Mr. Dionne originally joined Blackstone as a founder and Chief Investment Officer of the Blackstone Distressed Securities Fund and became a member of the Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners' Investment Committee.

Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Dionne was, for several years, a Partner at Bennett Restructuring Funds, a $1 billion hedge fund, where he specialized in public and private investments focused on distressed debt of companies in or near bankruptcy.

Prior to that, he was a Partner at Saugatuck Capital where he managed investments in middle-market buyouts and restructured troubled portfolio companies.  From 1991 through 1996, he was Director of Corporate Development for Fisher Scientific International, Inc.  Mr. Dionne began his career at Price Waterhouse as a public accountant.

Mr. Dionne is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and The University of Scranton, where he currently serves as Chairman. He has served on the board of directors of several companies, and has chaired and served on various creditor committees. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a CFA Charterholder.