Michael Bannon is an expert in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) with a seasoned background in private equity. His career began in a fund-of-funds sector where he managed investments across the Asia Pacific, offering him a diverse understanding of market cycles, politics, and economics.

He later joined CSG Partners in the United States to be closer to business owners and offer them unique exit strategies that align with their objectives. At CSG, he specializes in leveraged ESOPs, working intimately with middle marking clients to quarterback transactions.

Claudine Cohen oversees an integrated team of transaction, valuation, restructuring, project finance, and dispute resolution professionals serving clients throughout the lifecycles of their businesses. With specific expertise in managing opportunities and roadblocks that can impact a business moving forward, Claudine and her team help clients achieve optimal outcomes in protecting and growing stakeholder value.

More than 25 years of business experience. Serves as an adviser to public and private companies, both domestically and internationally.

Areas of knowledge include strategic advisory, quality of earnings analyses, identifying revenue sources and profitability drivers, examining operating cost structure and sustainability factors, investigating business models including cash flow and financial projections.

Reviews quality and realization of assets and liabilities, identifies working capital requirements and negotiating positions, post-close working capital verification, and adjustment mechanisms.

Warren H. Feder is the co-founder of the investment banking group at Carl Marks Advisors. He has more than 30 years of experience directing and advising on corporate mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, leveraged buyouts, sourcing of capital, and investing. Having owned, operated, and sold his own businesses in the past, Mr. Feder truly understands the significance of transactions for its owners. He works tirelessly to close the right deals with the right buyers at the highest prices. He brings an ownership mindset and investor acumen to merger and acquisition transactions. Mr. Feder has executed many middle-market financings, restructurings and sales and has deep experience in various sectors, including food, personal products, energy services & infrastructure, home furnishings, manufacturing, marketing services, financial services, business services, building products, and healthcare.

Prior to joining Carl Marks Advisors, Mr. Feder was the founder and chief executive officer of Stepping Stone Capital and its predecessor, Gordon Brothers Capital LLC, a specialty finance company that focused on short-term debt investments. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of his family-owned health and beauty aid manufacturer, growing the company toward a subsequent sale. Mr. Feder began his career practicing law at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, where he specialized in corporate mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts in the firm’s New York and London offices.

Mr. Feder graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Williams College, received a JD from New York University School of Law, and a MA in Philosophy from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He is a FINRA General Securities Principal.

Matt Friedman represents companies, individuals and financial institutions, including private equity firms, family offices and independent sponsors, in a variety of corporate and transactional matters, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, financings, minority investments, joint ventures, partnership agreements, corporate governance and general business matters.

Matt is dedicated to offering pragmatic and business-centric counsel, utilizing his wealth of experience to help clients attain their corporate goals and navigate transactions efficiently while mitigating risks.

Matt has represented companies across a diverse range of industries, including consumer products and services, manufacturing, technology, health and wellness, food and beverage, and professional services.

Lori Galloway experienced many firsts in 35+ years in M&A. She started as an Analyst with Geneva, subsequently acquired by Citigroup. She was one of Geneva’s first female dealmakers, and first to negotiate a modified work schedule to raise her family. Now Managing Director for Generational Group, she is the company’s only woman to acquire the Investment Banking Representative License. This year she was promoted to Executive Managing Director overseeing the deal team in the Western Region of Generational Group.

Lori has guided hundreds of owners in the sale of their businesses, including many in healthcare. In recent years, Lori has sold a hospice equipment rental business, a medical billing company, and a speech therapy practice, two of which were women-owned.

Nanette C. Heide is a partner in Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group, Co-Chair of its Private Equity Division and team lead of the firmwide Private Equity Industry Group. Ms. Heide has significant experience handling complex transactions and providing general corporate counseling. She regularly represents private equity and venture capital investors, multinational and domestic corporations (public and private) in a wide spectrum of corporate finance transactions, including private equity and venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, institutional private placements, cross-border transactions, debt and equity structuring transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliances. She also has formed and structured private equity and hedge funds. She is the Senior Advisory Partner to the firm’s Fashion/Retail/Consumer Branded Products Group, and a member of the firm’s Partners Board. Ms. Heide was recently named to The Deal’s list of “Top Women in Dealmaking 2023” for her “ability to navigate complex transactions over the past 12 months while maintaining strong client relationships and leading in and out of the boardroom.” For four consecutive years, from 2018 through 2021, Mergers & Acquisitions named Ms. Heide one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.

Ms. Heide serves as outside counsel for many mid-sized companies on issues of corporate governance, securities law compliance, general commercial transactions and disclosure issues. Her clients span a wide variety of industries, from consumer products to cannabis, medical and personal wellness devices, communications, media and Internet-based businesses.

Ms. Heide previously served as general counsel and chief financial officer of two technology companies. She is a graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she was editor in chief of Washington and Lee Law News and is a graduate of West Virginia University.

Dr. Leah Higginbotham, D.O., F.A.A.P. joined Riverside Pediatrics in 2009. She was born and raised in Minnesota but now considers herself a southern transplant. She graduated medical school from UNTHSC Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, TX. She completed her Pediatric Residency at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham and spent a few years practicing in Nashville before making her home in East Tennessee. She is board-certified in General Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Higginbotham also serves on the SOFHA Board of Governors and as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics with ETSU Quillen College of Medicine. She enjoys practice in all areas of pediatrics, but she especially values the relationships she can build with her patients. Dr. Higginbotham believes having a strong doctor-patient relationship improves overall patient care and satisfaction, and the most important thing she can do for her patients is listen. She is an advocate of early reading and encourages parents to read to their children daily.

Outside of work, Dr. Higginbotham enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, outdoor activities and traveling. She is also an avid Disney fan and likes talking to her patients about their Disney adventures.

Education: Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Tania is the Chair of the US Region Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Group and the US Region Co-Chair of the Global Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Group, and leads Dentons’ Practice Group Diversity Partners Initiative for the Group.

Tania specializes in corporate restructuring, including out-of-court workouts and formal insolvency proceedings. Her representations span a broad range of clients across many sectors, all of which require strategic advice and creative solutions. She has extensive experience representing companies, secured creditors, committees of unsecured creditors and equity committees, liquidating trustees, sellers, and principals in a variety of industries, including health care, agriculture, retail, entertainment, trucking, real estate, and restaurant franchise industries. Her health care clients have included nonprofit hospitals, continuing care retirement communities, and other health care related entities nationwide.

Prior to joining Dentons, Tania gained experience in complex Chapter 11 cases at top-ranked national firms for business restructuring and bankruptcy. Tania also served as a judicial and appellate law clerk to the Honorable Christopher M. Klein, former Chief Judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California and former member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ingrid Rivera Noone is the Co-Leader of the Real Estate practice and the Strategic and Transaction Advisory Services team. Ms. Noone has more than 30 years of experience focused exclusively on the real estate industry. She advises the firm’s real estate clients in key areas, including debt and equity transactions, transaction structuring, property portfolio and corporate due diligence, real estate development and strategic business planning. Over the course of her career, she has worked on many of the real estate industry’s leading transactions.

Ms. Noone also has extensive experience in accounting outsourcing and financial reporting for real estate joint ventures, funds and real estate investment trusts, including cash flow modeling, waterfall computations, asset valuation and fair value reporting of real estate assets and return analyses. She is well versed in NCREIF PREA reporting standards. She also advises clients on internal controls and accounting policies and procedures over financial reporting.

Ms. Noone has advised many clients on transaction disputes within partnership structures and has worked on various forensic engagements and expert reports on accounting matters related to real estate. She has also advised special committees of boards of directors on management company internalizations and other discreet projects. In addition, she has structured working capital settlements in corporate level acquisitions.

Ms. Noone began her career at The Schonbraun McCann Group, a dedicated real estate accounting and consulting firm, in the assurance and tax compliance area where she focused primarily on real estate owners, operators and developers and developed a strong background in related accounting and tax issues. She was named partner in 2002 and transitioned to the firm’s Transactions group where she continued her leadership role.

Matthew Rosenberg, Managing Director and Head of Media Finance. Mr. Rosenberg is a Managing Director and the Head of Media Finance of Monroe Capital. He is responsible for deal origination, structuring and management of the media and entertainment portfolio. He has over 15 years of experience across entertainment lending, structuring, and deal negotiation for operators in film, television, music, and talent representation as well as direct industry experience working at the major studios. Prior to Monroe, Mr. Rosenberg was a Director at MUFG where he managed a middle market media and entertainment portfolio leading origination efforts, execution, deal negotiation, and underwriting. Prior to MUFG, Mr. Rosenberg worked in corporate strategy at Paramount Pictures where he was responsible for deal analysis and strategic planning for the studio. Mr. Rosenberg started his career at Ernst & Young as a Certified Public Accountant. He earned his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and his B.S.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. He has also been recognized by Variety in the “Hollywood’s New Leaders in Finance” in 2021 and “Dealmaker Impact Report” in 2020.

Rob Slattery, Chief Executive Officer, A visionary and accomplished healthcare leader; Rob develops and directs innovative strategies to achieve the change that is required to ensure an agile and sustainable business model for health care delivery of the future.

Slattery has created and launched new business verticals to position organizations for the future; whether through inspirational leadership, organization redesign/reengineering, or forming strategic partnerships – he has continually focused on delivering an exceptional experience to the consumer (member/patient) and ultimately the community. Rob has been an advocate for provider-organized & physician-led systems of care, where alignment and transparency are optimized to achieve unparalleled performance as measured by quality, financial & patient experience outcomes.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and organizational systems development from California State University, Northridge. He obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Slattery is a long-time member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

A Deal Advisory Managing Director, Liz has extensive experience in transaction advisory and financial due diligence. She guides private equity funds, senior and mezzanine lenders, and strategic buyers in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Liz has advised on more than 200 transactions across the technology, professional services, healthcare and hospitality industries.

Education: M.B.A., University of Maryland – Smith School of Business, B.S. in Personal Finance, University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Areas of Expertise, Financial Due Diligence, Transaction Advisory Services, Mergers & Acquisitions, Quality of Earnings, Valuations, Civic Involvement.

President, Alumni Board of Georgetown Day School.

Restructuring and consulting specialist with over 25 years of experience, including 15 years specializing in healthcare. Effective leader, adept at collaborating with diverse stakeholders and managing complex engagements.

Ronald Winters is a co-founder and Managing Director of Gibbins Advisors. With more than 25 years of restructuring experience and a talent for managing complex problems while navigating the competing interests of stakeholders, Ron is one of the most experienced ‘middle market’ healthcare bankruptcy and restructuring professionals in the country.

Ron has deep expertise and strong record of achievement across the healthcare, higher and education and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to forming Gibbins Advisors, Ron was a Managing Director at each of Healthcare Management Partners and Alvarez & Marsal where he worked a combined 18 years. He spent the first half of his professional career managing portfolio assets and credit policy at what is now Mizuho Financial Group, one of the world’s largest financial organizations.

Ron is currently the appointed Independent Monitor for Mission Health System’s six-hospital portfolio in North Carolina acquired by the for-profit HCA Healthcare for $1.5 billion. In that role Gibbins Advisors is responsible for ensuring HCA adheres to certain contractual commitments around retaining hospitals, services, and charity care for 10 years.