Ken Jones is the Founder and Managing Partner of Third Lake Partners, a global private firm dedicated to the investment management and capital deployment for numerous private clients who own and operate some of the largest privately-held companies in the world. Since its inception, Governor Jones has led and executed the vision, strategy, and growth of the firm. Prior to Third Lake, Governor Jones founded and served as Chairman and CEO of TL Capital, an asset management and investment arm for a U.S.-based private family. In 2016, Governor Jones founded Fairbourne Properties, a commercial real estate investment and management firm headquartered in Chicago, where he continues to serve as the company’s chairman. Prior to founding TL Capital, Third Lake and Fairbourne, Governor Jones was the executive vice president and senior managing director of CEA Group, a TMT and real estate-focused private equity and investment and merchant banking firm with offices in Florida, New York and London.
Prior to joining CEA in 2005, Governor Jones spent the previous decade in legal, government, and management positions in Washington, D.C., where he served as chief legal counsel and deputy chief of staff for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and the Senate Rules & Administration Committee. In 2012, Governor Jones served as President and CEO of the Republican National Convention, raising more than $100 million in public and private contributions. The convention, which was the second largest media event in the world, has been lauded as one of the most efficiently and successfully run Presidential nominating conventions in the modern era and was concluded on time and under budget with a multi-million dollar surplus.
Governor Jones graduated with honors from Florida State University with a degree in communication. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida, where he was a member of Florida Blue Key and was elected President of the University of Florida Law School Bar Association.
Governor Jones was appointed to the Board of Governors in 2020. In 2017, he served with legend Archie Manning as the Co-Chairman of the National Football Foundation (NFF) Hall of Fame dinner and currently serves on the NFF’s national board of directors. Governor Jones additionally serves on the board of trustees of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, is a member of the Florida Council of 100 and served as the 2018 chairman of the American Heart Association Tampa Bay Heart Ball.
Governor Jones grew up in a small Florida town with a population of 2,000 people. He became a highly ranked junior tennis player in Florida, played competitively at the state and national levels, and continues to train and play today.