Conversations with David Semas

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Semas.

Hi David, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve spent a lifetime building companies from the ground up and developed business as well as personal relationships around the world. While my life challenges have been formidable, they have also been rewarding and invigorating. I began my career as an apprentice carpenter and quickly rose through the construction and building ranks from foreman, superintendent, general superintendent, Northern California construction manager, vice president, and president of a real estate development company at the ripe old age of 24. Shortly after turning 25 I was appointed to and served as one of the seven members of the Santa Clara County Planning Commissioner (Silicon Valley), at that time one of the youngest county planning commissioners in the State of California.

During the early 1980s I was a divisional executive vice president for Shearson/American Express, then a member of the Dow 30, overseeing and responsible for construction lending and joint venture operations for 72 real estate developments in 16 states and more than $1 billion in assets around the United States. Since then, with more than $4 billion dollars of transactional business under my belt, I’ve acquired hands-on an operational expertise in commercial, multifamily, industrial, commercial, hotel, hotel resort, golf course and residential real estate development.

Throughout my more than 40 years running businesses I have accumulated broad experience as a chief executive officer with disciplines in strategic planning, capital formation and allocation, communications, public speaking, investor relations, accounting and finance, business management and sales & marketing with an emphasis in real estate acquisitions, construction lending, REO dispositions and private equity.

In my mid 40s looking for a new challenge I made a major career shift and acquired an aluminum anodizing technology and specially chemical business from a Japanese inventor. In 1995 I relocated the business to Gardnerville, Nevada 45 miles south of Reno and built the impressive Metalast Tech Center, complete with a high tech laboratory, automated metal finishing wet process line and 16-seat classroom. I served as the Chairman of Metalast® International, Inc. (MII), a green chemical company partnered with the U.S. Navy, Pratt & Whitney and Chemetall U.S., Inc., a business unit of the $39 billion dollar global chemical giant, BASF.

As a senior executive for nearly a half century, I have become skilled in leadership, business development, corporate branding and problem solving. After surviving five economic downturns, including the notable 2008-2010 ‘Great’ Recession’, like many other surviving entrepreneurs I am now a seasoned professional, complete with a few battle scars. The knowledge and wisdom gained was not achieved in knowing only the good times, but also experiencing many challenging times as well. My diversified career path has taken me from the residential home building industry, office building construction business, to land use entitlement as a former County planning commissioner, to real estate development, construction lending, finance, syndication and real estate investment banking and founder and CEO of a global green chemical Company.

After 14 years of effort my autobiography was published, MAN IN THE ARENA – NEVER SAY QUIT and is available on Amazon as well as my personal story narrated by myself available on Audible. Throughout a half-century career as a self-made entrepreneur businessman I’ve drawn inspiration from President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech on “The Man in the Arena” in 1910, which was about daring to risk everything rather than playing it safe.

This 487-page autobiographical memoir provides a detailed road map of trials, challenges, and pitfalls while building a business and offers everyone from budding entrepreneurs to seasoned executives a case history of achievement and failure as well as risk and reward. The life lessons and inspirational quotes throughout the book deliver powerful and enlightening messages about nurturing hopes and dreams, dealing with mistakes, facing problems head-on, and living life to the fullest. My story is one of both triumph and despair, and it is sure to help inspire tomorrow’s success stories. I wrote to edify readers, who, I hope, can glean a few useful lessons from my lifetime of adventures and challenges, which has fueled my quest to live in the arena, where life plays out on a grand scale..

My lifetime mantra has always been and can best be described from Vivian Greene’s quote “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
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Throughout my adventurous career I have been a risk-taker, supreme optimist, real estate master planning visionary, marketing guru, and motivational speaker. Following in the path of embracing the Renaissance man life style, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a real estate investor, architectural design and master plan enthusiast, former hotel resort owner/operator a golfer, vocalist, poet, wine grape grower, orchardist, big game hunter, part-time camp cook, author and a gentleman cowboy. I am the father of three, step-dad of two, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of two. To summarize, I have lived my life to the fullest and always in the arena.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My life journey has been far from smooth and can best be described as a school of hard knocks. I began my careers an apprentice carpenter in 1967 and received by General Contractors B-1 License in California at the age of 21. After rising quickly through the construction ranks at the age of 23, I formed my own construction and real estate development company. My first project was in the City of Santa Clara was a 30,000 square-foot garden office building complex. I was turned down by 21 financial institutions before the 22nd lender, Home Savings and Loan of Oakland, California financed my development. My second office building was the 40,000 square-foot Old Mission Center across from Santa Clara City Hall that had construction loan offers from seven different lenders. In September 1973 I was appointed to serve on the Santa Clara County Planning Commission.

Chapter 5 of my book MAN IN THE ARENA – NEVER SAY QUIT, describes the entire intriguing and somewhat unbelievable story for which the first draft of a screenplay was just completed. The entire Pitch Deck is ready for review by a film company or Executive Producer that includes; Executive Summary, Studio Treatment, Directors Visual Treatment, Synopsis, High-Concept Hook, Three Sentence Log Line, Log Line Sheet, Genre Positioning Statement, Comparable Films, Key Character Bios, Directors Vision Section, Thematic Framing, Marketing & Audience Positioning, Tag Lines & One Sheet Poster Language, and Visual Pitch Assets – Poster Concepts. Hopefully one day it will become a full-length feature film.

The screenplay describes an upstart 26 year old real estate developer that unknowingly navigated the world of espionage, political intrigue, and life-and-death leverage when he discovered that nothing — not governments, not allies not even truth –is what it seems. THE PHILIPPINE CONNECTION is more than a thriller, it’s a story about courage, fate, and resilience and what it means to get back up when the world knocked you down and a story about the price and the privilege of standing in the arena.

Decades later, the impossible revelation I was warned about – – came true. This was when, in 1991 the President George H.W. Bush administration surrendered its long-standing leasehold control of the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay and Clark Air Base back to the Philippine government. During my adventure in the 1970s no one believed that the United States government would surrender its most strategic military bases in the south China Sea and, quite frankly believed I might be prone to exaggeration. Although it was unknown to me at the time I was at the center of a secret history no one believed.

Throughout the latter part of the 1970s I built office buildings, custom homes, several townhouse projects and was in the process of master planning 810 acres in Los Altos Hills for 142 custom home lot subdivision with an 18 hole golf course. During this time, I became a relatively wealthy young man. I built my second beautiful custom home for my family and acquired 160 acre hunting lodge in dude ranch in Montana, that also had a 30,000 acre lease from the bureau of land management (BLM).

During the late 1970s the prime lending rate unbelievably rose from 7.25% to 21.5% within an 18 months. Considering that all real estate developers borrow their construction loan money at a floating prime lending rate, mine was 1% over prime. With more than $40 million of projects under construction and an interest that had tripled over what I had budgeted for, like many other developers all over the country I was forced to file bankruptcy for $28 million, . The good news was my extensive hands-on experience and background opened the doors to relocate to Newport Beach and accept a position as divisional executive vice president of Shearson/American Express (SAE). My ‘school of hard knocks’ experience and expertise broaden significantly in the area of construction lending, asset management, real estate development, syndication, and real estate investment banking.

By 1984 I had finished my assignment with SAE and together with several partners formed American Realty Advisors (ARA). We opened offices in Costa Mesa, California and hit the ground running. By the end of our first year, we did $30 million in business. The second year we increased our sales by more than $75 million in real estate transactions. We gained a reputation as well-respected investment property originators and deal makers. In 1986 we put under contract nearly $400 million of real estate projects consisting of apartments, office buildings, sale leaseback of 40 bank buildings, and several hotels. Unfortunately, Congress passed the 1986 Tax Reform Act and the real estate syndication market came to a screeching halt. With that we were forced to close our doors.

During the ARA operations together with two business partners we acquired the Hollywood celebrity famous 500 room Canyon Hotel & Golf Resort located in Palm Springs California. The Frank Sinatra Open Invitational, a PGA Tour event was held at the Canyon Country Club in 1963. The Canyon also served as a boxing training camp under an agreement with Top Rank Boxing. Marvelous Marvin Hagler trained for six weeks at the hotel for the Sugar Ray Leonard fight in 1987. The commercial property consisted of a ground lease under 400 custom homes, two 18-hole Championship golf courses, the 500-room resort hotel with a 30,000 square-foot convention center, 200 condominiums and a 100 unit apartment complex. Throughout the 1980s we operated the hotel and golf resort until the property was sold back to the underlying ground lease holder, the Agua Caliente Indian tribe in late 1989.

Desiring to move on with my career in 1989 I formed a partnership with Pacific Mutual Realty Advisors (PMRA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the $100 billion Pacific Life. I opened offices in Tokyo Japan, Hong Kong, and Taipei Taiwan. Our primary business model was to meet with and convince Asian banks and trust banks to hire PMRA as their American asset manager. While initially I found the challenge and traveling throughout Asia quite invigorating after a few years I grew anxious to take on a new adventure and a try something different that I had in the past.

In 1992 my partner in Tokyo, a former board member of Sumitomo Corporation with it’s original roots tracing back to 1590 (436 years ago) as a Japanese trading company, inquired as to my interest in arranging capital to acquire the rights to an aluminum anodizing technology company. We consummated the transaction in late 1992 and by June of 1993 brought the aluminum anodizing technology and chemical business over to America and called the operating company, Metalast International, LLC (MILLC). While I was a 20% owner of MILLC, my company Metalast International, Inc. (MII) and I as its Chairman and CEO were also to participate in 10% of profits as the manager for MILLC. METALAST was actually an acronym for ‘Metal Engineering Technology ALuminu Anodic Surface Treatment.’

It was a real challenge getting the business off the ground and ultimately into profitability. We raised $90 million, but after 16-years of research and development, testing and slowly receiving manufacturer specifications, and although we are close to profitability, we were still in red ink. We had many setbacks, which was primarily because of the length of time (sometimes as long as 4 to 8 years) required to test our specialty chemicals designed to prevent corrosion on aluminum.

Beginning in 2004 we entered into a licensing agreement and partnership with the United States Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). By 2008 we began to receive specifications and approvals from many Fortune 500 companies including Apple, BAE systems, the Boeing company, Delphi, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and a host of others. Due to the economic downturn the metal finishing job shops were still reluctant to convert their metal finishing process baths, with chemistry used by their fathers to our innovated green chemicals.

Our company’s Metalast TCP-HF (Hex Free) was a chromate conversion coating used to provide bonding and adhesion and prevent corrosion on all aluminum alloys. Although we had 120 speciality chemicals in the market our showcase product was Metalast® TCP-HF. This was an environmentally friendly replacement to the dangerous carcinogen hexavalent chromium made infamous in the movie ‘Erin Brockovich.’ The Navy spent almost a decade attempting to replicate the benefits of hexavalent chromium, but to do so in an environmentally friendly manner. By 2002 NAVAIR achieved the desired results, successfully patented the chemical and licensed it to three companies to commercialize and MILLC was one of the three. Although hexavalent chromium was a known carcinogen and extremely harmful to human health, it had been in use for more than 50 years and most metal finishers didn’t want to change and go through learning curve with new chemistry.

Although things looked promising the global recession in 2008 through 2010 had devastating impact on the metal finishing and chemical industry. At least 80% of job shops were still reluctant to change over their baths to our chemicals. The company was out of capital even though I had already gone more than five years without taking a paycheck and guaranteed $5 million more in loans I was still morally obligated to loan MILLC another $2.5 million dollars, which pretty much depleted my financial resources at the time.

By April 2013 I was out of capital and had been negotiating with a friend and one of our larger investors for a $3 million capital infusion. Although he verbally committed to make the investment, he set me up, had me removed as the manager of the business and a receiver appointed by the court. By the end of the year, he foreclosed on $90 million of investor capital, which also wiped-out the $10 million of loans and investments I made to the company. He acquired all the assets of the company, which did not include the valuable Metalast® trademark. This was done without a business valuation or advertising company for sale, not even to MILLC’s own $6 billion partner, Chemetall (a business unit of BASF). He effectively bought the business for five cents on the dollar, as he and his wife took complete control of all cashflow, FF&E, contracts, licenses, distribution agreements, and various partnerships.

At that point in time, I was pretty well tapped-out and forced to file Chapter 11 in order to preserve and protect our $15 million investment in Buffalo Creek Ranch, which we had spent over 10 years building this beautiful 34 acre agricultural estate. One of my most valuable assets was the actual USPTO registered METALAST® trademark. The METALAST trademark, name and brand had been owned by me since 1995 and had been specified and approved by more of than 80 manufacturers and defense contractors.

By March 2015 the hostile takeover group entered into a settlement stating they would no longer use the name METALAST after June 10, 2015. Instead of honoring the settlement agreement they filed a baseless and frivolous lawsuit against me so that they could hijack the trademark and keep me tied up in court, as it turned out for more than a decade. They began labeling their unknown chemical brand as “formerly Metalast”, which the Federal court approved unambiguous language of the settlement agreement prohibited that use of that name. They ignored demands from my attorney and continued the use of the trademark, name and brand therefore committing trademark infringement under the law.

The biggest tactical mistake they made was in August 2015 when they grossly misrepresented, if not lied to the NAVAIR by agreeing to call their chemicals “formerly Metalast.” Even though they never owned the company MILLC, nor after June 10, 2015 did they have the right to use the right to use the name in commerce in any fashion or manner whatsoever. This was not a civil matter of a violation of the Lanham Act under trademark infringement, but rather something far more serious and perilous known as Government “Procurement Faud.” In other words, they were misrepresenting to the government, defense contractors, their distributors, job shops, and end-user customers they were ‘formerly Metalast,’ a company and brand that they never were. This was a willful act of deception.

Under nine various U.S. statutes the penalties for such egregious and willful violation are significant. After 10 years of courtroom battles, in May 2024 I prevailed before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the ownership of the trademark. In December 2024 I filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Naval Inspector General. The Navy IG investigation was concluded in September 2025 and now resides with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia. The civil or possible criminal actions the Department of Justice may choose to take against all of the parties involved in this procurement fraud scheme is entirely in their hands. Under the 18 U.S.C. §1031 statute, which carries penalties of $1 million per count and up to 10 years in prison I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.

The legal actions their customers and end-users; like Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon etc. may choose to take could be financially devastating, to say the least. It’s even possible when those end-users find out that they and their process auditors were lied to they may file suit against the metal finishing job shop, which could turn cause the metal finisher to form a class action lawsuit against the parties involved. Considering that Chemetall and BASF are well-respected brands, the unfavorable impact of their lack of transparency and honesty by misrepresenting ownership or a license to use the Metalast trademark with customers could affect the value of their businesses. In particular as of this writing the process is reporting BASF has a pending sale to the Carlyle Group for 60% of their Chemetall business unit for $8.9 billion.

Every year since September 2020 I ride a horse across the rugged beauty of Catalina Island participating in the Los Caballeros tradition since our group was founded by Philip Knight Wrigley in 1949. These moments offer perspective, grounding and the quiet wisdom of a man who survived battles most never knew I fought. I reflect on my journey from my childhood challenges, to financing my first office building complex, the proposed $50 million entertainment center and the covert mission in the Philippines and meeting high ranking government officials including President Ferdinand Marcos, during the time martial law (1972-1981)..

Being at the wrong place in history – – at the wrong time when interest rates rose from 7.25% to 21.5%, and mortgage rates at 15% by 1980, to the devastating 1986 tax reform act which caused us to close the doors of ARA, Life has been a challenge but also invigorating. I would’ve never thought a friend for more than 10 years would’ve betrayed my trust and used a slick dishonest maneuver to gain control of a business I spent 20 years building while he and his wife took credit for it. After a 10 year legal battle and winning the last major litigious hurdle in May 2024 the good Lord works in mysterious ways. Those that have betrayed the trust of others because of greed and envy will eventually suffer the consequences, and if not here on earth to higher authority.

In 2019, together with my long time CPA and friend we acquired 155 acre industrial parcel of land located in South Reno, Nevada. We ended up spinning off 5 acres of the property to Waste Management and another 44 acres to a real estate developer and adjoining property owner. The remaining 103 acres will be sold to the State of Nevada in order to protect the endangered Steamboat Buckwheat plant species and habitat. Due to the geothermal nature and rare soils conditions of the land this particular flora can only be found on our property and is on both the state and federal Registry of Endangered Species. We are pleased with the valuation we received and expect to consummate the transaction sometime in the latter part of 2027.

The bottom line is life is what it is. I’m not a victim and never have been. A victim is a mother who lost her son in the car accident or physically fit young man who lost his arms or legs in Afghanistan. We must learn to always appreciate the gifts we’ve been given. We all must learn to roll with the punches. It would be nice to have a full house, but when your dealt a pair of two’s you must play the hand dealt. It’s not about what you want – – it’s about what you have. My life truly embodies Theodore Roosevelt’s timeless truth;

“It is not the critic who accounts – –not the man who points out how a strong man stumbles, or were the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marked by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who–at the best–knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who–at the worst–if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who no neither victory nor defeat.”

“The credit belongs to the man who was actually in the arena.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I have completed, in great length my history and the story of my colorful career. At this point I have a small office in Newport Beach. I still spend my time involved in real estate projects as a consultant and sometimes as a principal and usually in the area of land use entitlement issues or value added real estate development projects. I’m 76 years young, love my work and my family.

My next non-real estate project will be identifying a suitable motion picture film company to producer to embrace THE PHILIPPINE CONNECTION Pitch deck and screenplay. The one page Executive Summary reads as follows;

“THE PHILIPPINE CONNECTION is a prestige, true-story political thriller based on the extraordinary real-life of David Michael Semas–a 26-year-old California developer who becomes the unwitting courier in a covert geopolitical struggle involving the U. S. Military, organized crime, the Teamsters, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcus during the final years of the Vietnam War.

At its core, this film reveals how a young, ambitious American accidentally walked into an international conspiracy tied to stolen U.S. Treasury currency plates, billions in illicit cash, and the long-term political leverage that would eventually force the United States to relinquish it’s two most strategic Pacific military basis: Subic Bay Naval Station and Clark Air Base..

The story and falls through due timelines–the high stakes danger of 1970s Manila under martial law, and the reflective, hard-won wisdom of present-day David–creating a narrative as personal as it is globally significant.

With the emotional truth of the film SPOTLIGHT, the danger and urgency of ARGO, and the stranger-than-fiction authenticity of this AMERICAN MADE, THE PHILIPPINE CONNECTION delivers gripping cinematic experience rooted in courage, fate, and the price of being “The Man In The Arena.”

Its themes of power, truth, leverage, and personal resilience resonate across generations, offering a rare blend of prestige storytelling and commercial appeal. This is a “true story you won’t believe until you see it,” anchored by character, suspense, international intrigue, and the shock of a historical event that ultimately proved the impossible was real.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I originally moved to Newport Beach in 1980 I loved living by the water with easy access to the Orange County John Wayne Airport. In 1995 my wife Susan and I relocated to Gardnerville, Nevada where we built a beautiful 34 acre agricultural ranch just about 15 minutes from South Shore Lake Tahoe and 10 miles south in Carson City or about 45 miles south of Reno.

We returned to Orange County and to Newport Beach in 2018 and will likely never leave again. The weather and proximity to all three of our sons, one who lives in Oceanside, the other Mission Viejo and the last in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. I have one daughter in Morgan Hill just south of San Jose together with three grandchildren and another daughter who lives in Gardnerville with our grandson David.

Newport Beach in Orange County is a very special place for many reasons including to proximity of just about any major sporting event you may want to attend and of course fantastic restaurants within a few miles of our home. I’ve traveled the world and throughout the United States and while there are many beautiful cities to visit and although I may disagree on its politics and over burdensome regulations of the State of California we love living in Orange County.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maninthearena.store and https://www.sierradorado.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmsemas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.semas/?_rdr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-michael-semas-621373a7/
• Twitter: https://x.com/davidsemas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6uKW3TX-Da2gZfD9dlTL_w