Mr. Ahmad Al-Sati has over ten years distressed, restructuring and special situations experience in the United States, Europe and Latin America.  He is a Managing Director at Plainfield Asset Management where he is responsible for the firm’s energy and international positions and leads the firm’s restructuring efforts.  Prior to joining Plainfield in July 2008, Ahmad Al-Sati worked from September 2003 to May 2008 at MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, where, among other things, he sourced, analyzed, and negotiated distressed private-equity transactions in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and served on Board of Directors of portfolio companies.  From September 2000 to May 2003, Mr. Al-Sati was a practicing attorney with the business reorganization group of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, representing investors in distressed assets. He received an M.B.A. in 2008 from the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University, a J.D. in 2000 from Columbia School of Law and a B.A. with Honors in 1995 in Economics and History from Wesleyan University.

 

Christopher C. Alberta specializes in enhancing liquidity and profitability in under-performing companies. His turnaround, crisis management, bankruptcy and restructuring expertise spans a variety of industries including restaurant franchising, telecommunications, logistics, energy, automotive, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, financial services and healthcare.  Through his work on DavCo Restaurants, a 156-unit Wendy’s franchisee, Mr. Alberta earned Conway MacKenzie the Turnaround of the Year Award ($100 million+) from Global M&A Network.

Mr. Alberta has significant experience leading turnaround efforts as a Chief Restructuring Officer. His expertise includes working with senior management, secured lenders, unsecured creditors and equity owners to develop and implement operational and financial restructuring strategies to improve performance, increase liquidity, and maximize recovery value. He is a recognized expert in the restructuring field, and has testified in U.S. Bankruptcy Court as an expert witness .

His career as a turnaround manager and restructuring advisor includes positions at Arthur Andersen and Huron Consulting Group, where he was one of the founding members of that firm's restructuring practice.  In 2007, Mr. Alberta co-founded Conway MacKenzie’s New York office.

Mr. Alberta earned his Masters of Business Administration from New York University's Stern School of Business and his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor and holds a Certification of Distressed Business Valuation. Mr. Alberta has been profiled by Bankruptcy Professional as one of the nation’s leading restructuring practitioners, and is a member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

 

Nathaniel E. Baker is the editor of Bloomberg L.P.'s Hedge Funds Brief. He was most recently a senior editor at The Deal LLC. He began his journalistic career at Institutional Investor, where he was managing editor of Alternative Investment News and contributed to The Journal of Alternative Investments, among others.

 

Barry Bobrow, Managing Director, is the Head of Loan Sales and Syndications for Wells Fargo Capital Finance. Mr. Bobrow has been with Wells Fargo since 2004.  Prior to that, he was a Managing Director at Banc of America Securities, where over an 18 year career his assignments included team leader for middle market leveraged finance, head of European loan syndication, and syndicate manager for asset-based lending. Mr. Bobrow is a member of the Executive Committee of the Commercial Finance Association, and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Loan Syndication and Trading Association (LSTA). Mr. Bobrow holds an MBA and a BA in Economics, both from the University of Michigan.

 

Mr. Breazzano is a co-founder and President of DDJ Capital Management, LLC, and has more than 30 years of experience in high yield, distressed, and special situation investing. Prior to forming DDJ, from 1990 to 1996, he was a vice president and portfolio manager in the High Income Group at Fidelity Investments, where he had investment management responsibility for over $4 billion in high yield and distressed assets. Specifically, he was a portfolio manager of the Fidelity Capital & Income Fund, which was one of the largest high yield funds in existence at that time. In addition, Mr. Breazzano co-managed the distressed investing operation at Fidelity.

Prior to joining Fidelity in 1990, Mr. Breazzano was a vice president and portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price Associates. Before joining T. Rowe Price in 1985, he was a high yield analyst and vice president at First Investors Asset Management, which had over $1 billion in high yield assets under management. Mr. Breazzano began his professional career at New York Life as an investment analyst.

Mr. Breazzano currently serves on the boards of Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc., Bush Industries, Inc., Rita Restaurant Corp., and The Wornick Holding Company, Inc., and is coauthor of the chapter entitled “Trading in the Distressed Market” in Investing in Bankruptcies and Turnarounds. Mr. Breazzano received his MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University where he currently sits on the advisory board, and graduated cum laude with a BA from Union College, where he currently sits on the board of trustees.

 

Nicole Bullock is the capital markets reporter for the Financial Times. She leads coverage on U.S. credit markets, including corporate bonds, securitization, derivatives and distressed debt.

Bullock joined the FT in June 2008 from SmartMoney magazine where she served as a senior writer, covering trends in investing, mutual funds, stock picking and the credit markets.

Bullock began her journalism career in 1995 at Dow Jones Newswires where she spent a span of 10 years as a reporter, a foreign correspondent (Milan, Italy) and deputy bureau chief (Milan, Italy).

She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from Tulane University.

She speaks fluent Italian.

 

Kirby Chin, a partner in the New York office of Schulte Roth & Zabel, focuses his practice on financing and debt transactions, and is a member of the firm's Finance and Distressed Investment Groups. Kirby started at SRZ in 1995 and has spent his entire career with the firm. He has substantial experience representing clients in transactions involving private and public debt financings, working with special distressed asset situations, and structuring and executing multi-layered debt tranches. Kirby's clients include finance firms, public and private companies, and hedge and private equity funds. His representations have included: debtor-in-possession and exit financings; workouts and restructurings; private equity portfolio financings, including acquisition and leveraged buyout financings; traditional asset-based and working capital financings; cash flow financings; factoring and related transactions; term "B" financings; second lien and first-out/last-out financings; investment fund financings, including fund of funds financings; capital call and liquidity facility transactions; and subordinated and mezzanine debt offerings.

Kirby has been recognized by The Legal 500, a listing of the top lawyers in the United States by practice area. A member of the Turnaround Management Association, the American Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association, Kirby is often invited to speak at industry events, recently presenting on "Capital Structure Analysis and Debt Trading" at a distressed investing seminar. Kirby earned his B.A., cum laude, from New York University in 1992 and his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he served on the Journal of International Law and Politics, in 1995.

 

Mr. Dondero is Co-Founder and President of Highland Capital Management, L.P. He is responsible for determining and ensuring execution of Highland's strategic investment and operational initiatives. Mr. Dondero has over 25 years experience in the credit markets. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of American Banknote Corporation (as Director), American HomePatient (as Director), NexBank and Safety-Kleen Systems (as Director). Prior to founding Highland, Mr. Dondero served as Chief Investment Officer of Protective Life's GIC subsidiary and helped grow the business from concept to over $2 billion from 1989 to 1993. His portfolio management experience includes mortgage-backed securities, investment grade corporates, leveraged bank loans, emerging markets, derivatives, preferred stocks and common stocks. From 1985 to 1989, he managed approximately $1 billion in fixed income funds for American Express. Prior to American Express, he completed the financial training program at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. Mr. Dondero is a Beta Gamma Sigma graduate of the University of Virginia with a BS in Commerce with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. Mr. Dondero is a CPA and is a Certified Management Accountant. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

 

Mr. Drucker is responsible for corporate finance transaction origination, analysis and execution. Prior to joining Garrison Investment Group, Mr. Drucker spent the previous 23 years in various capacities with the CIT Group. He most recently was a Senior Managing Director and leader of CIT's Hedge Fund Coverage and National Restructuring Groups. For the period 2004 to the end of 2006, Mr. Drucker was Co-President of CIT Business Capital, where he presided over a team of 200 professionals consisting of leverage and asset finance originators, three distinct industry coverage teams, the predecessor Restructuring Group, account managers and the risk and credit policy committees. Prior to 2004, Mr. Drucker held the role of National Marketing Manager and was a founding member of the Restructuring Group in 1989. His breadth of experience includes middle market leveraged finance for acquisitions, growth, and restructuring scenarios with emphasis on asset based, cash flow and enterprise value financing. Mr. Drucker received his B.S. in Industrial Relations from Cornell University and his M.B.A from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Dan Flanigan is Chair of the 135-lawyer Real Estate and Financial Services Department of Polsinelli Shughart with offices in New York, Wilmington, Washington D.C., Chicago, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. 

The Department's Real Estate Group represents some of the nation's premier developers and owners of commercial, retail, multi-family, affordable housing, condominium, mixed use, land assemblage and other real estate projects including the One 57 project in New York, which, when construction is complete, will be the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere.  

The Department's Financial Services Group operates in a fully horizontally and vertically integrated practice group dedicated solely to debt financing transactions, covering corporate banking and regulatory, structured finance, commercial and real estate loan documentation, workouts, loan enforcement litigation, and bankruptcy. 

In recent years Mr. Flanigan has been intensely involved in the commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) industry where he has assisted in the formation and operation of two national conduit lenders and supervises a group of lawyers that have documented and closed more than 2000 commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans, $20-plus billion in principal amount, in 50 states and D.C.  Lawyers in his Department have under his supervision represented loan sellers, master servicers, special servicers, and asset managers in securitizations and related matters including loan sale warranty breach litigation, prepayment premium litigation, REMIC and other tax issues, and all aspects of administration and enforcement of troubled debt and equity investments including senior, mezzanine, and preferred equity. 

Mr. Flanigan and others in his group are currently representing special servicers and other lenders, as well as borrowers, in numerous high and low profile restructuring, loan enforcement, intercreditor disputes, and bankruptcy matters throughout the U.S.   He has appeared in more than 30 bankruptcy courts throughout the country.  Recent major restructuring assignments in which he has led the lender-side legal team include Planet Hollywood, Lord & Taylor, the Beverly Hills Meridien (now the SLS), Scottsdale Princess, San Francisco Hyatt, San Francisco, Westin, Krystal Hotel Portfolio (Mexico), and Renaissance Aruba.   His group has extensive experience in buying and selling loans and loan portfolios including FDIC loan auctions. 

Mr. Flanigan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences focused on distressed debt, restructuring, and bankruptcy and is co-author of The Devil's Dictionary of Bankruptcy Terms for Commercial Lenders (Peppercorn Press 2007), The Polsinelli Guide To Real Estate Mezzanine Finance (Peppercorn Press 2008), and Executory Contracts: Structuring, Drafting, Planning, and Execution in, and in Anticipation of, Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (Aspartore, Inc., 2006). He is named in the current and recent editions of the publications Best Lawyers in America (Debtor-Creditor and Bankruptcy) and Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers (Real Estate).

 

Jason Friedman is a Managing Director responsible for identifying, evaluating, structuring and managing distressed and special situation investments for Marathon, a global asset management firm with approximately $10 billion in capital under management.

Prior to joining Marathon, Mr. Friedman was a Principal for CCMP Capital and its predecessors JP Morgan Partners, Chase Capital Partners and Chemical Venture Partners. Mr. Friedman began his career at Chemical Bank where he was trained as a credit analyst and worked within the Acquisition Finance and Global Structured Finance Groups.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Intechra Group LLC and Humboldt Redwood Company, and has served on multiple boards of directors of entities undergoing financial or operational restructuring. Mr. Friedman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Economics from Duke University, and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

 

James Gereghty is a Managing Director at Siguler Guff and is Head of Distressed Investing for the Firm.  In this capacity, Mr. Gereghty is responsible for investment selection and monitoring, asset allocation, due diligence and portfolio risk management.  Mr. Gereghty has over 16 years of capital markets experience, 13 of which he has spent focusing on distressed debt and private equity.

Prior to joining Siguler Guff, Mr. Gereghty was a founding member of the Distressed Debt Group at Wachovia Capital Markets.  Previously, he served as Head of Distressed Analytics at UBS.  Prior to working at UBS, Mr. Gereghty was a senior member of the distressed debt research staffs at both Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns.  Throughout his career, Mr. Gereghty was actively involved in the restructuring activities of various bankruptcy workouts including Enron, Adelphia, Delta, Northwest and Delphi.  Mr. Gereghty began his career at Morgan Stanley working on the MBS/ABS trading desk in 1993.

Mr. Gereghty holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance, Accounting and Decision Sciences from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.  He has been a CFA Charter holder since 2002.

 

Founded in 2005, CIFC is one of the largest senior secured corporate loan asset managers globally after completing the acquisition of and merger with CypressTree Investment Management and Deerfield Capital Corp. respectively. The firm serves over 200 institutional investors in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and manages $10.7 billion across 29 collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") as of September 30, 2011. The firm's heritage CIFC CLO Fund Family has market-leading performance in the U.S. managed CLO segment.

Prior to founding CIFC, Mr. Gleysteen had a 25-year career at JPMorgan Chase and its banking and securities subsidiaries (and at its predecessor institutions, Chase Manhattan Corp. and Chemical Banking Corp.), where he co-founded and was the executive responsible for the global loan syndications business and the corporate loan portfolio. Mr. Gleysteen was a member of Chase Manhattan's Management and Credit Committees, and co-chair of the Investment Banking Division Balance Sheet Committee. Upon the combination of Chase Manhattan Corp. and JP Morgan & Co., Mr. Gleysteen served as Chief Credit Officer of JPMorgan Chase. Prior to joining what became the syndications group in Chemical Bank's Treasury Division (before its merger with Manufacturers Hanover Corp.), Mr. Gleysteen was a banker in the International Banking Division and then the Corporate Banking Division. Mr. Gleysteen joined Chemical Bank's Management & Credit Training Program in 1975.

Mr. Gleysteen received a B.A. from Trinity College and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago. Mr. Gleysteen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Trustee of the Mystic Seaport Museum.

 

Alex Greene is a Managing Partner of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a global asset manager focused on property, power and infrastructure with over US$100 billion of assets under management. Mr. Greene leads Brookfield’s restructuring and related financing activities in the United States, investing in companies which are experiencing financial and operating difficulties and in need of capital and strategic advice.

Mr. Greene joined Brookfield in December 2005 from The Carlyle Group, where he was co-head of the firm’s financial restructuring activities.  Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Greene was a senior restructuring partner at Gleacher Partners, Wasserstein Perella & Co., and Whitman Heffernan Rhein & Co., Inc. and its affiliate M.J. Whitman & Co. He began his career at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company.

Mr. Greene has a BBA in finance from The George Washington University.

Mr. Greene is a member of the Board of Directors of Central Alberta Well Services Corp. and Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc.  He is also a member of the Finance Committee of the Tourette Syndrome Association and a volunteer firefighter. His interests include mountaineering, classic automobiles and crossword puzzles.

 

Mr. Greene joined Halcyon in March 2002. During his tenure at Halcyon, Mr. Greene has focused primarily on distressed asset investing. Prior to joining Halcyon, Mr. Greene was a distressed securities analyst for J.P. Morgan Chase, where he began his career in 1999, and where he published research on distressed and high yield securities, made proprietary trading recommendations, and worked with J.P. Morgan Chase's London-based European High Yield Research team. Mr. Greene received his B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College in 1999.

 

Joel Holsinger is a Managing Director of the Hybrid Funds, focused on acquiring opportunistic assets, asset backed securities and loan portfolios.

Prior to Fortress, Joel was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Atalaya Capital Management, an alternative investment fund that focused on private debt, mezzanine and equity investments in middle market companies. While at Atalaya, he oversaw investments totaling more than $1 billion in commitments.

Prior to joining Atalaya, Joel was a Managing Director at Navigant Consulting, Inc., where he was the head of the Hedge Fund/Lender Services Group. Additionally, he was responsible for running Sextant Corporate Finance, Navigant’s $250 million alternative investment platform.

Prior to joining Navigant Capital Advisors, Joel was the CFO and EVP of a Southeast based quick service restaurant and casual dining franchisee with 150 units and over $100 million in sales. Joel was a Vice President with Wells Fargo in the Middle Market Lending group where he managed a team of investment professionals underwriting senior loan transactions to middle market companies. Joel began his career as a Credit Analyst with Citigroup.

 

Christian Köhler-Ma has been partner for 16 years at Leonhardt Rechtsanwälte, one of the leading crisis management and insolvency law firms in Germany, and has been managing partner since 2008. He specializes in insolvency administration and has handled major insolvency cases such as Systracom Bank AG (internet brokerage), Gameplay Deutschland GmbH (electronic/internet games wholesale/retail/development), Kraftwerks-und Anlagenbau AG (nuclear power plant engineering), Borsig GmbH and Borsig Holding AG (waste heat systems engineering), ddp Nachrichtenagentur GmbH (news agency), Rösch AG (medical technology), Berliner Symphoniker e.V. (symphony orchestra), I-D Media AG (internet advertising) and Axxonis AG (pharmaceutical r&d).

Christian Köhler-Ma received his legal degree from the Free University in Berlin and was admitted to the Berlin bar in 1989. Additionally he spent one year at the London School of Economics and two years as a McCloy Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, where he received his Master of Public Administration. He is the author of several publications on restructuring and insolvency.

 

As the President of Gordian Group, Mr. Kaufman heads the firm’s Restructuring and Distressed M&A practice, and has been ranked the #1 national investment banker in financial restructuring by The Deal.  Mr. Kaufman is also a Co-founder and a Managing Partner of Bacchus Capital Management, a private equity fund providing strategic capital in the wine industry. 

Mr. Kaufman has been at Gordian Group since 1990, and was the founding Co-chairman of the Committee on Investment Banking of the ABI. With Henry Owsley, Gordian Group’s Chief Executive Officer, he is the co-author of the definitive work in the field, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back, Beard Books LLC, 2005. Additionally, Mr. Kaufman has been profiled by The Deal, where he is consistently ranked as one of the 10 leading national investment bankers in financial restructurings. He is national TV’s go-to authority for restructuring and bankruptcy views.

Prior to joining Gordian Group, Mr. Kaufman was a founding member of First Boston Corporation’s Distressed Securities Group. As an investment banker and attorney, he has more than 25 years of experience solving complex financial challenges.

Education

Mr. Kaufman received a B.A. with honors in History and Art History from Yale College (where he won three letters in varsity lacrosse). He also received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated in the top quarter of his class.

Engagements

Alamo/National Car Rental, Alexander Gallo Holdings, AmeriServe, Ben & Jerry’s, Enron, Farmland, Federal Communications Commission, General Motors, Integrated Electrical Services, LTV Steel, Madoff, MBIA, Mississippi Chemical Corporation, Morrison-Knudsen, Ogden Corporation, Osyka Corporation, RAB Food Group, Solutia, Spansion, Summit Global Logistics, United Rentals

 

Kevin Lydon, Managing Director, 41. Mr. 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.

 

Dan McCrum is US investment correspondent for the Financial Times, based in New York. In this role he leads coverage of reporting related to the asset management industry.

Dan was previously a Lex writer for the FT, based first in London and then in New York since 2008, delivering agenda setting commentary on the technology, media, real estate, retail and consumer industries.

Prior to joining the FT in 2007, Dan worked for UK magazine Investors Chronicle, where he wrote news and analysis for a retail investor audience.

Before becoming a journalist, Dan spent four years as an analyst at Citigroup Investment Research covering the European equity markets.

He is a graduate of University College, Durham University, and holds a degree in Economics and Politics.

 

Arslan Mian is a Managing Director at BlackRock Private Equity Partners (PEP) where he serves on the Management and Investment Committees. He is responsible for the sourcing, monitoring and diligence of primaries, secondaries and direct co-investments, and serves as a board/advisory committee member for a number of portfolio companies and private equity partnerships. Prior to joining PEP in 2005, he was a principal with UBS Capital Americas focused on direct PE investing, after spending several years in UBS's Financial Sponsors Group in New York and Mergers & Acquisitions Group in London. Mr. Mian also worked as a Vice President in TD Securities' Financial Sponsors Group. Mr. Mian holds an MBA from University of Oxford's Said Business School where he was a Rhodes Scholar and a BEng in Aeronautical Engineering (with distinction) from College of Aeronautical Engineering, NED University Pakistan.

 

Mr. Parrott is the Chair of our New York Real Estate Litigation Group and is widely regarded as one of New York’s preeminent commercial finance and real estate litigation practitioners. During the course of his career, Mr. Parrott has acted as lead counsel in cases involving over $3 billion in secured finance transactions, including disputes involving securitized loans, loan participations, loan portfolio valuations, loan loss reserves, corporate acquisitions through U.C.C. foreclosures, intercreditor disputes, lender liability claims, mezzanine loans, and foreclosures of multiple commercial and residential developments throughout the United States. Mr. Parrott’s team of highly skilled commercial finance, real estate transactional and litigation professionals has achieved a remarkable winning record in highly complex matters, including cases involving multi-tiered loan facilities, failed construction projects, construction loan funding requirements, administration of complex receiverships, corporate governance disputes, and guaranty enforcement actions.

Mr. Parrott also has extensive experience in the sale and acquisition of distressed notes and assets including workouts, restructurings and due diligence activities.

In addition to his secured finance and real estate litigation practice, Mr. Parrott regularly represents financial institutions and other clients in federal and state securities litigation and class action lawsuits, merger and acquisition related litigations, “earnout” payment disputes, complex commercial litigation, as well as the defense of SEC and FINRA regulatory enforcement matters.

 

Steve co-founded Dalton Investments LLC in1998.  He oversees Dalton’s distressed debt strategies and is the portfolio manager for Dalton’s distressed credit portfolios

Mr. Persky has over 30 years of fixed income experience.  He received his credit training at Citibank, where he was a senior credit officer.  He then joined Salomon Brothers, where he traded high yield and international fixed income securities in New York and Tokyo.  Prior to founding Dalton, he was a Vice President at Payden & Rygel, a Los Angeles based investment advisor, where he managed institutional fixed income portfolios. 

Mr. Persky holds an A.B from Harvard College (1980) where he majored in Asian Studies.  He is a CFA charter holder (1994) and a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles, Inc and the CFA Institute.  He frequently speaks about investing in distressed credit and authored a chapter in “Credit Derivative Strategies,” published by Bloomberg Press in 2007. 

 

Claudio Phillips is a Managing Principal of MB Global Partners, LLC. Prior to joining MB Global Partners, Mr. Phillips was a Managing Director at The Commonfund from 2006 to 2011, where he was responsible for their dedicated distressed funds. From 2004 to 2006, he was a Managing Director at The Seaport Group where he was responsible for running the performing and non-performing bank loan trading group. Previously, Mr. Phillips was a Managing Director at Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney where he was in charge of all non-European Global Performing Loan (including emerging markets) trading. He was also with NationsBank and Midland Plc / HSBC where he focused on emerging markets and was responsible for establishing and building out proprietary loan trading teams in each of those organizations. Mr. Phillips also served as an Assistant Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity of Westchester for two years. He graduated with an A.B. in Government from Harvard University.

 

David is a Managing Director of Bayside Capital.  Bayside is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global middle market private investment firm with over $8.5 billion of equity capital under management.  David is involved in all aspects of the investment process, including sourcing, transaction structuring, financing, and execution of post-closing growth strategies.

Before joining Bayside, David was with GSC Group, a middle-market focused distressed debt and corporate credit investment firm. While at GSC, he was co-head of the control distressed strategy and led investments across a variety of industries. David also sat on the Board of Directors of several GSC portfolio companies. Prior to GSC, David was with The Blackstone Group, in the Principal Investment and Mergers and Acquisitions Groups, where he worked on a variety of private equity and advisory transactions.

David received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

 

Mr. Sands is a Managing Director of the Special Situations Group at Morgan Keegan.  He focuses primarily on distressed capital raises, distressed M&A and in-and out-of-court restructurings. 

Mr. Sands came to Morgan Keegan in 2009, by acquisition, as a co-founding partner of The Spectrum Capital Group, LLC, a middle market investment and merchant banking firm with a national restructuring practice.  He has more than 20 years of corporate finance experience with a background in mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructurings, and corporate finance.  Mr. Sands has completed a number of transactions throughout his career as both advisor and principal.  Prior to forming Spectrum, Mr. Sands was a vice president of Fulcrum Capital Advisors LP, a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen and a financial associate at Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Sands graduated summa cum laude from the George Washington University (Accounting and Finance) and Columbia Business School’s MBA program.  Mr. Sands is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor, Certified Valuation Analyst and Certified Turnaround Professional.

 

Scott Schwartz is a Senior Managing Director and the Co-Head of Commercial Real Estate at Marathon and a member of the Executive Committee. He has 20 years of experience in commercial real estate, including originating loans, acquiring portfolios of performing and distressed assets, asset management and restructurings.

Prior to joining Marathon in 2003, Mr. Schwartz served as President of Clarity Holdings, a national bank and a financial services holding company, from 1999 to 2003. Mr. Schwartz worked at Credit Suisse First Boston where his activities covered a wide range of asset classes including commercial real estate lending and the purchase and financing of performing and non-performing pools of commercial real estate. Prior to joining Credit Suisse First Boston, Mr. Schwartz was employed at Heller Financial Corporation with responsibilities that included origination, underwriting, workouts and portfolio management of commercial real estate assets. Mr. Schwartz also worked at FGH Realty Credit Corp, a subsidiary of Aegon N.V., in real estate asset management.

Mr. Schwartz received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in 1989 and a Master's degree in Real Estate Finance & Development from New York University in 1993.

 

Mr. Simon is a Managing Director at Littlejohn & Co.  He joined the firm in 2001 after receiving his M.B.A. from The Wharton School, with honors.  At Littlejohn, Mr. Simon has had responsibilities for investments across a broad range of industries.  Previously, he was an Associate with Fenway Partners and an Analyst with Smith Barney.  Mr. Simon received his B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School, magna cum laude in 1995.

 

Frederick (“Fritz”) Wahl is a Managing Member, co-founder and Portfolio Manager of GLG Ore Hill.  Previously, Mr. Wahl worked in the Global Distressed Research and Trading business at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Wahl was at Morgan Stanley, where he served as Co-Head of the High Yield Research.  Mr. Wahl also worked at Morgan Stanley International in London, where he established Morgan Stanley’s European High Yield business.  He holds a BA in Economics from Skidmore College and is a member of the Skidmore College Investment Committee.

 

Tim Wang is a senior vice president and senior investment strategist at Clarion Partners (formerly ING Real Estate Investment Management). He joined the firm in 2006, and assists in managing $23 billion in private equity real estate investment. He is responsible for macroeconomic analysis, portfolio strategies, quantitative forecasting, and client advisory. Tim has published numerous research articles in real estate journals, including Real Estate Issues, Urban Land, Institute for Fiduciary Education, and The Institutional Real Estate Letter, and has co-authored five real estate investment books, including Active Private Equity Real Estate Strategy (Wiley 2009), Emerging Market Real Estate Investment: Investing in China, India, and Brazil (Wiley 2010), and Real Estate Mathematics (PEI, 2011). Prior to joining Clarion Partners, he was a portfolio analyst at Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

Tim is a member of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, Pension Real Estate Association, and the Urban Land Institute. He is a frequent guest speaker at real estate investment conferences nationwide, and has been quoted in several professional publications, including New York Times, Commercial Property Executive, Indianapolis Business Journal, and CoStar Newsletter. He holds an MBA from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

 

Managing Director John Wiencek was helping to helm a fund administration firm when he realized how much leverage could be gained simply by introducing better technology and more precise and timely reporting. The visionary CPA and attorney (admitted in New York and Connecticut) went on to found AltResources.

Since his start with PWC, John has gained over 20 years of experience in alternative investments. He envisions a world in which closed capital funds outsource their accounting, tax, compliance, and other administration to seasoned specialists, who work to tighten, streamline, and leverage back and middle office operations. Most recently, he was managing director of North American operations at Mourant International Finance Administration.

John earned his B.S. magna cum laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business, his J.D. with honors from Fordham University, and he has completed two parts of the C.F.A. exam.

www.altrllc.com/argyle112

 

Dan Williams is a Partner in Business Recovery Services at PwC. He is a nationally recognized restructuring professional with more than 25 years of experience, who has advised numerous underperforming companies in a variety of industries through the restructuring and recapitalization process. Dan is frequently contacted by secured lenders, creditor constituents and debtors to assist their portfolio companies in the development of strategic and restructuring alternatives. His experience includes serving as lead partner on several restructuring, corporate finance, bankruptcy and turnaround engagements including several national matters. Dan has served as a court appointed Trustee in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 cases, Examiner, (Examiner with expanded powers for the purpose of investigating fraud), expert witness, and Section 702 expert (Judge’s expert) in bankruptcy court.

Dan's professional background is also extensive. He was the Phoenix Office Managing Partner as well as a Regional Consulting Head at McGladrey, the second largest accounting firm in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Previously, Dan was the U.S. Managing Partner of Deloitte & Touche’s Restructuring Services Group in New York.  Prior to that, he served as the partner-in-charge of Arthur Andersen’s Midwest Region (Chicago) and West Region (LA) Global Corporate Finance Group, where he was responsible for all aspects of restructuring, turnaround, capital formation and investment banking. Dan has also served in various practice service lines including assurance and audit, where he spent two years in Andersen's National Office Accounting Principles Group. Dan is currently a partner in PwC's Restructuring and Recovery practice in Chicago.

Dan has assisted various constituents in identifying solutions to complex operational and financial issues and has led highly successful restructurings that have created significant value. He has been active in the restructuring of billions in debt and equity capital. Dan is a speaker on various restructuring strategies and distressed company initiatives and developed the prototype to the Andersen Distressed Company Consulting Guide.

 

Aaron P. Wolfe, Managing Director, joined Sun Capital in 2002 and has over a decade of experience in leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, and financings in both the public and private markets. Mr. Wolfe has experience in a wide range of industries including but not limited to retail (including specialty apparel, general merchandise and grocery), distance selling, consumer products, transportation, packaging, general industry and building products. He has significant experience acquiring divisions of large corporations and effectively managing the transition to being a stand alone business. Mr. Wolfe has also been instrumental in a wide range of debt and equity restructurings including the acquisition of numerous companies through bankruptcy processes. In addition to operating in North America, Mr. Wolfe has international experience including working for an affiliate of Sun Capital in London in 2008 and 2009. Prior to joining Sun Capital Partners, he worked with Harris Williams & Co., a boutique investment bank, where he specialized in mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyout transactions. Mr. Wolfe graduated, with Distinction, from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a focus on Natural Sciences.

 

Bruce R. Zirinsky is Chairman of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Business Solutions Group and Co-Chairman of the firm’s Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice. He has focused his practice on U.S. and international financial restructurings and reorganizations for almost 40 years.

In 2008, The American Lawyer named Bruce a “Dealmaker of the Year” for his lead role in the highly successful Chapter 11 reorganization of Northwest Airlines. He is one of the premier bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys in the United States and has represented debtors, creditors, investors and other parties in large and complex restructurings, reorganizations, acquisitions, financings and litigation, covering a broad range of industries and issues. Bruce has played a major role in the restructuring, reorganization, sale or acquisition of many large, complex businesses in the airline, telecommunications, energy, health care, manufacturing, retail, food services, financial services, real estate, rail car, shipping, forest products, petroleum, computer, media, casino gaming, and hospitality industries, among others. He has led a number of recent significant matters, including the acquisitions of Crescent Realty, LandSource Communities and a consortium’s bid to acquire Extended Stay Hotels. Mr. Zirinsky is currently representing creditors in the American Airlines, General Motors and Abitibi-Bowater Chapter 11 cases. He is also currently acting as lead counsel in several out-of-court restructurings.

Bruce’s clients include numerous Fortune 500 companies; public and private companies; commercial banks; investment banks; insurance companies; asset management, private equity and investment funds; and other business enterprises. His practice encompasses counseling debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, creditor committees, public bondholders, shareholders, and investors involved in many of the largest and most complex U.S. and international reorganizations and restructurings, financial transactions, litigation, and mergers and acquisitions.

He has been regularly selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers magazine and listed in Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world and Best Lawyers in America®.

Bruce holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.S. from Cornell University.