J Bowden

Duncan Bowden is a Principal at Blue Marlin Partners, a Bethesda, Maryland-based private investment firm. Blue Marlin's model is built around direct investing with a network of high-net-worth operators and Capital Partners who help source, diligence, govern, and build portfolio companies.

Before joining Blue Marlin, Bowden was an Investment Associate at Liberty Hall Capital Partners, described by Blue Marlin as a lower-middle-market buyout firm in South Carolina. In that role, he was involved across the investment process and worked on strategic initiatives with portfolio companies.

Earlier in his career, Bowden worked in the Leveraged Finance group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He received a B.S. in Finance from Wake Forest University; Wake Forest University's School of Business alumni council lists him as Class of 2017 and affiliated with Blue Marlin Partners.

• Blue Marlin targets "established, profitable lower middle market businesses with strong fundamental performance, clear growth paths, and potential to leverage the expertise of our Capital Partners."
• The firm's investment process emphasizes direct investing, rigorous diligence, and active post-closing support through board representation, management consultation, and business improvement initiatives.
• Blue Marlin's standard investment criteria include $5M+ EBITDA, $15M+ equity check size, growth-to-mature stage companies, and a preference for direct/control investments while remaining open to minority and co-investments.
• The firm is sector-generalist but prioritizes areas where its management team, advisors, and Capital Partners have relevant expertise.
• For AI, Blue Marlin's platform focuses on revenue-generating, post-seed companies applying AI to real-world business challenges for middle-market customers, especially vertical or function-specific solutions with proprietary data and measurable customer outcomes.