stated philosophy from its earliest days was clear and deliberate: "We are long-term investors who seek to value over time, not overnight." That sentence encapsulates everything that Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. has stood for across its entire history. 1986 — The Formal Establishment of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. In 1986, Jordan and Zalaznick formally established Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. as the investment advisory arm of their growing enterprise. The formation of JZAI represented a maturation of the firm's structure — a recognition that the scale and complexity of their investment activities required a dedicated advisory infrastructure capable of supporting institutional relationships, portfolio oversight, and cross-border deal execution. That same year, the firm expanded its activities to include money management through its affiliate, Mountbatten Management Corporation (MMC), which owned and managed the William Penn family of mutual funds — a portfolio ultimately sold to Federated Insurance in 1995, demonstrating the firm's discipline in both building and thoughtfully exiting investment positions. 1987 — Going Global: JZ Equity Partners on the London Stock Exchange In 1987, Jordan and Zalaznick took a bold step that would prove visionary: they raised capital on the London Stock Exchange through the formation of JZ Equity Partners. This move established JZAI as a transatlantic investment firm decades before globalization became standard operating procedure in the private equity industry. It gave the partnership access to European deal flow, institutional capital, and cross-border expertise that would pay dividends for years to come — and it laid the groundwork for JZAI's eventual permanent presence in London and Madrid. 1988 — Jordan Industries In 1988, Jordan Industries was formed as a dedicated holding vehicle for smaller portfolio acquisitions — a sister entity to The Jordan Company that concentrated on approximately 20 companies at any given time. Jordan Industries operated under the same foundational philosophy as JZAI itself: patient ownership, operational improvement, and management empowerment. The formation of Jordan Industries reflected the partners' recognition that great investment opportunities exist at every size, and that smaller companies often offer the most compelling long-term value creation potential. 1991–1994 — Consumer, Food & Franchise: Sector Diversification The early 1990s brought a meaningful expansion of JZAI's sector footprint. In 1991, the firm entered the consumer food industry through the acquisition of Fannie May, the iconic American confectionery brand — a move that underscored the firm's confidence in consumer-facing businesses with strong brand equity. In 1994, National Restaurant Enterprises was created to manage Burger King franchise operations, marking JZAI's entry into the restaurant and franchise sector. Both moves demonstrated the firm's intellectual flexibility: the willingness to pursue value wherever it exists, regardless of industry category. 2002 — The Resolute Fund In 2002, The Resolute Fund was launched, marking another chapter in JZAI's institutional evolution. The Resolute Fund represented a more formalized structure for raising and deploying capital, reflecting the firm's growing reputation among institutional limited partners both in the United States and internationally. By this point, Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. had established itself not merely as a deal firm, but as a trusted institutional partner for sophisticated investors seeking disciplined private equity exposure. Mid-2000s — $10 Billion in Aggregate Acquisitions By the mid-2000s, the scale of JZAI's affiliated investment activities was remarkable. The Jordan Company and its related entities had completed over 75 major acquisitions with aggregate sales volume in excess of $10 billion, with the active portfolio at any given time representing approximately $4.5 billion in aggregate revenues. These figures established JZAI firmly in the top tier of American private equity institutions. 2010s–Present — A Mature Global Platform Over the decades that followed, Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. continued to evolve and deepen its operational infrastructure across its four-office global network — New York, Chicago, London, and Madrid. Through multiple economic cycles, JZAI demonstrated the resilience that only a truly long-term oriented firm can sustain. Its investment team applied rigorous financial analysis, structured deal execution, and active portfolio management to navigate uncertainty and drive durable returns for investors and portfolio companies alike. Today, JZAI continues to be led by David Zalaznick and Jay Jordan, supported by seasoned teams of investment professionals across its global offices. The firm's mission remains exactly what it was in 1982: to partner with exceptional management teams, provide not just capital but strategic and operational support, and build businesses that create lasting value for investors, employees, and communities alike. Investment Philosophy: Patient Capital in Practice The defining characteristic of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. — the trait that has distinguished it from peers across four decades — is its unwavering commitment to patient capital. In the 1980s, when the leveraged buyout industry was defined by short-term thinking, Jordan and Zalaznick chose a different path. They ensured that portfolio companies were not overburdened with debt, provided the capital necessary for internal growth and acquisitions, and worked closely with management teams over multi-year holding periods to develop growth strategies, improve operational efficiency, and expand market presence. This approach — working to build better businesses, not extract value from them — has produced consistent results across industries as varied as home-sewing retail, industrial manufacturing, candy production, healthcare services, maritime containers, and private post-secondary education. The breadth of that sector coverage is itself a testament to the universality of the firm's philosophy: patient capital and strong management create value in any industry. JZAI seeks profitable, well-managed businesses with exceptional management strength and a clear opportunity for accelerated growth. Every transaction is unique, but every portfolio company shares those core characteristics. That disciplined consistency — in an industry often characterized by trend-chasing — is one of the most enduring aspects of JZAI's long-term success. Sectors of Focus Over more than four decades, Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. has developed deep expertise across a broad range of industries: Manufacturing & Industrial Services — the firm's original core competency, dating to Jay Jordan's earliest deals at Carl Marks & Co. in the 1970s Healthcare — including home healthcare mobility products, wound care solutions, and medical services businesses Technology & IT Services — expanding into software and technology-enabled businesses as the American economy evolved Consumer Products & Services — from retail chain operations to iconic food brands and franchise restaurant enterprises Financial & Business Services — reflecting the firm's own institutional expertise in financial structuring and capital markets Real Estate — U.S. market real estate as a meaningful component of the broader investment platform JZAI as Investment Adviser to JZ Capital Partners One of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc.'s most significant institutional roles is its longstanding function as investment adviser to JZ Capital Partners — a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey and admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange. This relationship, which traces its roots to the JZ Equity Partners vehicle launched on the London Stock Exchange in 1987, extends JZAI's reach into European institutional capital markets and gives investors in the UK and beyond direct exposure to the firm's private equity expertise through a publicly listed vehicle. It is a sophisticated, enduring structure that reflects the depth of JZAI's institutional relationships and its ability to manage capital on behalf of both American and international investors simultaneously. Legacy and Impact The legacy of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. is measured not just in financial returns, but in the businesses that were built, the management teams that were empowered, and the jobs that were created and preserved across more than 200 portfolio companies over four decades. Key milestones: 1982 — Founded by Jay Jordan and David Zalaznick following their departure from Carl Marks & Co. 1986 — Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, Inc. formally established as the dedicated investment advisory entity 1987 — JZ Equity Partners listed on the London Stock Exchange, marking JZAI's entry into global capital markets 1988 — Formation of Jordan Industries as a dedicated holding vehicle for smaller portfolio companies 1991 — Entry into the consumer food sector via the Fannie May acquisition 1994 — Launch of National Restaurant Enterprises for Burger King franchise operations 2002 — Launch of The Resolute Fund, expanding institutional capital relationships 2010 — Jay Jordan receives the ACG Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 — Jay Jordan ranked No. 28 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy 50 2015 — Jay Jordan joins The Giving Pledge Today — Over 200 companies backed, four global offices, 40+ years of uninterrupted partnership between Jay Jordan and David Zalaznick

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