James J. Zenni Jr.

Mr. Zenni is Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Management Committee of ZCG and is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Over the last 24 years, Mr. Zenni has had substantial success investing in value-oriented private equity, mergers & acquisitions, and credit-related strategies.

Mr. Zenni is currently Chairman of the Board of Affinity Gaming, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, Pink Taco, Premier Thermal Solutions, LLC., Techniks Holdings, LLC, Twin-Star International, Inc., Waldhaus Flims Wellness Resort, and XRG Xperience Brands. Mr. Zenni also serves on the boards of Carillon Miami Beach, CTM Holding, Inc., Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC. and Modere, Inc.

Mr. Zenni was previously Chairman of the Board of Managers of MSDP Group, LLC and a member of the boards of Automotive Aftermarket Group, LLC, Bayou Steel Corporation, Smarte Carte Corporation, and Sun World International, LLC, all of which were Z Capital portfolio companies.

Mr. Zenni has overseen numerous value-oriented private equity or related transactions including Bayou Steel Corporation, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, MSDP Group, LLC, Modere, Inc., New World Pasta Company, PTC Alliance Corp., Real Mex Restaurants, Smarte Carte Corporation, Sun World International, Inc., and Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Prior to founding ZCG, Mr. Zenni was President, Managing Partner, and fifty percent equity owner of Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. (“Black Diamond”), which he founded in 1995. Mr. Zenni was jointly responsible for all portfolio management and business operations at Black Diamond. Mr. Zenni divested his interest in Black Diamond in an employee-led buyout which led to the formation of Z Capital.

Prior to founding Black Diamond, Mr. Zenni was a Managing Director and senior member of the Capital Markets Department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc. (“Kidder”), formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of GE Capital Corporation. Mr. Zenni had a distinguished career while at Kidder and gained significant experience in financial asset engineering, acquisitions, and opportunistic, value-oriented investing.

Mr. Zenni holds the patent for ZAPP, the data-management software platform and search engine tool developed by ZAPP Systems, LLC (a Z Capital Group affiliate).

In addition, Mr. Zenni currently serves on the Board of the Polo Training Foundation. Mr. Zenni previously served on the Board of Trustees and was Chairman of the Investment Committees of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and Lake Forest Country Day School. Mr. Zenni has supported various philanthropic endeavors including Founder/Donor in the creation of Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Zenni is a graduate of Xavier University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and was the recipient of the Department of Economics Award. Mr. Zenni also attended Xavier University Graduate School of Business and University of Vienna (Austria) School of Economics and Business Administration.