Wharton Restructuring and Turnaround Conference

Cyrus Pardiwala - Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Cyrus Pardiwala is a Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a member of the leadership team of the U.S. Restructuring & Recovery Services practice. Since joining the firm, he has worked in both a principal and advisory capacity on complex global transactions and corporate restructurings. Mr. Pardiwala has specific expertise in dealing with cross border business issues, and he has also worked in Europe, Asia and South America. Mr. Pardiwala has extensive experience in business reorganization and the management of financially distressed corporations under the protection of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Areas of significant industry experience include electric utilities, power generation, commercial aviation, retailing, automotive and professional services organizations. Mr. Pardiwala’s projects have focused on negotiating complex financial restructuring agreements and corporate reorganizations on behalf of debtors, creditors, agent banks and primary and syndicated lenders.  He is a member of the Turnaround Management Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals. Mr. Pardiwala received a Master of Sciences in Finance from Texas A&M University and a Master of Management Studies in Engineering Management from BITS (Pilani) in India. He is a graduate of Stanford University’s Global Senior Executive Management Program.

Richard Cieri - Partner, Kirkland & Ellis

Richard Cieri is a partner in the Restructuring Group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  Mr. Cieri is an internationally recognized authority in domestic and cross-border restructurings, and in corporate governance and director and officer fiduciary duty matters (including “deepening insolvency”).  He is best known for representing financially challenged companies, debtors and boards of directors.  Mr. Cieri has also been recognized as one of the country's outstanding restructuring lawyers by numerous publications in which clients have complemented his leadership on some of the largest chapter 11 and business restructuring matters in the country.  In April 2009, Mr. Cieri was selected as one of the “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer.  Some of his recent representative matters include Charter Communications, Inc., Calpine Corporation, Chemtura Corporation, Masonite Corporation, Hawaiian Telcom Communications, Inc., Tronox Incorporated, Collins & Aikman Corporation, Solutia, Inc., TOUSA, Inc., Federated Department Stores, Inc., and LTV Steel Company, Inc.  Mr. Cieri earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan and his B.A. from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Gregory L. Doody - Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Charter Communications

Gregory L. Doody joined Charter in December 2008 to assist in Charter’s financial restructuring. Mr. Doody became Chief Restructuring Officer in March 2009, General Counsel in May 2009 and Executive Vice President and General Counsel in December 2009. Mr. Doody is responsible for the oversight of Charter’s corporate legal affairs and compliance. Prior to joining Charter, Mr. Doody served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Calpine Corporation, where he oversaw all of Calpine corporate legal affairs and served as the company’s Secretary. In addition, Mr. Doody served as Calpine’s chief restructuring officer, successfully leading Calpine through one of the largest and most complex Chapter 11 cases in history. Prior to that, Mr. Doody served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of HealthSouth Corporation, where he was responsible for the oversight of all legal activities, including the successful negotiations with the Department of Justice, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and various class action plaintiffs. Mr. Doody received a juris doctor degree from Emory University and a bachelor of science in management degree from Tulane University. Mr. Doody is a member of the Alabama State Bar and the American Bar Association. Mr. Doody is also a certified public accountant.

Alan Kornberg - Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP

Alan Kornberg is the Chair of the Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Department and a member of the Management Committee at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP.  Mr. Kornberg handles chapter 11 cases, cross-border insolvency matters, out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy-related acquisitions, bankruptcy-related litigation and insolvency-sensitive transactions.  His recent assignments include representing the Charter Communications bondholder committee, an international shipping company, an automotive parts manufacturer, representing a state regulatory board in the reorganization of the New York Racing Association, and a secured bondholder group in the Ziff Davis Media chapter 11 cases.  He also represented the California Public Utilities Commission in the Pacific Gas & Electric Company chapter 11 case.  Mr. Kornberg has served as the Second Circuit Regent of the American College of Bankruptcy and was the Chair of the Committee on Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 2005 to 2008.

James Millstein - Senior Restructuring Advisor, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Jim Millstein is the Chief Restructuring Officer of U.S. Department of the Treasury, responsible for oversight of a number of the Government's investments in the financial sector made during the recent financial crisis, including AIG and GMAC. Before joining the Treasury Department in May of 2009, Jim was the Global Co-Head of the Restructuring Group at Lazard Freres & Co., LLC. While at Lazard, Jim represented a number of companies in their respective restructurings, including Charter Communications, WorldCom, United Pan-European Communications and Marconi, as well as the United Auto Workers in connection with the restructuring of GM, Ford and Chrysler's post-retirement healthcare obligations and the Republic of Argentina in connection with the restructuring of its international bond indebtedness.  Before joining Lazard in 2000, Jim was a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, where he was the head of its Restructuring Practice, having practiced law at Cleary since receiving his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law in 1982. Jim also has a M.A. in Politics from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in Politics and Philosophy from Princeton University.

Eric Zinterhofer - Senior Partner, Apollo Management

Eric Zinterhofer is a senior partner at Apollo Management, L.P. and has been with Apollo since 1998.  From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Zinterhofer was a member of the Corporate Finance Department at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.  From 1993 to 1994, Mr. Zinterhofer was a member of the Structured Equity Group at J.P. Morgan Investment Management.  Mr. Zinterhofer is a member of the board of directors of Affinion Group, Inc., Charter Communications, Inc. (Chairman), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. and Dish TV India Ltd.  Mr. Zinterhofer graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, with BA degrees in Honors Economics and European History and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

George Varughese - Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal

George Varughese, a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal, leads the firm's Corporate Finance Group. Mr. Varughese brings more than 20 years of experience on Wall Street, specializing in M&A transactions, financing, restructurings, strategic financial advisory and private equity.  Prior to joining A&M, he was a Managing Director with DLJ Merchant Banking. Prior to that, he led the restructuring group at Kidder Peabody. He joined the investment banking business at Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1982, and eventually became a Managing Director with the firm's Investment Banking practice. Mr. Varughese earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University. He served as a Professor of Finance at the Indian Institute of Management, and currently serves on the boards of Vellore Hospital and College, ArtsIndia, and India Advantage Fund, which is ICICI's private equity fund. He is also a member of the investment committee of GEO PEP S.C.A., the fund investment program of Quilvest.

John R. Buck - Partner, Versa Capital Management

Mr. Buck is a Director at Versa Capital Management. He has 20 years of experience in corporate finance, business development and operations. Most recently, he was a Vice President at hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management, where he led middle-market deal origination efforts, and supported the underwriting of numerous distressed and underperforming companies across a diverse set of industries.

He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a B.S. in Engineering, and Temple University, where he received an M.B.A with Distinguished Honors, Beta Gamma Sigma.

David L. Kreilein- Partner, Monomoy Capital Partners

David Kreilein is all about focus and perseverance. From his experience in the distressed business, he knows that perseverance is what allows companies to succeed in the face of adversity. David brings persistence, financial acumen and strategic skills to his role at Monomoy, providing intensive operational and financial support to all of Monomoy's portfolio companies. For over 15 years, he has restructured public and private companies ranging in size from $50 million to over $3.5 billion in revenues. Prior to joining Monomoy, David held numerous C level positions and joined Sun Capital Partners as an operating vice president, where he was responsible for over 20 portfolio companies. At Monomoy, David has helped to create a world class cash management and financial reporting system for all of our portfolio companies. David graduated from Indiana University with a B.S in accounting and spends more time on airplanes than 99.9% of people on the planet.

David E. Simon - Managing Director, Littlejohn & Co.

Mr. Simon is a Managing Director at Littlejohn & Co., a Greenwich, CT based control-oriented private equity firm seeking investment opportunities in the middle market sector that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth that can benefit from its operational and strategic approach. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Simon was with Fenway Partners, Inc., a private equity firm then focused on investments in branded consumer businesses with significant opportunities for growth.  Previously, he was a member of the Financial Entrepreneurs Group of the investment banking department of Smith Barney, Inc. where he advised private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Mr. Simon currently serves as a Director of Littlejohn’s investments in Van Houtte (a leading Canadian gourmet coffee company) and Clean Earth (a leading environmental services firm) and previously served as a Director of Littlejohn’s investment in PSC (a leading manufacturer of bar code scanners).

Mr. Simon received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School with honors in 2001 and a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from The Wharton School, magna cum laude in 1995.

Lance West - Senior Managing Director and Partner, Centerbridge Partners

Lance N. West, Partner and Senior Managing Director of Centerbridge Partners LP, a $10B multi-strategy, private investment management company that focuses on distressed debt and private equity opportunities. Prior to joining Centerbridge at its formation in 2006, Mr. West was a Partner Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he was head of the firm’s Principal Finance Group, a proprietary investment platform focusing on a variety of private and public equity and debt investments in the Americas, with a particular emphasis on real estate & financial institutions. Mr. West was a member of Goldman's Asian Special Situations Group and was a member of the Investment Committees for Goldman's American Special Situations and Specialty Lending Groups. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in January 1999, Mr. West served as Chairman and CEO of Greenthal Realty Partners LP and GRP Financial in New York, which Mr. West founded in 1992 as an RTC SAMDA Asset Manager providing real estate asset management, special servicing and distressed debt investment management. Prior to founding GRP, Mr. West was an executive vice president with The Charles H. Greenthal Group, Inc., a real estate asset management and investment company, and a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1982 to 1984. Mr. West earned his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1983 and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University in 1982. Mr. West is currently chairman of Green Tree Investment Holdings LLC, a credit focused mortgage loan servicer, and a member of the board of Bank United, a Florida based $13B thrift. Mr. West is a member of the Board of Overseers of Tufts University, and a member of the Chair’s Council for the HSS division at Caltech.

Matthew Wilson - Managing Director, Oaktree Capital Management

Matthew Wilson is a Managing Director with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. in Los Angeles where he leads the origination, evaluation, management and execution of private equity investments, including leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, and control distressed debt transactions. Prior to Oaktree, Mr. Wilson was with H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading middle market private equity firm. While at H.I.G., Mr. Wilson was a founding member of Bayside Capital, Inc, a fund focused on control distressed debt investments. Prior thereto, Mr. Wilson was with J.H. Whitney & Co., where he was an Associate in the firm’s middle market buyout group. Mr. Wilson has over a dozen years of distressed M&A and private equity experience, working with firms ranging from mid-market, privately-held organizations to multi-national public companies. Mr. Wilson received B.A. degrees with Distinction in Economics and History from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. 

James J. Zenni - President and Chief Executive Officer, Z Capital Partners, L.L.C.

Mr. Zenni is President and Chief Executive Officer of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. and is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Prior to founding Z Capital, Mr. Zenni was, beginning in 1995, Co-founder, President and Managing Partner and fifty percent owner of BDCM, where he was jointly responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Mr. Zenni divested his interest in BDCM in an employee-led leveraged buyout in October 2006. At the time of the buyout, BDCM managed distressed debt/private equity funds, hedge funds and structured vehicles with assets under management of approximately $9 billion.

Mr. Zenni is a recognized professional within the credit markets and has substantial credit and restructuring experience. During his co-ownership of BDCM he was responsible for the growth and management of its funds and co-managed numerous distressed debt/private equity transactions such as ARI Holdings, Inc., Bayou Steel Corporation, Diamond Brands Operating Corp., Euro Disneyland S.N.C., Exide Technologies, Inc., Imperial Sugar Company, New World Pasta Company, PTC Alliance Corp., Smarte Carte Corporation, Sun World International, Inc. and Venture Holdings Company LLC. Prior to establishing BDCM, Mr. Zenni was a Managing Director and senior member of the Fixed Income/Capital Markets Department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc., where he was employed for eleven years.

Mr. Zenni received his B.S. in Economics from Xavier University and attended Xavier University Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Mr. Zenni was previously on the boards of Automotive Aftermarket Group, LLC, Bayou Steel Corporation, Smarte Carte Corporation and Sun World International, LLC, all of which were portfolio companies. Mr. Zenni resides in Lake Bluff, Illinois, with his wife of twenty years and their three children.

Don Dees - President and CEO, BHM Technologies

Mr. Dees has over 30 years of leadership experience in the automotive industry that includes the Domestic “Big 3”, European, and Asian manufacturers.  Mr. Dees joined BHM as the President and CEO in May 2007, where he successfully led BHM through the Chapter 11 restructuring process in less than six months and managed the company through the bankruptcy of 5 major customers in 2008 and 2009 (GM, Chrysler, Visteon, Lear, and Cadence).  BHM was sold in late 2009, and Mr. Dees is currently working for Matcor/Matsu, the purchaser, implementing the acquisition.  Prior to joining BHM, Mr. Dees held the positions of Vice President of Quality and Service at Hyundai Motor America; VP of Manufacturing and VP of Quality at Daimler Chrysler; General Manager of Quality and Manufacturing at Toyota; and, while at General Motors Corporation, Mr. Dees held executive positions of increasing responsibility in the United States, Canada, Germany, and England.  Mr. Dees has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Administration from General Motors Institute. 

Michael Freitag - Partner, Kekst & Company

Michael Freitag is a Partner at Kekst and Company, a strategic and financial communications firm that has helped clients across a broad range of industries develop and execute communications programs to support their business objectives. The firm has an expertise in mergers and acquisitions, proxy contests, restructurings and reorganizations, financial disclosures, executive succession and other sensitive matters. As leader of Kekst’s restructuring and reorganization practice, Mr. Freitag has guided the firm’s engagement in dozens of Chapter 11 and CCAA cases, including Delta Air Lines, Masonite, Idearc, Smurfit-Stone, Spectrum Brands, the Star-Tribune, Frontier Airlines, Winn-Dixie Stores, and Kmart. In the automotive sector, Kekst advised the debtor in the reorganization proceedings of General Motors, Chrysler, Visteon, Lear and Dana. Mr. Freitag also has extensive experience in advising private equity firms, hedge funds, family offices, and other investment firms. In addition, he has provided public relations counsel to leading educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations. Prior to joining Kekst in 1990, Mr. Freitag was on the staff of The New York Times. He is a graduate of Yale University.

Christopher L. Good - Director, Conway MacKenzie

Chris Good has more than sixteen years of experience in engineering, quality control and purchasing, principally within the automotive industry. During that period, Mr. Good has managed departments tasked with global supplier development, new product launch and the support of manufacturing operations. Before joining Conway MacKenzie, Mr. Good held several senior management positions with Ford Motor Company and Visteon. In these roles, Mr. Good was critical in delivering value from low cost sourcing, e-procurement, supply base optimization, negotiated cost reduction strategies, and lean/value engineering. He has worked with many financially distressed suppliers to realign their financial structures for future success. Mr. Good received a Master in Business Administration from The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

Tom Morrow - Partner, AlixPartners

Tom Morrow is a Managing Director at Alix Partners and has spent more than 20 years helping companies solve financial and strategic challenges.  At AlixPartners, his work has focused on helping companies improve profitability through better management of their cash flow, cost structure and human resources. He provides expertise in financial, operational and business analysis; loan workouts and restructurings; and creditor negotiations.  Notable recent assignments included serving as Financial Advisor to General Motors Corporation, BHM Technologies and Dura Automotive in their recent restructurings. Prior to joining AlixPartners, Tom was with Wendy’s International where he was responsible for franchisee restructurings. Tom holds a BBA with distinction from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago.  He is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor and a Certified Turnaround Professional.  He serves on the board of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and the advisory board for the ABI Central States Workshop where he is co-chair of the sponsors committee.  Tom is a frequent speaker on restructuring topics and has published several articles in the ABI Journal.

Mike Wall - Director, Global Financial Services, CSM Worldwide

Mike Wall joined CSM Worldwide in April 2003, bringing eight years of financial analysis, consulting and manufacturing experience. His primary focus at CSM is aiding financial firms in their evaluation and understanding of the auto industry, as well as in-depth analysis of vehicle markets and trends. Prior to joining CSM Worldwide, Mike served as Director of Forecasting for IRN, Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he focused on analysis of auto industry trends, with primary responsibilities for quarterly North American vehicle forecasts and analysis of diverse manufacturers and vehicle markets. 

Mike is quoted frequently in the automotive trade press and business media on topics ranging from North American vehicle sales and production to vehicle design and safety trends. He has also written columns on North American automotive issues for Vehicle News, Automotive Industries and the Western Michigan Business Journal. 

Mike also has experience working in the finance and product launch field for a major Tier I supplier. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with an undergraduate degree in Finance from Grand Valley State University and earned the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation.

David Skeel - S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law, University of Pennsylvania

Professor David Skeel is the author of Icarus in the Boardroom (Oxford, 2005) and Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001), as well as numerous articles and other publications.  He has been interviewed on Nightline, Chris Matthews’ Hardball (MSNBC), National Public Radio, and Marketplace, among others, and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other newspapers and magazines.  Professor Skeel has twice received the Harvey Levin award for outstanding teaching, as selected by a vote of the graduating class, and has also received the University’s Lindback Award for distinguished teaching.  In addition to corporate law and bankruptcy, Professor Skeel also writes on sovereign debt, law and religion, and poetry and the law, and is an elder at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

Gregg M. Galardi - Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Gregg M. Galardi is a Partner of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Galardi has extensive U.S. and international restructuring experience having represented financial service, retail, specialty chemical, construction, environmental, manufacturing, imaging and engineering companies in their out-of-court restructurings and prepackaged, prenegotiated and traditional Chapter 11 cases. He regularly advises clients regarding multijurisdictional filings, change of control transactions, and the complex regulatory, employment, environmental and other issues that confront public and private companies in financial distress.

Mr. Galardi’s most recent client representations include advising CIT Group Inc. in its prepackaged Chapter 11 case, the fifth-largest bankruptcy of all time and the largest prepackaged bankruptcy ever.

Additionally, Mr. Galardi has represented financial institutions, private equity and hedge funds, international corporations, litigants and significant creditors in contested and consensual proceedings, as well as in-court and out-of-court acquisitions of distressed assets.

Mr. Galardi has been named by Turnarounds & Workouts to its list of the top dozen restructuring lawyers in America. He recently was invited to become a Fellow to the American College of Bankruptcy and recognized by Chambers USA as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers” and voted one of the “Best Lawyers in America”. Mr. Galardi also was listed in Euromoney and Legal Media Group’s 2009 Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers and The International Who’s Who of Legal Professionals. He is an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt Law School. 

Jonathan Henes - Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Jon Henes is a partner in the Restructuring Group of Kirkland & Ellis.  Mr. Henes’ practice involves representing debtors (including portfolio, privately-held and public companies), creditors' committees and distressed investors (including hedge funds, private equity funds and companies) in acquisitions, restructurings and bankruptcy cases; advising boards of directors and senior managers of financially troubled companies regarding fiduciary duties and restructuring strategies; providing advice in connection with legacy, environmental, mass tort, retiree and pension liabilities of financially troubled companies; structuring acquisitions, financings and other commercial transactions; and advising investors in connection with the purchase of distressed assets and securities.  Mr. Henes has represented clients on restructuring matters including Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, Stallion Oil Services, Integra Telecom, Masonite International, Pierre Foods, Wellman, Solutia.  Mr. Henes is also an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School where he teaches a course on distressed investing and corporate restructurings and was appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Heyman Center of Corporate Governance, the mission of which is to raise public and academic awareness of pressing corporate and securities law issues and to produce and disseminate research on a broad range of corporate and securities law topics.

Edward R. Morrison - Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law , Columbia Law School

Ed Morrison is the Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. He received B.S. degrees (summa cum laude) in Accounting and Economics from the University of Utah and went on to earn J.D. (high honors) and M.A. and Ph.D. (economics) degrees from the University of Chicago, where he was an articles editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. Ed clerked for Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2002 he was named John M. Olin, Jr., Fellow at Columbia Law School’s Center for Law and Economic Studies. He became Associate Professor of Law at Columbia Law School in 2003, was promoted to Professor of Law in 2007, and became Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law in 2009. 

Ed studies theoretical, empirical, and policy-related issues in bankruptcy law. His work addresses corporate reorganization, consumer debt, small-business distress, bankruptcy protections for financial derivatives, and the role of bankruptcy law in resolving the distress of systemically important institutions. He recently testified on the foreclosure crisis before the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. His scholarly work has been published in journals such as Columbia Law Review, Yale Journal on Regulation, Journal of Legal Studies, Journal of Law & Economics, Journal of Legal Analysis, American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and European Company and Financial Law Review. He has contributed chapters to two books and is editing another. 

Jeffrey D. Saferstein - Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

A partner and deputy chair of the Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Department, Jeffrey D. Saferstein practices exclusively in the areas of corporate restructurings and workouts, bankruptcy and specialized financings. He has been involved in major domestic and international restructurings and bankruptcies, including AbitibiBowater, Samsonite Company Stores, Buffets, Adelphia Communications, Atkins Nutritionals, Loehmann's and The Penn Traffic Company. He has also recently been involved in several restructurings of Structured Investment Vehicles and in a workout of one of the monoline insurers.

Mr. Saferstein has written and lectured on numerous bankruptcy topics including co-writing a recent article for the New York Law Journal titled “When Second Lien Lenders Break Their Silence” (October 2007), co-writing an article for the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal titled "Equitable Subordination: Good-Faith Transferees Beware" (April 2006) and speaking on two panels sponsored by Bloomberg L.P. on Distressed Debt and Bankruptcies and at the New York City Bar Association. He has been named in Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2005-09), as a leading practitioner in the bankruptcy field and to Lawdragon’s 3000 Leading Lawyers in America.

Judge Brendan Shannon - United States Bankruptcy Judge, District of Delaware

Brendan Linehan Shannon was sworn in as a new bankruptcy judge for the District of Delaware on March 13, 2006.

Judge Shannon received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and his law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Shannon was a partner with Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP in Wilmington, Delaware. At Young Conaway, Judge Shannon primarily represented corporate debtors and official committees in Chapter 11 cases. Judge Shannon is a member of the Delaware State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Rodney Inns of Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Samuel Greene - Managing Director, Miller Buckfire

Samuel Greene is a Managing Director of Miller Buckfire.  Mr. Greene has extensive experience representing companies, creditors and other constituents in complex M&A, Financing and Restructuring transactions across a wide range of industries. Specifically, Mr. Greene’s company side experience includes representing Bedford Fair, Bruno’s Supermarkets, Calpine Corporation, CMS Energy, Colo.com, Cygnus Business Media, Favorite Brands International, Laidlaw, MagnaChip Semiconductor, McLeod USA, Oakwood Homes, PG&E, Polymer Group, Port Townsend Paper, TECO Energy, The Dialog Corporation, United Australia/Pacific and U.S. Office Products.  Mr. Greene has also represented creditor and equity constituencies in various transactions including CDX Gas, Dow Corning Corporation, Mirant Corporation and other non public situations. Throughout the course of his career, Mr. Greene has raised over $12 billion of debt and equity capital and restructured more than $35 billion worth of obligations.

Mr. Greene is a member of several industry trade organizations including the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association and is a frequent lecturer on restructuring topics.  Mr. Greene is the recipient of the TMA’s 2008 Turnaround of the Year award for his work on the restructuring of Calpine Corporation.  Mr. Greene is a former member of the financial restructuring group of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which he joined in 1997. Mr. Greene has a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. (with honors) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Fineman - Portfolio Manager, Third Avenue Special Situations Fund

Michael Fineman leads Third Avenue Management’s distressed investment team and is responsible for overseeing debt and credit investments firm wide.  Additionally, he is portfolio manager of the Third Avenue Special Situations Fund, L.P., a private partnership investing in distressed and special situation investments. Mr. Fineman has over 20 years of experience in distressed investing, corporate restructurings, and related roles. He has been influential in many distressed restructurings over the years, serving on numerous official and ad hoc creditors committees including Home Products International, Collins and Aikman, LandSource Communities, US Shipping Partners LP, Building Materials Holding Corporation, and Grant Forest Products.  Mr. Fineman is currently chairman of the Board for Home Products Incorporated, a $200 million housewares manufacturing company. Prior to joining Third Avenue, Mr. Fineman worked as a distressed investing and restructuring analyst with Sanno Point Capital Management, LLC, a credit-driven opportunities hedge fund, and Ernst & Young Corporate Finance LLC. Areas of significant industry experience include: energy, retail, manufacturing, homebuilding, food distribution, and insurance.  He also has over 10 years of experience as a sell-side equity analyst and investment banker having worked at firms including Goldman Sachs & Co., Raymond James & Associates, Inc., and Alex. Brown & Sons, Inc. Mr. Fineman received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Delaware. Mr. Fineman is a CFA charterholder, a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, and holds a certification in Distressed Business Valuation.

Kevin Lydon - Partner, Strategic Value Partners

Kevin Lydon oversees trading globally for the distressed strategies.  From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Lydon was a Managing Director and Co-Head of European and Asian Special Situations in London at Credit Suisse.  From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Lydon was at Merrill Lynch, most recently serving as a Managing Director and Co-Head of European Leveraged Finance Trading in London (and was previously based in New York) where he managed a substantial trading book of distressed loans.  From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Lydon worked as an Analyst at Fitch Investment Services in New York.  Mr. Lydon received an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University in 2000 and a Bachelor of Economics at Washington and Lee University in 1992.

Andrew Milgram - Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager, Marblegate Asset Management

Andrew Milgram is Managing Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of Marblegate Asset Management.  Prior to forming Marblegate, Mr. Milgram was a Principal at Epic Asset Management where he was responsible for generating, evaluating, executing, and managing investments in a portfolio of distressed and special situation assets across a variety of industry sectors over the last 5 years.  In addition, he coordinated the firm’s overall research process and directed its team of investment analysts.  Mr. Milgram has sat on a variety of official and ad-hoc creditor committees and has been deeply involved in a number of corporate restructurings in both the United States and abroad.  Prior to joining Epic, Mr. Milgram was a part of the capital market businesses at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.  Mr. Milgram began his career at Swiss Bank Corp (now UBS) where he was part of the global emerging market team responsible for the bank’s proprietary investments in Russia, Africa and the Middle East.  Mr. Milgram holds the Charted Financial Analyst designation and graduated from Colby College with a BA in Economics and International Studies.

Michael N. Thompson - Portfolio Manager, Bay Harbour Capital

Mr. Thompson joined Bay Harbour Management in January 2008 and has been Portfolio Manager for all BHM funds since January 2009, with responsibility for all aspects of the research process and team.  In 2008, he led the Bay Harbour's research and investment efforts in the financial and real estate sectors and was primarily responsible for its portfolio of short positions.  Additionally, he has managed several restructuring processes, including the debt-for-debt exchange and subsequent refinancing executed by Trico Marine Services in 2009.  Mr. Thompson has an extensive background in trading, structuring and risk management of corporate debt and equity, structured finance and real estate securities and has managed complex transactions across these and other asset classes.  Prior to joining Bay Harbour, he was most recently a Managing Director at Wachovia Securities with management responsibilities for a proprietary trading book which exceeded $3 billion and for a division with approximately 100 employees in the U.S., the U.K. and Hong Kong.  Mr. Thompson graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in International Finance from the Honors Program at the University of Georgia where he received Alumni, Governor's and Hope Scholarships.

William Q. Derrough - Co-Head of the Recapitalization & Restructuring Group, Moelis & Company

Bill Derrough is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Recapitalization & Restructuring Group at Moelis & Company. Mr. Derrough has been in the investment banking industry for 20 years. From 1998 until joining Moelis & Company, he co-founded and co-headed the Recapitalization & Restructuring Group at Jefferies & Company. During his leadership, Jefferies completed over 125 transactions representing nearly $200 billion. While at Jefferies, Mr. Derrough advised a wide spectrum of clients and investors on restructurings, recapitalizations, financings, mergers, and other engagements. Prior to joining Jefferies, Mr. Derrough was a Principal at Doyle & Boissiere, a private investment firm, and before this, a Senior Vice President of Chanin & Company, an investment banking firm focused on restructuring advice, and a generalist in corporate finance at Salomon Brothers.  Mr. Derrough received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ray Dombrowski - Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal

Ray Dombrowski, a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal, specializes in assisting corporations in developing and implementing financial turnaround strategies.   With more than 15 years of financial restructuring experience, he has served in interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer roles, as well as an adviser to large and mid-size companies both in and out of bankruptcy.  Mr. Dombrowski brings expertise across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, energy, financial services, transportation, real estate and entertainment. Some of his recent clients at A&M have included SIRVA, SLI, Allegheny Energy, VecTour, APW, Inc., Verestar, Inc., and Marchon Eyeware.   Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Dombrowski was Senior Vice President and CFO of Ogden Corporation, where he led the successful restructuring of the $3 billion conglomerate.  Previously, he served for 14 years as a senior executive with Bell Atlantic Corporation.   Mr. Dombrowski earned a bachelor's degree, with high honors, from The United States Merchant Marine Academy. He received a juris doctor, with honors, and a master of laws degree in taxation from Temple University. 

Stefan Feuerabendt - Senior Managing Director, The Blackstone Group

Stefan Feuerabendt is a Senior Managing Director in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Mr. Feuerabendt has worked on a variety of restructuring and M&A assignments that include work for debtors or creditors of Ford Motor Company, LyondellBasell Industries, XL Capital Ltd., ACA Capital Holdings, Inc., FGIC, Ambac Assurance Corporation, Allied Capital Corporation, Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization (“C-BASS”), Entergy New Orleans, Fleming Companies, Inc., Flag Telecom Holdings Limited, Enron Corp. (Sithe Independence, Stadacona, Eco Electrica and Azurix), Winstar Communications, Darling International, Goss Graphics Systems, Guangdong Enterprises, Greater Beijing First Expressways, Ermis Maritime and APS Holding Corporation. Mr. Feuerabendt has also advised debtors or creditors of USG Corporation, Glendale Federal Bank, F.S.B., American Heavy Lift Shipping Company, and Lomas Financial Corporation.  Mr. Feuerabendt has also provided valuation and corporate finance advisory work for a Special Committee of the Board of Sunbeam Corporation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation and Navistar International Transportation Corporation. Mr. Feuerabendt received a BS from the California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. 

Alexander Lemond - Founding Partner, Serengeti Asset Management LP

Alexander Lemond is a founding partner of Serengeti Asset Management LP, an alternative investment management firm. From 2005 until the founding of Serengeti in 2007, Alex invested in and served on the boards of public and private companies, including chairmanships and service on audit, nominating, compensation and special board committees.  Previously, Alex was employed by Triarc Companies, Inc., (NYSE: TRY) from 1997 to 2004, most recently serving as Vice President, Corporate Development.  During his employment by Triarc, his responsibilities included management of Triarc’s cash and investments portfolio and executing control transactions.  Prior to that, he was an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions group at Salomon Smith Barney from 1996 to 1997.  Alex graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

Bill Nolan - Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting

William Nolan is a senior managing director in FTI’s Corporate Finance practice and is based in Charlotte. Mr. Nolan has worked in all areas of corporate recovery including working with senior management in business turnarounds and corporate bankruptcy. He has over twenty years of diverse financial consulting and management experience. Mr. Nolan’s diverse background extends into financial services, manufacturing, restaurants, healthcare, and real estate wherein he has served as advisor to companies, and advised secured creditors, and unsecured creditors committees in out-of-court and in bankruptcy distressed situations. Mr. Nolan has considerable mortgage banking experience and has been very active in the reorganization of many sub-prime lending concerns. Mr. Nolan is the co-authored two articles in the American Banker entitled “The Fight for Survival: Subprime Lending, Where to From Here” and “At What Point Are Servicing Rights Born?” Prior to its acquisition by FTI, Mr. Nolan served as a partner in the US division of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Business Recovery Services group. Prior to joining PwC, Mr. Nolan held an executive financial management position with the Pizza Hut division of PepsiCo. As a financial manager of over 300 Pizza Huts in the state of Ohio, Mr. Nolan was responsible for identifying under-performing stores and working with local management to improve their performance as well as developing and implementing plans to eliminate excess operating costs and preparing and executing annual operating and financial budgets.

Stephen Sieh - Senior Managing Director, Evercore Partners

Mr. Sieh is a Managing Director of the firm’s corporate advisory business and restructuring practice. Prior to joining Evercore, Mr. Sieh spent over eight years at Lazard, most recently as a Director of the firm’s Restructuring Group.  Prior to Lazard, Mr. Sieh worked at Deutsche Bank's Restructuring Group as an associate and at Coopers & Lybrand as a CPA. Mr. Sieh has extensive experience in a wide-range of corporate finance activities, including, mergers and acquisitions, corporate lending and Chapter 11 and out-of-court restructurings.  Restructurings with which Mr. Sieh was associated include Meridian Automotive Systems, Parmalat, Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, AES, Safety-Kleen, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Washington Group, and Daewoo. Mr. Sieh received a B.S. degree from the Carroll School of Management Honors Program at Boston College, and received an MBA, with honors, from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.