DHHC

Definitive Agreement

Great Southern Homes, Inc.

DiamondHead Holdings Corp.

Underwriter: Goldman Sachs
CIK
1830188
SPAC Ticker
DHHCU
Merger
Great Southern Homes, Inc.
Focus
Unicorns
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

David T. Hamamoto our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since inception, is the Founder of Diamond Head Partners, LLC which he established in 2017. He is also a director and chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee of Lordstown and previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DiamondPeak. Previously, he served as Executive Vice Chairman of Colony NorthStar (now Colony Capital (NYSE:CLNY)), a real estate and investment management firm, from January 2017 through January 2018. The NorthStar companies, which he founded, were sold to Colony Capital in January 2017. Prior to the sale, Mr. Hamamoto was Executive Chairman of NorthStar Asset Management Group (“NSAM”) since 2015, having previously served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2014 until 2015. Mr. Hamamoto was the Chairman of the board of directors of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE:NRF)(“NRF)), a real estate investment trust, from 2007 to January 2017 and served as one of its directors from 2003 to January 2017. Mr. Hamamoto previously served as NRF’s Chief Executive Officer from 2004 until 2015 and President from 2004 until 2011. Mr. Hamamoto was Chairman of the board of directors of NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. from 2015 to January 2017. In 1997, Mr. Hamamoto co-founded NorthStar Capital Investment Corp., the predecessor to NorthStar Realty Finance, for which he served as Co-Chief Executive Officer until 2004. Prior to NorthStar, Mr. Hamamoto was a partner and co-head of the Real Estate Principal Investment Area at Goldman, Sachs & Co. During Mr. Hamamoto’s tenure at Goldman, Sachs & Co., he initiated the firm’s effort to build a real estate principal investment business under the auspices of the Whitehall Funds. Between April and July 2018, several class actions (and two derivative lawsuit) were filed in connection with the Colony-NorthStar merger and the merged company’s performance thereafter; three in federal court in California, three in state court in California, and two in state court in Maryland. Mr. Hamamoto is named as an individual defendant in each of these lawsuits. The lawsuits generally share a factual nexus, and allege securities law violations and other claims against all defendants, including Mr. Hamamoto. Presently, only one federal and one (consolidated) state case are pending. Mr. Hamamoto disputes all such allegations and is defending vigorously against the lawsuits. Mr. Hamamoto received a B.S. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is well qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive real estate, investment and operational experience.

Keith Feldman. Mr. Feldman, one of our directors and Chief Financial Officer , currently serves as a director and the chairman of the audit committee of Lordstown and previously served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE), a NYSE listed REIT focused on European commercial real estate properties from May 2017, through the acquisition by AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets, in September 2019. Mr. Feldman served as a managing director of Colony Capital, Inc., from January 2017 to October 2019 and served as a managing director of NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc., a predecessor company of Colony Capital, Inc. from July 2014 to January 2017, as a managing director of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. from January 2014 to July 2014 and as a director of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. from January 2012 to December 2013. In each of these roles, Mr. Feldman’s responsibilities included capital markets, corporate finance, and investor relations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Feldman held various financial positions at NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and KPMG LLP. Mr. Feldman received a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Binghamton University. Mr. Feldman is a CFA charterholder and a CPA. He is well qualified to serve as a director due to his experience with the operations and mangement, financial reporting and auditing of public companies in addition to operational expertise.

Judith A. Hannaway. Ms. Hannaway is one of our directors and currently acts as a consultant to various financial institutions. Ms. Hannaway previously served as a director of DiamondPeak. Prior to this, until 2004, Ms. Hannaway was employed by Scudder Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank Asset Management, as a Managing Director. Ms. Hannaway joined Scudder Investments in 1994 and was responsible for Special Product Development including closed-end funds, offshore funds and REIT funds. Prior to joining Scudder Investments, Ms. Hannaway was employed by Kidder Peabody as a Senior Vice President in Alternative Investment Product Development. She joined Kidder Peabody in 1980 as a Real-Estate Product Manager. Ms. Hannaway has served as an independent director of Fortress Transportation & Infrastructure LLC since 2018, and previously served as the lead independent director of NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE) from 2015 to 2019, NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF) from 2004 to 2017 and NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. (NYSE: NSAM) from 2014 to 2017. Additionally Ms. Hannaway served as chairperson of the independent committee of NRE, negotiating and overseeing its sale and assimilation into AXA in 2019. Ms. Hannaway holds a Bachelor of Arts from Newton College of the Sacred Heart and a Master of Business Administration from Simmons College Graduate Program in Management. She is well qualified to serve as a director due to her extensive investment, financial and public company experience.

Jonathan A. Langer. Jonathan A. Langer is one of our directors and currently serves as a Managing Member of Fireside Investments, LLC, a private investment firm that Mr. Langer founded in 2012. Mr. Langer is a member of the Board of Directors of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF), which he joined in May 2017. Mr. Langer is also currently a member of the Board of Directors of International Market Centers, Inc., which he joined in September of 2017. Mr. Langer previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF) from August 2015 to March 2017, when NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. merged with Colony Capital, Inc. and NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. He also previously served as Executive Vice President of NorthStar Asset Management Group from August 2015 to March 2017, a position he maintained as a co-employee with NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. Mr. Langer was an Operating Partner and Consultant at Bain Capital from March 2010 to March 2012, where he worked in its private equity area. From 1994 to 2010, Mr. Langer was employed at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he worked as a Partner in its Real Estate Principal Investment Area (REPIA). His responsibilities included overseeing REPIA’s North American real estate and global lodging investment efforts. Mr. Langer previously served on the boards of Icon Parking, Westin Hotels and Resorts, Kerzner International Resorts, Inc., Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and Morgans Hotel Group. Mr. Langer received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Langer is qualified to serve as a director due to his expertise in and knowledge of real estate investment and finance industries and his extensive experience in management and director roles in public and private companies.

Charles W. Schoenherr. Mr. Schoenherr is one of our directors and currently serves as Managing Director of Waypoint Residential, LLC, which invests in multifamily properties in the Sunbelt. He has served in this capacity since January 2011 and is responsible for sourcing acquisition opportunities and raising capital. Mr. Schoenher previously served on the Board of Directors of Colony Capital from January 2017 through June 2020. Prior to serving on Colony Capital’s board, Mr. Schoenherr served on the Board of Directors of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp., NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. and NorthStar Real Estate Income II, Inc., positions he had held from June 2014, October 2015 and December 2012, respectively. Mr. Schoenherr also previously served on the Board of Directors of NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. from January 2010 to October 2015. From June 2009 until January 2011, Mr. Schoenherr served as President of Scout Real Estate Capital, LLC, a full service real estate firm that focuses on acquiring, developing and operating hospitality assets, where he was responsible for managing the company’s properties and originating new acquisition and asset management opportunities. Between September 1997 and October 2008, Mr. Schoenherr served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Lehman Brothers’ Global Real Estate Group, where he was responsible for originating debt, mezzanine and equity transactions on all major property types throughout the United States. During his career he has also held senior management positions with GE Capital Corporation, GE Investments, Inc. and KPMG LLP, where he also practiced as a certified public accountant.

Mr. Schoenherr currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Iona College and is on its Real Estate and Investment Committees. Mr. Schoenherr holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Iona College and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Connecticut. Mr. Schoenherr’s expertise in and knowledge of real estate investment and finance industries, including extensive experience originating debt, mezzanine and equity transactions, qualify him to serve as a director.