He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

In September 2007, Dugan was appointed chairman of the Joint Forum, which is a group of senior financial sector regulators from the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia that deals with issues common to the banking, securities, and insurance industries, including supervision of conglomerates.

He was also director of Minbanc, a charitable organization, and was a member of the American Bar Association's committee on banking law.

Before serving as comptroller, Dugan worked for 12 years as a lobbyist representing the banking industry.

[2] Dugan acted as chairman of the Joint Forum on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision[3] from 2007 through December 2009.