Thomas Dundon

Dundon was born in New York and raised in Texas. He attended Southern Methodist University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1993 and served as president of Phi Gamma Delta. He soon after operated a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. Later, with a number of partners, he co-founded a business focused primarily on subprime automobile financing called Drive Financial Services, LP, which eventually became Santander Consumer USA, a large U.S. consumer finance company majority held by Banco Santander. By the time he left in 2015, Dundon served as chairman and chief executive officer of the company. After leaving Santander, Dundon started his own firm Dundon Capital Partners, with a focus on growth-stage, private equity and real-estate investments.[1][2]

While serving as co-founder and CEO of Santander Consumer USA, Dundon became an early investor in Topgolf. Over the following years, the company grew substantially to become a leading sports entertainment business with dozens of locations. In February of 2016, Topgolf received a substantial investment from Providence Equity Partners, a leading global private equity firm with $45 billion in assets under management and a focus on media, communications, education and information companies. In October of 2020, Topgolf announced a merger with Callaway in a transaction implying a valuation for Topgolf in excess of $2 billion. Following the transaction, Dundon became a director of Callaway.

In January of 2016, through Dundon Capital Partners, Dundon acquired a majority stake in Employer Direct Healthcare, a early-stage healthcare services business. Over the following five years, the company experiences substantial growth, increasing its membership by over 1000%. In October of 2020, Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm, made a majority stake investment in the business. Following the transaction, Dundon remains a substantial investor in the company, and remains on its board.

In late 2017, Dundon became involved in purchasing the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League from owner Peter Karmanos Jr. who had owned the team since it was the Hartford Whalers.[3] Dundon became majority owner of the team on January 11, 2018, in a transaction where he purchased 52% of the team and the operating rights to PNC Arena for $420 million.[4]

Dundon is also a substantial real estate investor in both Dallas and Aspen. Dallas-based investments include 2100 Ross Avenue, Thanksgiving Tower, 1100 Mckinney and 208 South Akard Street. In Aspen, Dundon's investments include Aspen Street Lodge and a selection of other properties.

• Dundon Capital Partners official web site
• Thomas Dundon – Profile at the Carolina Hurricanes' official website