Joël André Ornstein

Joël André Ornstein (born December 31, 1954) is a French-born financier and investment executive, active since the early 1990s. He served as a Managing Partner in the formation of The Carlyle Group in Europe, and later became the co-founder, Chairman & Managing Partner of Monument Capital Group Holdings LLC (MCGH), a private equity investment firm specialised in security technology industries, with his partners, former colleagues at Carlyle, James Baker and Frank Carlucci.
Ornstein has engaged in private equity and strategic investments across various industries, including infrastructure security, tech, energy, retailing and real estate. His career in global finance spans over four decades, beginning with investment banking in New York during the early 1980s. Ornstein began focusing on alternative asset and private equity investing in 1989 when he established Majorn Corp., a private investment firm in collaboration with The Carlyle Group and Euris-Rallye Group. More recently forming a family office, Mitorn LLC.Mitorn: Tech to Scale, based in Boston, to invest in tech sectors in energy, decarbonation, AI, edge computing, health care and agribusiness.
==Education==
Ornstein holds degrees from several institutions. He graduated with a Master's degree in business administration from ESCP Business School, which included curriculum at City, University of London|City University London and the University of Düsseldorf, where he earned a Diplom-Kaufmann degree. At the age of 22, he then received a Science Master in finance and management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. As an alumnus, he contributed as an early founding advisory board member of the MIT Sloan School of Management, the MIT Golub Center for Finance & PolicyMIT Golub Center for Finance & Policy and the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE)MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE). 
==Career in Investment Banking==
Ornstein began his career with investment banking training at Deutsche Bank in London and Germany. In 1979, he joined the securities firm Dean Witter Reynolds (now Morgan Stanley) in New York, rising to the position of Vice President. After Dean Witter's acquisition by Sears, Roebuck & Co., he transitioned to Sears World Trade, managing corporate development and acquisitions, alongside colleagues Roderick Hills, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Frank Carlucci, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and National Security Adviser, later Chairman of The Carlyle Group.
==Private Equity and Strategic Investments==
In 1989, after pursuing corporate finance at the First Boston Corporation (now Credit Suisse), Ornstein was recruited by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, then Chairman of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, to help expand Carlyle's international footprint. Collaborating closely with Carlyle's co-founders David Rubenstein, Bill Conway, and Dan D'Aniello during the firm's early years. Ornstein led Carlyle's joint venture with Euris SA, a French investment firm, fostering capital expansion.
This preceded his international responsibilities and role in investment programs involving asset managers' seeding, funds, and direct corporate investments across the U.S., Europe, and globally. In that capacity for over 20 years from the 1990s, Ornstein served as an advisor and board member to Jean-Charles Naouri's Euris Group.
==Monument Capital Group Holdings and Focus on Critical Infrastructure==
Ornstein held a leadership position at Monument Capital Group Holdings (MCGH), a firm he co-founded to focus on investments in critical infrastructure security and advanced technologies, with partners former Secretary of State James Baker III and former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, the original Chairman of The Carlyle Group. MCGH invested in U.S.-based companies like Persistent Sentinel and SDi, both specializing in high-tech security and surveillance solutions. SDi further expanded its operations by acquiring I-sys Corp and X7 Systems, cementing its role as a leader in security systems integration.
==Recent Developments and Sustainability Focus==
In recent years, Ornstein has focused on sustainable investments. He sits on the Advisory Board of Capturiant"Capturiant Announces Advisory Board Formation and Membership" (August 30, 2023). Capturiant. Retrieved September 29, 2024., a company specializing in environmental assets and carbon credit markets. His involvement in CapturiantCapturiant aligns with the increasing focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing,Environmental, Social And Governance: What Is ESG Investing? a growing global trend. 
This initiative is part of his broader investment portfolio, which includes security technology firms and companies addressing global challenges. In August 2024 Mitorn and Capturiant announced the establishment of their first South American franchise in Argentina and Paraguay"Capturiant And Mitorn Announce First South American Carbon Exchange Franchise" (August 8, 2024). Carbon Herald. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
Category:1954 births
Category:French financiers
Category:Investment
Category:French people