Biography

Thomas Hawkins has completed hundreds of transactions including acquisitions of publicly traded and private companies, financings, divestitures, complex joint ventures and partnerships resulting in significant positive financial impact for investors. With experience in multiple industry verticals, Mr. Hawkins has served on boards, board committees and as board secretary in public and private corporations, advising boards on sophisticated transactions, risk and crisis management in highly regulated industries and developing corporate governance infrastructure. Mr. Hawkins helped develop the legal division of Blockbuster, beginning his tenure there when there were only 23 stores, and was promoted to General Counsel early in his tenure. As General Counsel, he led the $8.5 billion sale to Viacom in 1994, with 5500 stores in 14 countries, and other film, production and distribution businesses, and the related tender for Paramount Communications. Mr. Hawkins also helped build the Corporate Development department at AutoNation that delivered over 300 transactions, $5 billion in acquisitions, and grew into the largest publicly traded automotive retailer. Acquisitions formed AutoNation’s dealer network and subsequent spin off companies including ANC Rental Corp., owner of National Car Rental and Alamo Car Rental, and Republic Services, a solid waste company. Mr. Hawkins also drove strategic alignment as member of the executive leadership team for Mednax Health, a high growth, high margin healthcare company which experienced a 500% + market cap increase and 300% increase in revenue over 9 years, and Mr. Hawkins also initiated the Government Relations function for this highly regulated business and partnered in the launch of new service lines to fuel additional growth. In 2020, Mr. Hawkins served on the board of directors of a newly established private equity management company providing oversight for businesses engaged in the automotive retail, healthcare, technology enabled services and waste management industries. Mr. Hawkins currently serves on the board of directors of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and Jumptuit Inc., a data analytics technology company. Mr. Hawkins also serves on the board of directors of Lionheart III and Lionheart IV. Mr. Hawkins received his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University in 1986 and his A.B. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1983. Mr. Hawkins is qualified to serve as a director due to his previous board and committee service across multiple industries.