David Herman bring a practical approach to his role of managing partner at investment banking firm Diamond Capital Advisors as he owned two businesses on the east coast and sold them before moving to the bright lights of Los Angeles.
Can you tell me about what you do in Century City?
We’re an investment banking firm for mid-market businesses that are valued in the range of $10 million to $150 million dollars. What we do is we buy companies for people, we sell companies, and we do financing for companies; in other words, we buy, sell, and finance companies. We conduct a blind auction process with multiple buyers, we prepare the companies for sale, and we take care of all the logistics and negotiation. We also get companies ready for sale and for financing and tell them what they need to do to get maximum value. Our main focus is to get maximum value for the company.
What motivated you to get into this role?
I owned two businesses and sold both of them, so I have a practical approach to the business I’m in now because I actually was in the owners’ shoes at one point. I thought it was absolutely fascinating the drama associated with conducting deals and finding out ways of helping business owners create real wealth. A lot of them make a very good living, but they’re not really wealthy because all their money is in the business – so basically we help convert that business asset into liquid wealth. I find fascinating the give-and-take between buyer and seller: there’s a lot of passion that’s very interesting and not at all boring. I liken the process to making a movie: you work for months and months and then you get to the end game where you’re actually negotiating the final product. It’s exciting because you’re negotiating a whole livelihood, and in a few short months you sell it for the highest maximum value and you’ve helped make their lives worthwhile for them.
Where did it all begin for you career-wise?
Before I got into investment banking, I was in a family auto parts manufacturing company for 15 years in New Jersey. I had a rather substantial business with about 160 employees. We sold our company to a large, publicly held company 27 years ago. When I moved from New Jersey to L.A., I got involved in doing this work while I was actually looking to buy a business. Someone I knew was in this business and asked me to join them. I tried it out for a couple months and found it really fun and exciting to conduct deals. It matched my skill set because I initially sold my own company and knew the process fairly well.
What do you love about Century City? Where is your favorite place to eat/exercise/take a break from the office in the area?
The thing I really love about Century City is the way the community is set up: the density of people here who I’m in business with, that I meet every day, that I see at restaurants, and that I refer business to and from. I love that I’m able to see them on a daily/weekly basis and see them at the same places, whether it’s the restaurants over in the CAA Quad or at the Westfield mall. I always bump into somebody I know and I have a very interesting business conversation with them. Socially I think it’s good to be around people who are in the same situation as you, that there are so many people in Century City who work in similar fields and can help each other. As a result, there are positive synergies. It reminds me of growing up near and attending law school in New York City.
If you could add one component to the neighborhood, what would it be and why?
Century City could probably use another restaurant like Houston’s that really bridges the gap between craft expensive food and quick, grab-and-go food. It needs more of middle-ground restaurants. I also think there should be a zen-like, relaxation area with trees and a waterfall, where people can go to read and enjoy quiet time. It would be a place of tranquility after spending all day cooped all day in an office.
What do you do in your spare time?
My two main hobbies I spend a lot of time doing is playing tennis and practicing photography. I’ve been playing tennis for almost 50 years and I still enjoy playing the sport two to three times a week. The last five or six years I’ve also gotten back into photography. I spend a lot of time shooting, learning about photography, and nurturing this hobby: I go to photo workshops and I attend photo conventions. My time is divided between business, family, tennis, and photography.
What is one cool/unique activity you want to do this coming year?
I want to go on a camping trip to a wooded area that I’ve never been to before, where very few people go, for one or two nights out in the woods. After I saw the movie “Wild” I realized how much I missed camping.
Where was your last vacation?
I took a trip to Spain about a year ago.
Where do you wish your last vacation was?
I want to visit the older homes and historic areas of the South, where there are some beautiful places in South Carolina and North Carolina from the Antebellum era.
