Industry Experience

Fast Food

Served for several years as Director of fast food operator Orange Julius (over 800 units world-wide), and served as Chairman of the Committee of Independent Directors in the sale of the company to International Dairy Queen, now owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Financial and Capital Markets

For many years, he provided investment banking capital formation and merger and acquisition services to the financial services industry. For a period of time at the investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette he held the title of Director, Mortgage Banking Industry Practice. He has been a contributor of many financial service articles on investment banking and corporate finance-related topics for numerous industry trade publications, and newspapers such as The American Banker, The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post. He has written extensively for Mortgage Banking and has frequently been quoted in the financial press. He is also author of TRAUTMAN’S GUIDE TO MORTGAGE BANKING AND LOAN SERVICING PORTFOLIO ACQUISITIONS, 1970-81 (approximate 700pp. and out of print).

He has approximately thirty years of investment industry experience. Recognized as an expert in capital formation, he was asked to provide testimony (economic analysis and policy strategy as an investment banker) before hearings of the United States Congress.

Software and Technology

Larry has an avid interest in technology and software having conducted post-graduate studies (computer science & management information systems) at The University of Texas at Dallas. He became aware early of the power available through the use of Computer Assisted Software Engineering (“CASE” tools) and has maintained an interest in software publishing and development. He was an early member of the Software Publishers Association. During 1999-2001, he was President of the Dallas Internet Society. He has been a member of the DFW Interactive Marketing Association, a forum for interactive professionals, businesses and educators in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area dedicated to sharing ideas, information and best practices that will help define and develop the growing interactive marketing industry and its disciplines.

Oil and Gas

His interest in the oil and gas industry was strengthened during law school, where he served as President of the Energy Law Association at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He has industry experience, having served as a corporate director of several companies engaged in oil and gas exploration. Along with Harold R. Logan, Sr. (fmr. Vice Chairman of W.R. Grace and CEO of Grace Energy) and Dick Hickok (fmr. Chairman of Main Hurdman, now KPMG), Larry was a Founding Director of Comstock Tunnel & Drainage Co. (now Comstock Resources, Inc. NYSE: CRK), beginning with a negative net worth of $32,000 (in 1985).

Radio, Talent and Film

His entrepreneurial and business experience started early. At age 16, he had an on-the-air public service radio show on 50-thousand-watt WHOO in Orlando, Florida. Shortly thereafter, he had his first business start-up, managing rock-n-roll musical groups and music production. To this day he considers talent management (negotiating, contracting, talent development, performance production, and A&R strategy) maybe the best job he ever had. Certainly, it was the job where he learned the most, fastest.

Real Estate

Real estate is highly cyclical and a major component of our national economy. Early in his career, Larry was hired to assist in drafting curriculum for the School of Mortgage Banking of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He held various staff capacities at MBAA, serving for approximately three years as industry’s liaison for all “internal management” issues germane to the daily operations of a mortgage banking company - including accounting, banking relations, corporate planning, data processing, software applications and development, internal and compliance audits, mortgage loan servicing portfolio valuation, and tax. He also served as Chief Operations Officer of MBAA during his last year.

He was asked by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to assist in resolving their problem commercial real estate as well as conducting sales of major commercial office and multi-family housing properties. During this time, he held a real estate sales license in the State of New York and was involved in a number of commercial real estate transactions and was a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.