Team

Highland is one of the world’s most experienced loan investors, and has been tested by numerous credit cycles.  Meet our leadership team below.

James Dondero - Co-Founder, President

Mr. Dondero is Co-Founder and President of Highland Capital Management, L.P. Mr. Dondero has over 20 years of experience in the credit markets. Prior to founding Highland in 1993, Mr. Dondero served as Chief Investment Officer of Protective Life's GIC subsidiary, and helped grow the business from concept to over $2 billion from 1989 to 1993. His portfolio management experience includes mortgage-backed securities, investment grade corporates, leveraged bank loans, emerging markets, derivatives, preferred stocks and common stocks. From 1985 to 1989, he managed approximately $1 billion in fixed income funds for American Express. Prior to American Express, he completed the financial training program at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. Mr. Dondero received a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. Mr. Dondero is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Managerial Accountant and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for CCS Medical and Cornerstone Healthcare Group, and on the Board of Directors of American Banknote Corporation, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, NexBank, and Safety-Kleen Systems.

Mark Okada, CFA - Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Okada is Chief Investment Officer of Highland Capital Management, L.P. and is responsible for overseeing Highland’s investment activities for its various strategies. Mr. Okada is a pioneer in the development of the bank loan market and has over 25 years of credit experience. He is responsible for structuring one of the industry’s first arbitrage CLOs and was actively involved in the development of Highland’s bank loan separate account and mutual fund platforms. Mr. Okada received a BA in Economics and a BA in Psychology, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Okada is a Director of NexBank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Common Grace Ministries, Inc. and is on the Board of Directors for Education is Freedom.

Credit

Patrick Boyce, CFA, CPA - Partner, Head of Private Equity

Mr. Boyce is a Partner and Head of Private Equity at Highland Capital Management, L.P.  Prior to his current role, Mr. Boyce served as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Boyce began his career at Highland in the investment and portfolio advisory group, where he was a Distressed Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Highland he worked as a Vice President for Citigroup Global Markets in its Global Investment Banking group from 2000 to 2004, and was a founding member of its Dallas office. Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Boyce was an Investment Banking professional for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette where he had corporate finance responsibilities in both the Los Angeles and Dallas offices. Mr. Boyce primarily focused on leveraged finance, M&A and equity transactions for financial sponsor clients during his investment banking career. He has an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA in Finance from Baylor University where he was a Teagle Scholar and a member of the men’s NCAA golf team. In addition, Mr. Boyce has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Boyce currently serves on the Board of Directors of American HomePatient (as Chairman), Cornerstone Healthcare Group, and Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (as Chairman).

Lane Britain - Partner

Mr. Britain is a Partner at Highland Capital Management, L.P and Managing Director of Falcon E&P Opportunities Fund LP.  Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Britain was a Vice President at Ewing Management Group (formerly Carlyle Management Group) in Dallas, Texas, a private equity firm that specializes in acquiring and restructuring underperforming companies. Prior to Ewing, Mr. Britain was an Investment Banking Analyst in Salomon Smith Barney's Southwest office as well as a member of the team hired to open the office. Prior to Salomon, Mr. Britain was an Investment Banking Analyst in Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette's Dallas office. At both Salomon and DLJ, Mr. Britain focused on M&A transactions and debt/equity financings. Mr. Britain attended both the London School of Economics and Rice University, receiving a BA in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University. Mr. Britain serves as a director of Blackwell BMC LLC, a Texas-based exploration and production company, Carey International and Safety Kleen.

Ted Dameris - Managing Director

Mr. Dameris is a Managing Director at Highland Capital Management, L.P. With over 17 years of real estate, capital markets and legal experience, Mr. Dameris is responsible for the origination, underwriting, structuring and closing of new equity and debt investments. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Dameris was a Managing Director at Hawkeye Partners, L.P. where he was integrally involved in the creation, structuring, marketing and closing of a large commingled real estate fund with both national and international investors. Mr. Dameris’ previous work experience has also included acquisition responsibilities on a nationwide basis for Presidio Investments, commercial lending for Nomura Securities, and as a practicing real estate attorney for the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P. Mr. Dameris received a JD from the University of Houston Law Center and a BBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Dameris serves on the Board of Directors of Ginn-L.A. Resorts Holdings, Las Vegas Land Holdings and Turtle Bay Holdings.

Trey Parker - Managing Director, Co-Head of Research

Mr. Parker is Managing Director and Co-Head of Research at Highland Capital Management, L.P.  Prior to his current role, Mr. Parker was a Portfolio Manager covering a number of the industrial verticals, as well as parts of Tech, Media and Telecom; he also worked as a Senior Portfolio Analyst on the Distressed & Special Situations investment team. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Parker was a Senior Associate at Hunt Special Situations Group, L.P., a Private Equity group focused on distressed and special situation investing. Mr. Parker was responsible for sourcing, executing and monitoring control Private Equity investments across a variety of industries. Prior to joining Hunt in 2004, Mr. Parker was an analyst at BMO Merchant Banking, a Private Equity group affiliated with the Bank of Montreal. While at BMO, Mr. Parker completed a number of LBO and mezzanine investment transactions. Prior to joining BMO, Mr. Parker worked in sales and trading for First Union Securities and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Parker received an MBA with concentrations in Finance, Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Economics and Business from the Virginia Military Institute. Mr. Parker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Euramax Holdings, Inc.

Josh Terry, CFA - Managing Director, Head of Structured Products and Trading

Mr. Terry is Head of Structured Products and Trading at Highland Capital Management, L.P. He leads the trading desk, structured products and CLO fund management teams. Since joining Highland, Mr. Terry has served in various roles, including Senior Portfolio Analyst on the Distressed & Special Situations investment team, trading loans, bonds and equities on Highland’s trading desk, and leading the sector rotation and fund management process for Highland’s par credit funds. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Terry worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Stephens Inc., where he focused on M&A transactions and equity financings for public and private middle-market companies. He received a BBA in Finance and Economics, summa cum laude, from Baylor University. Mr. Terry has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Amit Walia, CFA - Partner, Co-Head of Research

Mr. Walia is a Partner and Co-Head of Research at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to his current role, Mr. Walia served as a Portfolio Manager covering Energy, Chemicals, Utilities, and other industries. He has over 20 years of experience in investments, mergers & acquisitions and banking. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Walia worked as a Vice President in the corporate development group at Enron Corp where he was engaged in transactions in the power, oil & gas and alternative energy sectors. Prior to this he was a Director of Structured and Project Finance within the energy group at ANZ Banking Group Ltd in New York. He received an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Rochester and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Mr. Walia has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He also serves on the board of Big Thought, a Dallas-based nonprofit devoted to closing the opportunity gap in education through creative learning.

Equities

Michael Gregory - Managing Director

Mr. Gregory is a Managing Director for Highland’s dedicated long/short healthcare equity strategy. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Gregory most recently spent four years as a CEO and Portfolio Manager at Cummings Bay Capital Management LLC, which was founded in 2006 and where he managed a long/short healthcare equity hedge fund. From 2000-2006, Mr. Gregory worked at Sands Point Capital Management LLC and Iroquois Capital Management LLC managing a dedicated healthcare equity hedge fund. He received an MBA from the Yale School of Management, having completed a highly specialized joint program in healthcare within the Yale Schools of Medicine, Management and Public Policy. He received a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

Jonathan Lamensdorf, CFA - Managing Director

Mr. Lamensdorf is a Managing Director for Highland’s dedicated equity funds. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Lamensdorf most recently spent four years as a Senior Equity Analyst at Walker Smith Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund with roughly $1 billion in assets, founded in 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Lamensdorf worked for four years as a senior equity analyst at other hedge funds with assets under management ranging from $250M to $750M. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Frank Waterhouse, CPA - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Waterhouse is the Chief Financial Officer at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Waterhouse was employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Technology Assurance practice. Mr. Waterhouse has had a diverse career spanning cancer research with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to financial consulting with Salomon Smith Barney.  He received an MPA from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA from the University of Houston and a BS in Microbiology and a BS in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Waterhouse is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Cliff Stoops, CPA - Chief Accounting Officer

Mr. Stoops is the Chief Accounting Officer at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to his current role, Mr. Stoops was the Controller of Highland Financial Partners. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Stoops was a Manager at Ernst & Young LLP, where he worked for seven years and was involved in financial statement audits of various types of entities in the asset management field, including hedge funds, mutual fund advisors, and broker-dealers. Mr. Stoops received an MS in Taxation from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Stoops is a member of the Accounting Committee of The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA). He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Scott Wilson - Managing Director

Mr. Wilson is a Managing Director in the Private Equity group at Highland Capital Management, L.P.  He also manages the firm’s media and public relations.  Prior to his current role, Mr. Wilson worked as a Principal in Highland’s Strategy group.  Before joining Highland, Mr. Wilson worked for five years with McKinsey & Company in their Atlanta location.  As an Engagement Manager, he led McKinsey and client teams focusing on sales and marketing improvements and new growth and organization strategies.  In this capacity, Mr. Wilson managed all project aspects, including counseling executives, building and developing teams, leading problem solving, recommending solutions, and planning implementation.  He also was responsible for the internal training program for McKinsey’s five Southern office locations.  Mr. Wilson received an MBA in Strategic Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics, also from the Wharton School.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Romacorp, Inc., parent company of the Tony Roma's restaurant chain (as Chairman).

Scott Ellington - Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

Mr. Ellington is Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Ellington worked as a Real Estate Counsel for Wells Fargo Bank in its Commercial Real Estate Group. Mr. Ellington primarily focused on the due diligence and documentation of commercial real estate credits. Formerly, Mr. Ellington worked from 2002-2004 as Bankruptcy Counsel to Countrywide Financial Corporation. He received a JD from Pepperdine University and a BA in History from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Thomas Surgent - Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel

Mr. Surgent is Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Surgent practiced corporate and securities law at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, in Dallas, Texas and Palm Beach County, Florida and earlier at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP in London, United Kingdom and Dallas, Texas. Mr. Surgent's practice has consisted of advising funds, sponsors, corporations and other issuers with respect to formation, finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, compliance, corporate governance and restructurings with respect to both domestic and cross-border transactions. Mr. Surgent received a JD, magna cum laude, and a BS in Finance from Florida State University. Mr. Surgent’s professional certifications include membership in the Texas and Florida Bar Associations.

John Honis - Partner

Mr. Honis is a Partner at Highland Capital Management, L.P. He has more than 25 years of business experience as CEO, CRO and board-level advisor to both high-growth and distressed companies in a wide range of manufacturing and service industries. Prior to co-leading Highland’s Private Equity effort, Mr. Honis was founder of Barrier Advisors, a leading provider of strategic, operational and financial advice to Private Equity, Venture Capital and money management institutions. He has led many turnarounds and strategic growth initiatives, and attracted many of the nation’s top turnaround practitioners to the Barrier team. Mr. Honis was an accomplished high-tech executive, having served as President, CEO or Chief Restructuring Officer of five telecommunications firms. His experiences in all aspects of growth management, strategic/operational turnarounds, financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets were the foundational elements of Barrier Advisors’ charter. Mr. Honis’ early career started at J.P. Morgan in New York where he was a leader in the firm’s global consulting practice. At J.P. Morgan, he specialized in the design and implementation of worldwide corporate finance processes and systems. Mr. Honis received a BS from Syracuse University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for American Homepatient.

Clay Shumway - Managing Director, Head of Business Development

Mr. Shumway is a Managing Director and the Head of Business Development at Highland Capital Management, L.P., where he is responsible for developing and managing relationships with institutional investors. Mr. Shumway has been working within the investment industry since 2000. Prior to joining Highland in December 2009,  Mr. Shumway served as Vice-President at Newcastle Capital Management, a Dallas based hedge fund manager, where he was the Head of Business Development and Investor Relations. At Newcastle he developed and managed relationships with institutional investors, including public and corporate pension plans, endowments and foundations, consultants and wealth management firms. Prior to joining Newcastle Capital, he held the same position at Swank Capital, a Dallas based investment manager which focuses on energy investing. Mr. Shumway has also held sales roles with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Shumway received an MBA in Investments and Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a BS in Economics from the University of Utah. 
 

Paul Adkins - Managing Director, Business Development

Mr. Adkins is a Managing Director of Business Development at Highland Capital Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd. He is responsible for business operations in the Asia Pacific Region. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Adkins worked in the private equity business as an investor (lead partner of a TMT Fund) and manager of portfolio companies. He has previously served as a member of an investment committee responsible for three pan-Asian private equity funds with $1.4 billion AUM. During his career as a senior executive, he managed significant business operations, product sales and consulting services divisions of leading information technology and global telecommunications companies. His experience includes 14 years of assignments in Latin America and Asia. Earlier in his career, Mr. Adkins was a Senior Manager at PwC and Manager at Ernst & Whinney in their financial services industry consulting practices where he led numerous engagements associated with merger-related restructuring. He started his career at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. in New York City. He received a BA in Computer Science Engineering at Columbia University. While working in the securities industry, he was a registered representative with series 7 and series 63 licenses.

Philip Braner, CPA - Managing Director, Business Development

Mr. Braner is a Managing Director of Business Development at Highland Capital Management. Prior to his current role, Mr. Braner acted as COO of the Structured Products Group and the COO of Highland Financial Partners, LP. Mr. Braner also headed the Deal Team within Highland’s Structured Products Group, which was responsible for the origination of structured finance transactions and separate investment accounts. Since joining Highland, Mr. Braner has structured 20+ CDOs and separate accounts totaling over $20 billion, including US and Euro cash CLOs, CDO Squareds, middle market CLOs, and real estate CDOs. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Braner served as a Senior Accountant at KPMG in Dallas, Texas serving primarily the Telecommunications industry. He received both a Masters in Accountancy and a BBA from Baylor University. Mr. Braner is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Clint Gilchrist - Director, Investor Relations

Mr. Gilchrist is a Director of Investor Relations at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Mr. Gilchrist joined Highland’s fund accounting group in 2005 and was the primary fund accountant for two of Highland’s multi-strategy hedge funds until 2008. Since that time, he has also served as the Chief of Staff for the CFO, Head of Valuation, and as a Director. Mr. Gilchrist is also the President of Nexbank Securities Inc., an affiliate of Highland. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Gilchrist was a consultant with Deloitte Tax LLP’s Comprehensive Tax Services group from 2003-2005. Mr. Gilchrist received a Masters in Accountancy and a BS from Brigham Young University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Mohan Kuratti, CPA - Director, Product Development

Mr. Kuratti is a Director of Product Development at Highland Capital Management L.P. Prior to his current role Mr. Kuratti was responsible for the preparation of the financial statements of Highland Financial Partners and its compliance with all SEC financial reporting requirements. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Kuratti was Senior Manager of technical accounting at McAfee, Inc., where he was responsible for ensuring the consistent application of accounting policies and procedures on a worldwide basis. In addition, he led the finance due diligence and integration efforts relating to four acquisitions. Mr. Kuratti's work experience also includes positions as Director of Financial Analysis at American General, the domestic life insurance division of AIG, and Audit Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Kuratti received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History and Economics, summa cum laude, from Emory University. He is licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Jill Naponic - Associate

Ms. Naponic is a Business Development Associate at Highland Capital Management, L.P. Prior to joining Highland in April 2012, Ms. Naponic worked in Investor Relations as a Senior Financial Analyst at Lone Star Funds, a global distressed private equity firm, where she managed client relationships and investor accounts. Ms. Naponic previously served as an accountant in the external audit division of Ernst & Young in Dallas, Texas focusing primarily on the Media industry. Ms. Naponic received a Masters in Accountancy and a BBA in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Naponic is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Brian Price - Director, Business Development and Investor Relations

Mr. Price is a Director of Business Development and Investor Relations at Highland Capital Management, L.P., where he is responsible for institutional fund raising and client relationship management. Prior to joining Business Development, Mr. Price worked in Highland’s Corporate Finance group for more than two years as a Senior Financial Analyst, focusing on the investment manager to all Highland’s funds. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Price was a Senior Accountant in the external audit division of Ernst & Young since 2004, primarily focused on public company financial statement audits and Sarbanes-Oxley related procedures. Mr. Price received an MS and a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University.

Brian Rice - Managing Director, Business Development

Mr. Rice is a Managing Director in Business Development at Highland Capital Management, L.P.  Prior to joining Highland,  Mr. Rice served as Managing Director at Investcorp International, a  $12 billion alternative asset manager, focusing on business development activities in the United States and Europe.  He held similar positions at the Trust Company of the West and Atlantic Investment.  Mr. Rice spent almost 10 years of his career at Deutsche Bank where his last position was Managing Director and Global Head of Sales for the Absolute Return/Hedge Fund practice.  Mr. Rice received an MBA from Boston College and a BA from the University of Vermont. 

John Roby - Analyst, Business Development

Mr. Roby is a Marketing Analyst at Highland Capital Management L.P. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Roby was an associate at Terawatt Ventures, an energy focused venture capital firm, where he focused on investing in both traditional and alternative energy companies. Mr. Roby’s previous work experience includes multiple engineering roles at Occidental Petroleum and a summer associate position with Satori Capital. Mr. Roby received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Mechanical Engineering with Honors from the University of Texas.


Artis Terrell - Director, Business Development

Mr. Terrell is a Director of Business Development at Highland Capital Management, L.P. He has over 17 years of experience in investments and financial services. Prior to joining Highland, Mr. Terrell was a Principal at The Williams Capital Group, where he concentrated his efforts on developing and managing public fund and corporate client relationships. Mr. Terrell is a former Chairman of the Louisiana Board of Regents as well as The Committee of 100 Louisiana. Mr. Terrell received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Chris Yoon - Director of Business Development, Korea

Mr. Yoon is Director of Business Development, Korea. He manages Highland business operations and investor relations in Korea from the firm's office in Seoul. He is also responsible for developing strategic relationships with key securities and asset management companies. Mr. Yoon has deep and broad experience across investment and portfolio management, alternative investment analysis, corporate finance advisory services and marketing alternative investment products. Prior to joining Highland, he served as Director of Alternative Investments at Asia Pacific Capital in Seoul. Prior to Asia Pacific Capital, Mr. Yoon worked in Seoul for Macquarie Securities Korea and KPMG Samjong Investment Advisory. He earned an MBA in finance and management at Columbia University and a BA in economics at the University of California, Berkeley.