JAMES M. MARKS II ESQ:

BIOGRAPHY AND BACKGROUND

Mr. Marks leverages his background as an attorney, his training as an investment banker, and his extensive experience as an entrepreneur, writer, and businessman.

As an investment banker, Mr. Marks served as Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Dover Film Finance Group, Ltd., a firm specializing in asset-backed securitization and structured finance for the entertainment industry. He spearheaded the Asset-backed Securitization of Recorded Music companies, collaborating closely with senior funding executives at Merrill Lynch, Price Waterhouse, NatWest, Bank of America, and CapMac to structure transactions.

Subsequently, Mr. Marks co-founded SunMark Entertainment, Ltd. with a former Dover advisor, where he now serves as President and CEO. SunMark focuses on IP, music, and film industry finance. His partner in SunMark was Clarence B. Jones, a highly respected figure in the New York investment community. Mr. Jones, after serving as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s personal attorney, became the first African American admitted to the New York Stock Exchange and the first Black partner at a major New York investment house (Carter, Weil, Berlin and Leavitt).

During his partnership with Mr. Jones, Mr. Marks not only engaged with the most prominent artists and producers in the music business but also contributed to Reverend Al Sharpton’s political campaigns, attending the inaugural “Hip Hop Summit” in Bert Padell's legendary office. Throughout his tenures at Dover and SunMark, Mr. Marks consistently developed innovative structures for film participation arrangements, asset-backed securitizations, project and structured financings, portfolio acquisitions, and recapitalizations.

After splitting time between New York and London to work in hedge fund companies, Mr. Marks founded (and served as CEO) of Voicetel USA, which commenced as a roaming wireless company for American tourists in the Caribbean and expanded to residential customers as well as fixed wireless in Central America.

Most recently, Mr. Marks established General Music and Records, building out a state of the art recording studio in the New York area. The studio serves as a creative workspace for Mr. Marks and his colleagues, boasting Mr. Marks’ collection of 68 guitars and diverse keyboards.

Mr. Marks maintains an active legal practice, having worked in diverse capacities. This includes serving Of Counsel to the Marshall Firm, led by legendary entertainment attorney Paul Marshall, whose client roster included Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, Death Row Records, and numerous other top-tier artists and producers.

He has also completed legal projects for prominent firms such as Brown & Wood, Morrison & Foerster, Davis Polk and Wardwell, and White & Case, as well as the legal department at Johnson & Johnson. His expertise spans Corporate and Securities Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Structured Finance, Intellectual Property, and Commercial Banking. He launched his finance career as a contract attorney for Citibank N.A.

While attending law school, Mr. Marks founded THE NEW LEGIST, an innovative magazine where he served as Publisher, Editor, and CEO of the holding company, Marks Publications, Inc. Beyond securing funding and handling all legal work, he developed all advertising, promotion, and marketing strategies and materials. The magazine attracted a distinguished array of contributors, from Ralph Nader to Senators Alan Simpson and Jay Rockefeller, and legal luminaries like Victor Schwartz, Alex Kozinski, and Derrick Bell. Its prestigious advertisers represented leaders in every major category, including BMW, Compaq, Absolut, GlenLivet, Evian, Breitling, Ermenegildo Zegna, Sharp Electronics, and Pfizer. At its peak, the publication boasted over 120,000 readers, making it the nation's third-largest legal publication.

Mr. Marks also brings substantial business experience, from retail to publishing. He served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Boehm Porcelain, a globally recognized creator of porcelain sculptures displayed in 150 museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan, the Hermitage, the Vatican Museum, the Kremlin, and the White House. He began his career in publishing and media, managing foreign rights for the German publisher Von Holtzbrinck and working as an editor for the Goldhirsh Group, publisher of Inc. and Business Month Magazines.

A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Mr. Marks graduated with honors from the Lawrenceville School, made the Dean’s List at Columbia College, and earned his law degree from Rutgers Law School. An accomplished writer and composer, he has published several short stories, performed numerous concerts of his original classical piano music, and composed and conducted orchestral scores for modern dance performances.