James DonderoFounder | NexPoint
James Dondero is the founder of NexPoint, an alternative investment group comprised of a set of investment advisers and sponsors, a broker-dealer, and a suite of related investment vehicles. Specializing in real estate, NexPoint's offerings include public and private real estate investment trusts (REITs), tax advantaged real estate vehicles, a closed-end fund, an interval fund, and other real estate-focused investment solutions.
In addition to overseeing the group's business and investment activities, Mr. Dondero is the portfolio manager of NexPoint's closed-end fund, the NexPoint Strategic Opportunities Fund (NYSE:NHF). He also holds various officer and director roles across NexPoint's publicly traded REITs: NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. (NYSE:NXRT), which focuses on multifamily assets, NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:NREF), a commercial mortgage REIT, and NexPoint Hospitality Trust (TSXV:NHT.U), which focuses on hospitality assets.
Mr. Dondero has over 30 years of experience investing across the alternative landscape. In that time, he established a number of integrated businesses to manage investments in credit, real estate, and private equity, among other areas, building a global investment network. In 1993, Mr. Dondero co-founded Highland Capital Management, a credit-focused investment firm that served as the foundation for this network. Under his leadership, the firm evolved beyond its initial focus in credit, expanding into other markets and product offerings. Highland's evolution gave rise to a range of new businesses, creating the diverse investment platform that exists today.
Throughout his career, Mr. Dondero has championed expanding access to alternative investments. As Highland evolved, he used the scope and scale of the investment platform to drive innovation in the industry around this initiative. Mr. Dondero formed NexPoint in 2012 in a dedicated effort to bring alternative strategies to retail channels. Built on core competencies in real estate, NexPoint seeks to deliver innovative offerings that, through nimble product development, are continuously refined to meet a range of investor needs.
Mr. Dondero holds a number of board positions at companies within financial services, healthcare, and real estate, among other industries. He is the chairman of Cornerstone Healthcare Group Holding, Inc. and NexBank Capital, Inc., a director of Jernigan Capital, Inc. (NYSE:JCAP), MGM Holdings, Inc., NexBank SSB, and Texmark Timber Treasury, L.P., and a manager of SeaOne Holdings, LLC.
A dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Dondero actively contributes to initiatives in education, veterans' affairs, and community and economic development, and has been instrumental in supporting a number of civic and cultural institutions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is a member of the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business Executive Board and the George W. Bush Presidential Center Executive Advisory Council.
Mr. Dondero graduated from the University of Virginia where he earned highest honors (Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi) from the McIntire School of Commerce with dual majors in accounting and finance. He has received certification as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA), and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.