John is available for hire
Hire JohnJohn Eastman
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Toptal Member Since
January 8, 2019
John launched his consulting practice after a 20-year financial career working at leading commercial real estate firm Majestic Realty, sports entertainment conglomerate AEG and on Wall Street at CIBC. John has served as a CFO and raised over $1 billion in debt and equity capital for companies in a variety of industries. He freelances to leverage his experiences to help companies leverage capital and maximize efficiency.
Career Highlights
Chief Financial Officer
The Ranch Malibu
Chief Financial Officer
Casa de Leones Entertainment
Associate Director of Capital Markets
Majestic Realty Co.
Education Highlights
Master's Degree
University of Southern California
Bachelor's Degree
University of California
Certification Highlights
Investment Advisor Representative
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Case Studies
Industry Expertise
Software Expertise
Other Expertise
Work Experience
Chief Financial Officer
2017 - PRESENT
The Ranch Malibu
- Raised $10 million to refinance an existing multifamily real estate portfolio, producing all marketing materials and negotiating with potential lenders to achieve the highest loan proceeds at the lowest cost of capital.
- Conducted discounted cash flow analyses and created a pitch deck for the capital raise of a mid-sized fitness and wellness program.
- Created precedent transaction analyses to screen over $50 million in real estate transactions, successfully executing multiple acquisitions.
- Developed a strategic plan for the management of $10 million of liquid assets by creating financial reports to analyze current returns from existing investments and coordinated with financial institutions to improve the investment performance of cash holdings.
- Instituted a payroll management process to ensure the successful implementation of a $2 million annual payroll system leveraging the web-based Paychex platform to streamline the process.
Focus areas: Personal Finance, Market Research, Intuit QuickBooks, Valuation, Financial Accounting, Financial Systems, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Reporting, Financial Modeling
Chief Financial Officer
2015 - PRESENT
Casa de Leones Entertainment
- Led a team of five employees to coordinate the financial management efforts of a profitable music company, tracking financial reporting on a daily basis and creating models to monitor and track projected performance.
- Analyzed quarterly distribution statements to ensure the proper calculation and payment of management commissions, achieving significant improvements in commission collection.
- Managed all human resources efforts, negotiating employment contracts to help scale the team and establishing a healthcare program for the stakeholders.
- Built detailed financial models for potential projects and the calculation of management commissions.
- Tracked bank accounts and tax payments via QuickBooks to monitor cash flow and calculate manager commissions and reimbursements.
Focus areas: Personal Finance, Valuation, Revenue & Expense Projections, Pro Forma Financial Statements, Financial Statements, Financial Accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Portfolio Manager
2009 - PRESENT
Strategic Trading Corporation
- Built a financial model for return projections from stocks and options investments for a fund that generated an IRR of 30%+ over five years.
- Executed daily stock and options trades, totaling $2+ million of trading volume over five years.
- Conducted analyses of transaction fees and decreased the portfolio management cost by 70%.
Focus areas: Stock Price Analysis, Stock Trading, Bond Indices, Bonds, Financial Options, Portfolio Analysis, Asset-backed Securities (ABS), Private Banking
Associate Director of Capital Markets
2004 - 2009
Majestic Realty Co.
- Developed a financial model to raise a $175 million credit facility to finance gaming and retail space at a $500 million casino in Las Vegas.
- Created pro forma financials and offering memorandums to facilitate the successful raise of $100+ million of debt financing for a 2+ million square foot property based in California.
- Raised $1+ billion of debt to refinance additional industrial, retail and office real estate.
- Structured and executed a variety of real estate development and finance transactions for a commercial real estate portfolio exceeding 68 million square feet of industrial, retail and office space.
Focus areas: Asset Valuation, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Valuation, Financial Modeling, Strategy, Finance, Real Estate
Financial Analyst
2001 - 2003
CIBC World Markets
- Provided deal structuring analysis for a variety of investment banking and credit transactions including industry and equity research, analysis of debt and equity trading multiples, discounted cash flow analysis and financial modeling.
- Raised a $500 million senior credit facility for Isle of Capri Casinos, a leading gaming company.
- Raised a $200 million senior credit facility for Central Garden & Pet, a consumer products company.
- Raised $150 million in an equity offering for Magna Entertainment, a horse racing and real estate company.
- Assisted with the composition of 50+ equity research reports for use in the annual CIBC Gaming, Lodging, and Leisure conference.
Focus areas: Valuation, Asset-backed Securities (ABS), Equity Research, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Financial Modeling, Debt
Education
2008 - 2012
Master's Degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship
University of Southern California - Los Angeles, California
1996 - 2001
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration
University of California - Berkeley, California
Certifications
JANUARY 2017 - PRESENT
Investment Advisor Representative
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)