ABOUT DAMON
Damon’s Biography
Damon Changing Lives
DAMON J DUNN
EXPERIENCE
LAGUNITA FRANCHISE OPERATIONS, LLC AL, AR, LA, MS, NM, OK
Founder and CEO, a Dunkin Brand Operator
38-store multi-state franchise backed by Cooper Management and Fargo Investments (Freeman Spogli)
• Grew from initial 5-store platform through reinvestment of cash flows and SLB initiative
• Executed growth plan that led to securing non-recourse financing and full equity payback within 5 years
Acquisitions and Development: sourced 7 tuck-in acquisitions and 18 de novo locations
• Oversaw underwriting, pro forma analysis, and realization of projections for all acquisitions
• Engineered strategies to finance acquisitions via SLB program and to finance the businesses for free
• Manage construction, entitlement process, and turn-over of projects working with municipal agencies
Management duties and operational accomplishments: manage 520+ employees across 6 states
• Developed organizational structure to operate decentralized operations through processes and systems
• Professionalized the P&L’s to maximize top-line sales and 4-Wall EBITDA
• Developed custom KPIs to allow weekly interventions that led to consistent oversight of performance
• Oversaw the development of custom training manuals for GM’s, Area Directors and Regional Directors
TRICOR CORPORATION CA, AZ, NC, FL
Co-Founder and Partner, Real Estate Development and Investment Firm
Principal owner of company that sourced, developed, advised, and invested in 31 retail properties across U.S.
• Sourced opportunities with strong downside protection based on tenant strength and intrinsic asset value
• Equity value creation via projects completed under budget and market value from rental income realized
• Negotiated purchase, lease, tenant buyout, easement covenant and restriction, quit claim, remediation, and other agreements dealing with acquisition and construction of retail development projects
• Raised private equity and debt to finance projects; negotiated documents to support the financing, construction, and disposition of assets; key lending partners (Bank of America, Wells Fargo)
Investments Realized: 237,000 sq ft and $90 mm AUM. Representative transactions:
• Eckerd Drug Stores: sourced, developed, and invested in 6 properties in NM from 2003-2006. Sold to investment partner 18 months after project completion; realized 5x cash-on-cash return for investors
• Walgreens: sourced, developed, and invested in 11 properties in FL and CA from 2005-2010. Sold to investment partner 18 months after project completion; realized 5x cash-on-cash return for investors
• CVS Pharmacy: CVS Preferred developer that sourced and developed 14 in Southern CA area for fees
SECRETARY OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO, CA
Republican Nominee
First-time political candidate winning Republican nomination before losing in general election
• Raised approx $1 mm in contributions, recruited seven-person staff to manage all aspects of campaign
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE FL, OH, NY, TX
Professional Football Player
• Played for Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys
STANFORD UNIVERSITY HOOVER FELLOW PALO ALTO, CA
• Published book via Pacific Research Institute on policy changes for low-income families to build wealth
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL EXECUTIVE EDUCATION CAMBRIDGE, MA
• NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial program 2005
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PALO ALTO, CA
• Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy
• 4-Year Varsity Football and Track letterman, NCAA Academic Scholarship, All-PAC 10 Honors
• Time Magazine Leaders in America 40 under 40
• Ordained Baptist minister
DAMON’S BIO
Climbing out of Poverty
Born in 1976 in Fort Worth, Texas to a 16-year-old single mother, Damon Dunn grew up in dire poverty, living in a three- bedroom trailer with ten people. Damon grew up hunting and fishing as means to provide food and wore Salvation Army clothes. From these humble beginnings, Damon learned the value – and the rewards of hard work, which he has demonstrated throughout his life.
Excelling in Education and Athletics
In high school, Damon was an honor student and earned recognition as a Texas All-State Football player. On these merits he was awarded a scholarship to Stanford University.
At Stanford Damon had a record setting college football career, ran track and earned many academic and athletic awards, including the NCAA Academic Scholarship, All-PAC 10 Honors and Academic All-Pac 10 Honors, and the NFL and College Hall of Fame Award.
Upon graduation Damon played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. Damon had the privilege to play under and be mentored by coaching legends such as Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, Tyrone Willingham, and Tom Coughlin.
Success in Business
Damon is the CEO of Sagan Sign Talent, which specializes in sourcing global talent for the sign and graphics industry. He founded Lagunita Franchise Operations, expanding it to 38 locations with over 500 employees and $30 million in revenue. Previously, as President and Co-Founder of Tricor SW Corporation, he sourced and developed 31 retail properties across the U.S., attracting major tenants like Walmart and CVS, and delivering over 20% annual returns for investors.
Leading Through Public Service
Despite these achievements, Damon has never forgotten what it is like to go to sleep hungry and wake with a sense of hopelessness. This is why Damon has committed himself to serving others; to show them there is another way and to help them find it for themselves.
While at Stanford University, Damon served as Executive Director of the East Palo Alto Stanford Summer Academy, which provided tutoring and mentorship to underprivileged Latino and African American students from East Palo Alto, CA. In recognition of his work at the Academy and elsewhere in the community, Damon received the James W. Lyons Award and JE Wallace Sterling Book Award given to students who demonstrated outstanding service to the greater Stanford community.
In the NFL, Damon worked with the Make a Wish Foundation to visit kids with terminal illnesses. He started the Fighting Giants Ministry that ministers to children with life-changing injuries. He also worked with St. Augustine Soup Kitchen, the Cops-N-Kids program, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Damon volunteered the in Santa Ana elementary schools implementing the Latino Educational Attainment Initiative (LEA). The purpose of the LEA is to help Latino parents become more effective advocates for their children, particularly as it relates to their education. During his undergraduate days at Stanford, Damon served as associate pastor at Jerusalem Baptist Church where he managed the children’s and youth ministries. Since his time at Stanford and the NFL, Damon has started the Joshua Project, a leadership development ministry that mentors aspiring young Christian leaders and the Long Beach College Prep Academy which sent 158 students, from low-income families to college.
BOOK QUOTES
from Damon’s Book
“Punting Poverty: Breaking the Chains of Welfare”
“I have long led a life of public service. I am a relentless advocate for helping people emerge from poverty, which is why I published a book via the Pacific Research Institute on policy changes for low-income families to build wealth. Since my time serving others while at Stanford and the NFL, I started the Joshua Project, a leadership development ministry that mentors aspiring young Christian leaders and the Long Beach College Prep Academy which sent 158 students, from low-income families to college.”
PRAISE FOR “PUNTING POVERTY”
“Damon Dunn grew up in abject poverty, leveraged his athletic talent into a Stanford University education, and is now building several successful businesses. In contrast to a life of dependency followed by his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and millions of others trapped in permanent government-assisted poverty, his story shows the real path to upward economic mobility.”
“Damon Dunn exposes the hypocrisy of those who say they care about poor people while simultaneously driving up the cost of living. Empowering people to build wealth is the true liberator and equalizer. To do so, government must fight institutional discrimination, but not kill individual initiative and responsibility.”
-Rob Lapsley, President of the California Business Roundtable
“Damon Dunn adds his important voice to the growing debate on how, as the economy and the nature of work change….we can better organize America’s safety net in ways all Americans are vested in our economy and our country.”
-Michael Jay Boskin, Ph.D., T.M. Friedman Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution
“Damon’s book is a serious look at how America has failed its poorest citizens and how to reopen the door to opportunity for them.”
-Mike Shires, Ph.D. Professor, Pepperdine University
“Damon’s book provides an entirely new approach to building a safety net in America – one that follows the individual from job to job…and stops vesting benefits with the job to simply benefit whoever fills it from time to time.”
-Robert Apodaca, Executive Director of United Latinos Vote