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James Dondero

Co-Founder & Portfolio Manager

James Dondero is the co-founder of Highland Capital Management, a Dallas-based alternative investment platform, and the founder and principal of NexPoint, an investment group that specializes in real estate and other alternative investment strategies.

Mr. Dondero has over 30 years of experience investing across the alternatives landscape. In that time, he established a number of integrated businesses to manage investments in credit, real estate, private equity, and other areas, building a global investment network.

Mr. Dondero holds various leadership roles across the investment businesses; he serves as a portfolio manager for several funds advised by Highland Capital Management Fund Advisors and NexPoint Advisors and is an officer and director at NexPoint’s publicly traded REITs. Additionally, Mr. Dondero holds director positions at several companies within financial services, healthcare, and real estate, among other industries. He is the chairman of NexBank Capital, Inc. and a director of MGM Holdings, Inc.

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.