Mr. Dallas has an extensive background in finance, capital raising and business operations. In 1981, Mr. Dallas co-founded First Franklin Financial Corporation, a California-based mortgage banking firm which grew from 4 employees to over 4,000 with annual funding in excess of $100 billion in single family mortgages. Bank of New York and Bank of America were co-agents with First Franklin’s warehouse facility. In 2005, First Franklin became a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Company and serviced more than 35,000 mortgage brokers nationwide. In 1996 Mr. Dallas’ Austin-based firm Lakeway Development, partnered with Dong Ah Construction (Korea) to acquire 2,200 undeveloped acres from Ross Perot's Hillwood Development. The Lakeway property was entitled, developed and sold to Credit Suisse First Boston in 1998. Pursuant to the sale, Lakeway Development together with local environmentalists and US Fish and Wild Life, successfully negotiated one of the largest environmental deals in Texas history. In 1998, Mr. Dallas partnered with Lehman Brothers to found United Capital Leasing Corporation, a nationwide small-ticket equipment lender. At its pinnacle, United Capital had a loan portfolio of approximately $1 billion. Mr. Dallas also previously founded and operated an executive home builder, a subprime auto finance firm and a real estate property management and brokerage firm. Mr. Dallas graduated from Wittenberg University in 1979 with dual-degrees in Economics & Business. Mr. Dallas presently serves on the Board of Directors for Drinks Americas (Ticker: DKAM) and manages Dallas Finance Group as Principal specializing in Business and Real Estate Financing.
Steve Dallas is on LinkedIn