Kent Dauten
Born and raised in Champaign, IL with a business professor as a father and a construction/student housing entrepreneur as a mother, it was no surprise that Kent decided to pursue an MBA from Harvard University after graduating summa cum laude in economics from Dartmouth College.
Kent started his career in 1979 at First Chicago Venture Capital where he eventually led the spinoff of the firm to Co-found Madison Dearborn Partners, creating the Midwest’s largest private equity investment firm. He later left to acquire and run as CEO a health care records management business, successfully merging it in 1997 into publicly traded Iron Mountain (NYSE) where he continues as a director. Kent then co-founded Keystone Capital, a private equity focused family office and newly raised fund which today own a diverse portfolio of 15 manufacturing and service businesses, and where he now serves as Chairman.
Kent has served on the boards of trustees of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including as chairman of the Museum of Science and Industry, board member of Northwestern Medicine and chairman of its Foundation, chairman of Lutheran Social Service of Illinois, and Co-Chairman of the inner city schools Big Shoulders Fund.
Kent has also been a guest lecturer at various business schools and served at Harvard Business School as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence mentoring students. Due to their strong interest in brain health and science, Kent and his wife have created the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founded and serve on the board of the Milken Institute’s Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2) research initiative. Kent has also served as board chair of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.
Kent’s most significant life accomplishments by far were marrying Liz 45 years ago after they met at Dartmouth and parenting their four children and spoiling their five young grandchildren!