Mr. Jonathan D. Tower is the Founder and Managing Partner of Arctaris, an impact firm which manages the Arctaris Opportunity Zone Funds (2019 & 2020), the Arctaris Impact Fund, LP (2018), and three predecessor Arctaris impact funds. He invests in growth-oriented operating businesses and infrastructure, with heavy emphasis on underserved and underrepresented communities. Based in Boston and founded in 2009, Arctaris has partnered with the Kresge Foundation, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, and multiple other foundation, federal and state government agency partners to make investments in Opportunity Zones and other underserved areas, with the aim of delivering market-rate returns alongside social impact.
Jonathan has over 15 years of industry experience, investing in private equity and private debt, including three interim Chief Executive Officer roles in private equity-backed companies. He has invested and worked closely with portfolio companies in the manufacturing, technology, and services industries to achieve their growth objectives, including Capterra (acquired by Gartner), Verid (acquired by EMC), QuoteShip (acquired by ICGE), Moguldom Media (acquired by InteractiveOne), and Xoom (IPO and subsequent acquisition by PayPal).
Prior to co-founding Arctaris in 2009, Jonathan was a Managing Director, Operating Partner and member of the Investment Committee at Dutchess Capital. He held responsibilities both in private equity deal execution and maximizing value in portfolio companies, working with management teams to develop growth or turnaround strategies. At Fidelity Ventures, Jonathan executed private equity and venture capital investments, focusing on the enterprise technology, security and communications sectors, including the firm’s investment in Xoom, which held an initial public offering and was acquired by Pay Pal for more than $1 billion.
At IBM, Jonathan was a member of the Corporate Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions and Debt Capital Markets groups, where he facilitated the issuance of more than $2 billion in term debt, launched the company’s credit derivative hedging program, managed $250 million of A/R factoring transactions, led venture investments in five expansion-stage technology businesses, and supported two business units in divestitures that generated $300 million in profit. Prior thereto, Jonathan was Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development at Vodium.com, which was acquired by Vcall.com. From 1996 to 1999, he was a Financial Journalist at Bloomberg News. Jonathan has published articles on corporate finance, derivatives and risk management in Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Magazine, International Herald Tribune, and the New York Times. Jonathan received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 2002 and B.A. in English and Mathematics from Georgetown University in 1996.