Gerald C. Bender is a member of Dentons’ Restructuring Insolvency & Bankruptcy Litigation group. Gerry has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of financial restructuring and has a reputation for developing creative, cost effective solutions for clients looking to realize maximum recovery and value from difficult situations. Gerry regularly represents companies that invest in or acquire debt or assets of troubled companies, such as private equity funds, hedge funds, and other control investors. He typically advises these clients with respect to out-of-court reorganizations, plan-related acquisitions, section 363(b) sales and other distressed M&A transactions. He also represents unofficial and official creditors’ committees, institutional investors, secured and unsecured creditors, and debtors in out of court restructurings and Chapter 11 cases.

Gerry serves clients in a vast array of industries, including aviation, automotive, broadcasting and cable, oil and gas, construction, gaming, health care, housing, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, retail, shipping, telecommunications, and textile. He handles the negotiation and documentation of restructuring-related transactions as well as the litigation of complex bankruptcy and commercial disputes.

Jeff Branman is a seasoned M&A, business development, and operating executive with 35-plus years of broad experience in brand management and licensing, e-commerce and retail, apparel manufacturing, and venture capital. He has extensive experience in restructuring retail and consumer brand companies, specifically with operational turnarounds, business reorganizations, and asset liquidations.

As EVP of M&A at ABG, Branman builds the company’s portfolio through a disciplined approach to acquiring brands, extracting value from under-exploited assets via transformative partnerships that are unique to each transaction structure. Throughout his tenure, Branman has led the company to strategically acquire over one dozen brands most notably Nautica, Nine West, Vince Camuto, Thomasville, and Volcom.

Prior to ABG, Branman was Managing Director of Hilco Brands where he served as COO of apparel company Halston, and President of Polaroid Store, a start-up experiential retailer of prints and photo display items. He has also led M&A and strategy efforts for various global organizations including The May Department Stores Company, Credit Suisse First Boston, Financo, Woolworth Corporation, and QVC. Branman is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Rue-Gilt Group and has served on public, private, and venture capital-backed boards of directors.

Mr. Doak’s experience includes M&A, financing and restructuring transactions on behalf of the City of Detroit, the Mashantucket (Western) Pequot Tribal Nation, Broder Bros. Co., Magna Entertainment Corp., Standard Pacific Corp., Allied Holdings, Hines Horticulture, ITC^DeltaCom, Level 3 Communications, Kanebo Ltd., Burlington Industries, Horizon Natural Resources, CenterPoint Energy, Gilat Satellite Networks, Viatel and Allied Riser Communications. Mr. Doak has also represented creditor constituents and buyer groups in various restructuring transactions including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Idearc, Wilton Brands Inc., YRC Worldwide and The Lenox Group, and advised several non-disclosed sovereigns and municipalities. Mr. Doak is a former member of the financial restructuring group of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which he joined in 2000. Prior to joining Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, he was an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Mr. Doak has focused on a variety of sectors throughout his career, including municipal/sovereign financial distress, gaming, transportation, telecommunications, distribution, home goods, information technology, textiles and power generation and transmission. A member of the Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute, Mr. Doak has authored several articles on corporate distress and turnaround leadership and is a frequent panelist at industry conferences. His work with the City of Detroit received awards from the Turnaround Management Association, M&A Advisor and M&A Atlas Awards, which has also recognized him repeatedly as a Top 100 Restructuring Professional. In June 2011, he was selected as one of The M&A Advisor’s 40 Under 40 leading M&A, financing and turnaround professionals. Mr. Doak currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Heat and Warmth Fund, a leading non-profit provider of utility assistance for Michigan residents in need. Mr. Doak has an M.B.A. (with high distinction) from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar, a J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Law School and an A.B. (magna cum laude) from Harvard University.

Leah Eisenberg is of counsel and a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. Leah’s practice focuses on counseling clients in default, restructuring, bankruptcy, and corporate trust matters, with an emphasis on indenture trustee, creditors’ committee, and other creditor representations.

Prior to joining Foley, Leah was a partner at a Washington, D.C.-based law firm in its New York office. Earlier in her career, she served as a first law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Gerber, the U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of New York.

Representative Experience*

Leah’s current and previous representative experience includes:

• Represent indenture trustees in corporate trust default and non-default matters, as well as in Chapter 11 proceedings, which include Appvion, Inc., TOPS Holding II Corporation, A.M. Castle & Co, Linn Energy, LLC, Linc USA GP, Halcon Resources Corp., Goodrich Petroleum Corp., Sandridge Energy, Inc., Walter Energy Inc., Bankers Bancorporation of Florida, Inc., BPZ Resources, Inc., Exide Technologies, Essar Steel Algoma, Inc., Home Valley Bancorp., Inc., Advanta Corporation, Bank United Financial Corporation, TOUSA, Inc., Simmons Bedding Company, Washington Mutual, Inc., Dana Corporation, HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation, and Vesta Insurance Group Inc.
• Represent numerous official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings in multiple jurisdictions and industries, including, most recently, the Official Creditors’ Committee of Home Heritage Group LLC (furniture manufacturer) and GST AutoLeather, Inc. (global designer and manufacturer of automotive leather components).
• Represent secured creditors, unsecured creditors, purchasers, plan trustees and former employees in connection with Chapter 11 proceedings, including, most recently, the liquidating trust of Stillwater Asset Backed Offshore Fund and 11 affiliated funds and the plan trustee of Circuit City.

* Some of these matters were handled prior to Foley.

Recognition

Leah was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Association of Insolvency Restructuring Advisors (AIRA). She received the 2018 New York Institute of Credit (NYIC) Women’s Division Executive of the Year Award. Leah also received a publication award at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Annual Spring Conference in 2017.

Education

Leah received her law degree from Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 2000) and earned her bachelor’s degree in politics, philosophy, and law from Binghamton University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1997).

Admissions and Professional Memberships

Leah is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and New Jersey. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Leah holds various leadership positions in professional organizations, including co-founder and president of the Women’s Division for the New York Institute of Credit (NYIC), board member of the AIRA, advisory board member of ABI’s Valcon conference and advisory board member of AIRA’s annual conference.

Community Engagement

Leah serves as a volunteer for the City Bar Justice Center’s Consumer Bankruptcy Project. Leah is currently representing clients seeking Holocaust reparations from France and Germany. Leah is also currently dedicating pro bono hours to advising clients referred by Her Justice. Leah also volunteers weekly at her synagogue’s Hebrew school, assisting students with reading Hebrew.

Selected Publications and Speaking Engagements

Publications

• Author,“Warning:ProBonoWorkCanBeGoodforYourProfessionalSpirit,” ABIJournal (April 2019)
• Co-author, “Arbitration and Bankruptcy: A Tug of War,” The Review of Banking & Financial Services, Vol. 33 No. 7 (July 2017)
• Co-author, Representing the Creditors’ Committee: A Guide for Practitioners, American Bankruptcy Institute (2016)
• Co-author, “Clarifying TruPS Holders’ Exercise Of Remedial Rights,” Law360 (October 2014)
• Co-author,“A3rdCirc.OpinionOnThird-PartyReleases,” Law360(August2014) Author, “Lehman Bankruptcy Court Overrules UST Fee Objection and Reaffirms Confirmed Plan Provision,” AIRA Journal, Vol. 26, No. 6 (2013)
• Co-author,“Validating A Holder’s Right To Elect Ch. 7 Trustee,” Law360 (August 2012)
• Author, “Gifting and Asset Reallocation in Chapter 11 Proceedings: A Synthesized Approach,” ABI Journal (September 2010)
• Author, “Settlements of Estate Claims: May a Debtor Unilaterally Settle Claims and Causes of Action Commenced by a Creditors’ Committee Without the Committee’s Consent?,” AIRA Journal, Vol. 23 No. 2 (2009)
• Co-author, “Creativity and Section 1129 (a) of the Bankruptcy Code: Confirmation of Administratively Insolvent Debtor,” ABI Journal (September 2003)

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker,“Valuing Causes of Action for Purposes of Third Party Releases,” VALCON 2019, Las Vegas, NV (February 2019)
• Speaker, “How Does a Creditors’ Committee Work and Why Does it Exist,” NACM Commercial Services, North American Retail Group, Miami, FL (January 2019) Speaker, “’Broken Bonds’ – Navigating Indenture Trustee Issues in the Default World,” IWIRC’s 25th Annual Fall International Conference (October 2018)
• Moderator, “Pre-Packaged Chapter 11 Cases,” The 13th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2018)
  Speaker, “Best Practices for Motion and Brief Drafting,” American Bankruptcy Institute’s “2017 Delaware Views From the Bench” Conference, Wilmington, DE (September 2017) Speaker, “New Challenges to Out-of-Court Exchange Offers,” American Bar Association Annual Conference “CLE in the City” Series, New York, NY (August 2017)
• Speaker, “Commercial Finance Association’s Workouts and Bankruptcy Workshop,” New York, NY (April 2017)
• Panelist, “In This Corner, Arbitration; in the Other, Bankruptcy,” ABI Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, Cayman Islands (February 2017)
  Moderator, “Supreme Court Watch Dog: Cases That Could Have Impact on Bankruptcy Law and Practice,” The 12th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2017)
• Moderator, “Views from the Bench [judge’s roundtable on hot topics],” ABI’s 10th Annual Credit & Bankruptcy Symposium, Mashantucket, CT (May 2016)
• Panelist, “Worth Their Weight in Gold – Perspectives on Key Valuation Issues in Bankruptcy and Restructuring Matters,” The 4th Annual IWIRC At The Shore Conference, Atlantic City, NJ (March 2016)
• Moderator, “Plan Support [on the topic of use, effectiveness, and limits of plan and restructuring support agreements],” The 11th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2016)
• Moderator, “Going All In on Casinos,” The 2015 TMA Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium, Atlantic City, NJ (June 2015)
• Speaker, “Watch Your Step! – A Discussion of the Landmines Revealed by Recent Litigation Involving Trustees, Investors, Underwriters, and Issuers,” ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting, Montreal, Canada (April 2016)
• Panelist, “Being Secured Just Ain’t What It Used to Be,” AIRA’s 31st Annual Bankruptcy and Restructuring Conference, Philadelphia, PA (June 2015)
• Moderator, “Litigation of Specific Matters,” Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Litigation – A CLE Seminar hosted by Bankruptcy Law and Federal Litigation Sections of The Federal Bar Association and The Southern and Eastern District of New York Chapters of The FBA, New York, NY (June 2015)
• Panelist, “Hot Topics in Bankruptcy and Reorganization,” The 10th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2015)
• Panelist, “Ethical Considerations in the Restructuring Practice and Best Practices,” AIRA’s 13th Annual Advanced Restructuring & Plan of Reorganization Conference, New York, NY (November 2014)
• Moderator, “Cash Collateral,” The 9th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2014)
  Moderator, “Restructuring & Bankruptcy Alternatives To Maximize Value,” The 2013 TMA Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium, Atlantic City, NJ (June 2013)
• Moderator, “Primer on Financing Issues for Municipalities,” VALCON 2013, Las Vegas, NV (February 2013)
• Moderator, “Current Legal Issues and Bankruptcy Developments Confronting Bank Agents and Indenture Trustees,” The 8th Annual NYIC/AIRA Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2013)
  Panelist, “Plan Process and Plan Funding,” AIRA’s 28th Annual Bankruptcy & Restructuring Pre-Conference Financial Advisor’s Toolbox Program, San Francisco, CA (June 2012)
• Panelist, “Intersection of Securities Law and Bankruptcy Law,” ABI’s 14th Annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference, New York, NY (May 2012)
  Panelist, “Today’s Chapter 11 Cases – What’s New: Debt Trading and Loan to Own, Debt for Equity Pre Pack Plans and 363 Sales,” The 5th Annual AIRA and NYIC Joint Bankruptcy and Restructuring Event, New York, NY (January 2013)

Deborah Friedland is a Managing Director in the Corporate Finance Group, and head of Hospitality Advisory Services. She specializes in operational strategy analysis, asset management, valuation, internal control review and assessments, market studies, and transactional due diligence for investors and lenders. With over 25 years of experience, Deborah has advised clients in connection with the acquisition, finance, conversion or operation of real estate, including hospitality, gaming, restaurant, industrial, commercial, mixed-use, golf course, and amusement park properties, in addition to numerous REITs dedicated to investing in such properties. She has structured master leases for taxable and nontaxable REIT structures involving public and private projects. Deborah has been involved in the successful turnaround of numerous hotels, resorts, restaurants, and mixed-use properties and work with the firm’s Real Estate Services Group.

Prior to joining the firm, Deborah was Managing Director of a real estate advisory group, and a Director for a hospitality advisory firm. She has past experience as Vice President and Principal REIT analyst at ABN AMRO, where she covered public REIT companies. Deborah was also a REIT and gaming analyst at Smith Barney, where she was responsible for preparing financial models, writing earnings reports, communicating with management and advising the institutional investment community on investment decisions. Deborah started her career as a real estate consultant at Arthur Andersen.

Deborah frequently presents to professional groups and has contributed to articles for real estate and hospitality publications. Most recently, Crain’s New York Business named Deborah as one of the Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting for 2018. She was acknowledged by the Turnaround Management Association and M&A Advisor, and awarded Mid-Sized Transaction of the Year and Refinancing Deal of the Year for her leadership role. In recognition of Deborah’s contribution, the firm was also named the 2019 Turnaround Atlas Award Winner for Chapter 11 Restructuring of the Year by Global M&A Network.

As CEO & Managing Partner of Prophet Equity, Mr. Gatlin is focused on identifying, making, managing and realizing a portfolio of control investments in strategically viable, asset intensive, middle market companies where there are significant value creation opportunities and maintaining key financial and banking relationships in order to maximize portfolio companies’ financial returns. He is also focused on driving increases in equity value by optimizing portfolio and business unit strategy while being responsible for day-to-day operations of the partnership and relations with the limited partners. He is a member of the Office of the President of each investment and serves on the Board of Directors.

Mr. Gatlin has 20 years of private equity investment experience having been a founding partner and principal of three successful private equity firms and funds focused in this specific investment segment. He has experience across every element of the private equity value chain having led the sourcing, structuring, closing, managing and realization of top tier returns for investment partners. His track record over the last twenty years includes over $650 million dollars of control private equity investments spanning approximately 75 corporate entities with over $6.0 billion in combined revenue. These investments have generated value of ~$2.45B for investors thus far, the vast majority of which has been fully realized. The Internal Rate of Return for these investments defines the very top of the private equity industry standard.

Prior to founding Prophet Equity, Mr. Gatlin was a Founding Partner and Principal of a Southlake-based private equity firm. As a Founding Partner, Chief Restructuring Officer and Managing Director, Mr. Gatlin was responsible for sourcing, structuring and closing high return investments and driving value creation post close. In this capacity, he helped build a portfolio of companies investing approximately $100M of capital yielding +$770M in value. Mr. Gatlin served as a member of the Office of the President of each Portfolio Company as well as taking on the operating roles of Chief Restructuring Officer and/or Chief Financial Officer at each company. In addition, Mr. Gatlin continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of each of the investments he participated in. Prior to this experience, Ross was a founding principal of Carlyle Management Group in Dallas, Texas where he also helped build and manage $176M of invested capital yielding +$900M of value. Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Gatlin worked as a senior manager at Bain & Company, helping develop and successfully implement strategic and operational turnarounds primarily for well known Fortune 500 companies and their subsidiaries.

Prior to Bain, Mr. Gatlin served as a financial restructuring advisor and investment banker at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. At Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Gatlin worked across a myriad of industries as an advisor to Creditors, Debtors and Equity holders in devising and implementing in-court and out-of-court sales, reorganizations and exchange offers as well as corporate finance activities such as debt and equity capital raising, valuations, mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Gatlin has extensive corporate finance, principal investing, strategy, and business management experience across multiple industries including: aerospace, airline, automotive, business and consumer services, cable, computer hardware and software, consumer products, defense, distribution, equipment, energy, food, healthcare, manufacturing, medical device, pharmaceutical, real estate, satellite, ship repair, staffing, steel, synthetic turf, tanker trailer, transportation and telecommunications sectors. His experience ranges across the value chain and includes some of the most successful companies in the world as well as underperforming and distressed turnaround situations where significant value was also created. Mr. Gatlin’s work includes mergers and post-merger integration, acquisitions, acquisition financing, recapitalizations, work outs, turnarounds, financial restructurings, exchange offers, due diligence, business valuations, detailed financial modeling and the design and valuation of complex securities. His experience also includes corporate and business unit strategy development, full potential cash creation planning and implementation, new product development, marketing and brand strategy, dealer and distribution optimization, process reengineering, complexity management, cost reduction, plant consolidation, headcount reduction and procurement optimization projects to name a few.

Ross has been a frequent speaker at private equity related conferences on subjects such as Turnaround Investing, Driving Value Creation, The 363 Sale Process, Distressed Investing, Holistic Value Creation™ (HVC™) and other related topics. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University where he was one of only two in his class to receive both the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award and Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He earned his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in finance.

Peter Goodman is a partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency Group in Baker McKenzie’s New York office. He has represented clients in complex bankruptcies for more than 30 years.

Mr. Goodman is listed in The Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law. He has also been named a New York Super Lawyer for the past six consecutive years and has been listed in Metro Magazine as a top attorney in bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights.

Mr. Goodman’s practice focuses on corporate insolvency and bankruptcy law, representing and counseling national and international companies, directors and officers and other individuals, debtors, trustees, creditors and creditors’ committees, bank groups, bondholders and significant shareholders in complex reorganization proceedings and out-of-court restructurings. He is experienced in all aspects of bankruptcy litigation — fraudulent conveyances, preferences, fiduciary duties, turnover, cramdown, stay litigation, contested plan confirmation and valuation disputes, intercompany litigation, subordination and recharacterization, executory contract issues and claims objections. His practice also includes ERISA litigation, particularly disputes involving vesting, benefits, and coverage issues, and complex commercial litigation matters.

Sheon Karol is a Managing Director and member of the Management Committee of The DAK Group.

Winner of the “Boutique Investment Banker of the Year” Turnaround Atlas Award (2018), Sheon Karol leads processes for U.S. and international companies in both healthy and stressed M&A transactions.

In his 30-year career, Sheon has negotiated numerous transactions in a wide range of diverse industries including: manufacturing, bio-tech, pharma, for-profit education, medical research, agriculture, consumer goods, food & grocery, retail, sports and technology.

He has served in senior positions for clients, including CRO of a $1 billion company.

Sheon is a frequent speaker at industry events and a prolific author. He is a member of the TMA (National) Marketing and Communications Committee. He has served on the Board and as a Vice President of the TMA-NY Chapter. He earned a JD at Yale University and a BA at Yeshiva University.

Experience

Mr. Kearns is the co-head of BRG’s Corporate Finance practice; he specializes in providing financial restructuring advisory services, crisis management services, and expert testimony in the troubled company and corporate finance environment. He has represented all parties-in-interest in various complex restructuring and bankruptcy matters and has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer, Responsible Officer, Receiver, and Trustee. Mr. Kearns has rendered expert testimony in multiple jurisdictions on matters involving valuation, lost profits, solvency, credit analysis, liquidation and recovery analysis, and other issues in distressed situations. He has advised major investment banks and potential purchasers on acquisition strategies and post-merger integration.

Prior to joining BRG, Mr. Kearns was a co-founder of Capstone Advisory Group, LLC (“Capstone”) and a member of the firm. Before co-founding Capstone, Mr. Kearns was a Senior Managing Director at the Policano & Manzo legacy practice of FTI Consulting, and he was also with the predecessor firm Kahn Consulting. Mr. Kearns also spent 3 years with Bristol-Myers Squibb in assignments that included assistant corporate controller. He also spent 10 years in the mergers and acquisitions group and the audit practice of a major international public accounting firm.

Education and Affiliations

Mr. Kearns holds a BBA in accounting from Iona College. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Turnaround Professional, and Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor. His memberships include the AICPA, New York State Society of CPAs, and Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors. He is the past president of the Friends of Mercy Medical Center (Long Island, NY). He served as president of the New York chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and as Chairman Emeritus of the New York City Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors for aaiPharma Inc., a contract research company; the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York; a manufacturer of building products; and Outsourcing Solutions, Inc., a service company.

Ms. Manewitz, Principal and Executive Director of Manewitz Weiker Associates, LLC, (“MWA”), a firm that specializes in the management of challenged investments. She represents bondholder and fund interests on boards, post chapter liquidation trusts and official bankruptcy committees. Sharon has also served as an advisor to fee examiners and fee auditors in Chapter 11 cases. In 2017 the New York Institute of Credit Women’s Division named Sharon Executive of the Year.

Prior to forming MWA, Sharon was a Managing Director at TIAA-CREF and head of its Workout and Distressed Investing Units. Among her significant achievements in the management of TIAA’s $8 billion portfolio, she led a successful proxy contest to unseat and replace the poorly performing board and management team of a public company. The Wall Street Journal recognized this action as a “big victory for institutional investors”.

As a Principal of MWA representing fund interests, Sharon sat on the creditor’s committee of General Growth Properties, holding the seat of Luxor Capital and she sat on the equity holder’s committee of Overseas Shipping Group, holding the seat of Caxton International. In both cases, a court approved ethical wall was established to permit Sharon’s clients to hold official committee seats while remaining unrestricted.

In Rock US Ventures, Sharon served as a director, pre and post-bankruptcy, and was appointed its Wind Down Officer, to recover the remaining assets of Rock US and its subsidiaries for the Bank of Scotland. In Advanta Liquidation Trust, a post chapter 11 entity, Sharon served as an independent director.

Sharon has a BA from Hunter College and an MBA, with honors, from Pace University, where she was awarded an Andrew Mellon fellowship. She also holds a certificate in Corporate Governance from NYU and is a Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

With thirty years experience navigating underperforming & distressed companies through operational turnaround and growth, Carter Pennington spearheaded exceptional profit and performance improvements for multinational firms across diverse industries. Developing and executing strategies that swiftly stemmed losses, recaptured revenue and restored profitability, he has consistently increased stakeholder value in the most challenging circumstances.

Carter assumes leadership roles in underperforming and distressed companies. Working as CEO, CRO, Board Member, strategic advisor or independent sponsor investor, he works side- by-side with company management to create change and increase stakeholder value. Experience encompasses turnaround & restructuring consulting and senior-level corporate

management, with full P&L responsibility, in both large and small organizations, public and private, domestic and international.
In 2004 he launched Cardinal Strategy Group, a strategy-focused entrepreneurial firm providing, turnaround advisory, interim management and independent equity sponsorship to financially distressed and operationally underperforming companies. His clients span a diverse set of industries, including: manufacturing, mortgage finance, flavors & fragrances, healthcare, fine art, frozen food, paper converting, toys and consumer products.

Previously, Carter was a director in the Turnaround & Restructuring Group of AlixPartners and as a strategic planning consultant with Novations Consulting Group. His client engagements included Fortune 500 companies in manufacturing, energy, publishing, hospitality, consumer products and telecommunications, which included WorldCom, one of the largest global restructurings in history.

Prior to branching out into turnaround & restructuring advisory, Carter was the Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at GFT International ($2.5B global luxury fashion company – Gorgio Armani, Valentino, Calvin Klein), Director of Business Planning at Revlon and held senior business planning positions at Clairol, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Ernst & Young.

He has authored many articles and white papers on turnaround & restructuring, management and corporate strategy. Carter has participated in numerous speaking engagements on restructuring, distressed investing and corporate growth, including:

“Compare and Contrast: Large and Small Restructurings” – TMA, London, UK, 2003.
“Return to Ground Zero” – Conference Co-Chairman – ACG Tri-State Conference, New York, NY, 2009.
“Restructuring Your Business” Seminar – Financial Executives International, New Jersey, 2009.
“Structuring For Future Growth” – Alvarez & Marsal and Gibbons P.C., New Jersey, 2009
“Investment Opportunities in the Green Middle Market” – Co-Chairman, moderator and Master of Ceremony – ACG Tri-State Conference, New York, NY, 2010.
“Deal Opportunities in Special Situations” – Opus M&A Connect, New York, NY 2016 “The Millennial Effect on Consumer Growth” – Moderator – NYC Consumer Summit 2019

Carter is a member of several professional organizations, which have included the Association for Corporate Growth, Turnaround Management Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and has served on several Boards of Directors. He graduated with honors from the City University of New York at Brooklyn College and earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Shane Ramsey is the Vice Chair of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. Mr. Ramsey regularly represents committees of unsecured creditors, indenture trustees, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, bondholders, noteholders, liquidation trustees, plan administrators, disbursing agents, and other entities in bankruptcy reorganizations, liquidation proceedings, and bankruptcy related litigation. Mr. Ramsey also has experience handling complex civil litigation matters in both state and federal courts and in alternative dispute resolution settings, including arbitration and mediation. His business litigation experience includes contract disputes, business torts, breach of fiduciary duties, officer and director liabilities, and other general litigation matters. Mr. Ramsey is a certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the American Board of Certification.

Jamie Salter is a C-suite executive, entrepreneur, and licensing industry forerunner with nearly 30 years of success in consistently generating strong returns for investors through numerous fashion, lifestyle, sports, celebrity, and entertainment brand-related activities. Salter has completed well over $9 Billion of investments, which have included both growth companies and turnarounds. His record of outstanding performance is a clear demonstration of his ability as a visionary to recognize value and seize opportunity.

ABOUT AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP

Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a brand development, marketing, and entertainment company, which owns a portfolio of global entertainment and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in New York City, ABG manages, elevates, and builds the long-term value of more than 50 consumer brands and properties by partnering with best-in-class manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Its brands have a global retail footprint in more than 100,000 points of sale across the luxury, specialty, department store, mid-tier, mass, and e-commerce channels and more than 4,900 branded freestanding stores and shop-in-shops around the world. ABG is committed to transforming brands by delivering compelling product, content, business, and immersive brand experiences. It creates and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms, and emerging media. ABG’s portfolio of iconic and world-renowned brands includes Marilyn Monroe®, Mini Marilyn®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O’Neal®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Michael Jackson® (managed brand), Nautica®, Aéropostale®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Herve Leger®, Judith Leiber®, Frederick’s of Hollywood®, Nine West®, Frye®, Jones New York®, Louise et Cie®, Sole Society®, Enzo Angiolini®, CC Corso Como®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Taryn Rose®, Bandolino®, Misook®, 1.STATE®, CeCe®, Chaus®, Spyder®, Tretorn®, Tapout®, Prince®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®, Above The Rim®, Hind®, Thomasville®, Drexel®, and Henredon®. For more information, please visit authenticbrandsgroup.com.

Ms. Smith is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Ancoris Capital Partners, a specialty investment bank for the private capital markets. The firm raises equity and debt for privately-held businesses, public companies and alternative investment firms.

Ms. Smith has over 22 years of experience in the private placement industry, having raised approximately $13 billion in equity and debt capital for over 160 companies in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Ms. Smith is focused on providing customized equity capital solutions to corporate and financial sponsor backed clients for acquisition finance, growth capital, and balance sheet recapitalizations.

Prior to founding Ancoris, Ms. Smith was the Head of Structured Equity at Houlihan Lokey. She joined the firm from Sagent Advisors, where she was a Managing Director and Head of the Private Financing Solutions Group with a focus on raising equity and equity-linked securities utilizing complex financing structures for late-stage companies. Ms. Smith’s previous experience includes leading a Private Placement Group at both Deutsche Bank and Greentech Capital, where she raised equity, debt, and project finance, and serving as a Director in the Private Placements Group at Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Ms. Smith holds a B.A. in Economics, cum laude, from Harvard University and an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Christopher A. Ward serves as Chair of Polsinelli’s Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring practice and is the Managing Shareholder of Polsinelli’s Wilmington, Delaware office. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), as well as Polsinelli’s Board of Directors.

Chris focuses his practice in representing distressed borrowers, chapter 11 debtors, out of court financial restructurings, and distressed asset sales, as well as non-bankruptcy alternatives.

Chris has been: (i) recognized for excellence in Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring by Chambers USA (2010 – Present (Band 3)), (ii) recognized by SuperLawyers in Delaware Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights (2012 (RS) and 2014 – Present), (iii) recognized by Best Lawyers for Bankruptcy/Restructuring in Delaware (2015 – Present), (iv) Mid-Atlantic Endowment Committee, Chair for The Arthur H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund, and (v) Editor and contributor to the app version of Polsinelli’s The Devil’s Dictionary of Bankruptcy Terms, which is available for free on iTunes. Chris was also Co-Author of the ABI books “The Chief Restructuring Officer’s Guide to Bankruptcy” and “A Business Creditors’ Guide to Bankruptcy and Debt Collection.”

Experience

Rick Wright has over 25 years of experience in corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and other finance-related fields. He has worked with large creditor groups to devise restructuring strategies and maximize recoveries. He specializes in corporate restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring-related litigation, specialized bankruptcy matters, and other forensic engagements. His advisory assignments have included business valuation and capital adequacy, business planning and forecasting, liquidity management, asset sales, and public offerings.

Mr. Wright’s other areas of expertise include meeting with debtor management to analyze its business plan, challenge assumptions, and sensitize projections; real-time modeling of various restructuring and bankruptcy scenarios to support negotiations; valuation of collateral; and negotiation of loan covenants.

Prior to joining BRG, Mr. Wright was a Managing Director at Capstone Advisory Group, LLC. Previously, he was a Director at the Policano & Manzo legacy practice of FTI Consulting. His experience also includes management positions with the Mergers & Acquisitions consulting group of Arthur Andersen LLP and the Audit practice of Deloitte & Touche.

Education and Affiliations

Mr. Wright holds a degree in Accounting from the University of Florida. He is a member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor, and holds a Certification in Distressed Business Valuation.

Stephen D. Zide represents a diverse range of clients in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructuring matters. Stephen has been involved in many high-profile restructurings and has experience across a number of industries. His clients include both official and ad hoc creditor and equity committees, debtors, bondholders, investors and secured lenders.

On the creditor side, Stephen advises his clients on matters involving distressed and bankrupt companies with complex corporate and capital structures. Stephen provides incisive credit and indenture analysis and has extensive experience investigating and litigating fraudulent conveyance, fiduciary duty, intercreditor and valuation disputes; developing, negotiating and confirming Chapter 11 plans; negotiating and litigating cash collateral orders, debtor-in-possession financing, and equity commitment agreements; and developing and implementing rights offerings.

Stephen’s creditor practice is complemented by his experience representing distressed companies. On the company side, Stephen assists debtors in navigating the complex legal, financial and operational issues that arise in Chapter 11.

Stephen was named an Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer (one of 12) by Turnarounds & Workouts in 2015, one of M&A Advisor’s 40 Under 40 in the Legal Advisor category for 2015, one of seven Law360 Rising Stars in 2016 in the field of bankruptcy law and a Super Lawyers Rising Star for 2014 – 2017.