Top 100 Restructuring Professionals

“Distinction in Dealmaking”

Exclusive published by Global M&A Network, the 9th annual list features highly respected, successful and innovative group of 25 consultants, 25 investment bankers and 50 lawyers from the restructuring and turnaround communities this year.

Highly competitive process begins with evaluating firms and best performing or “Turnaround Atlas Awards” winning transactions closed during the 2021. Selection is then narrowed to a single professional from the firm based on their experience, differentiated expertise, and transactions completed among additional attributes. Only one professional is selected from the practice group at the firm per year.

Join us in congratulating top performing professionals and the firm’s they represent!


David Baker

David has managed a wide variety of turnaround and bankruptcy consulting engagements involving domestic and international operations since co-founding Aurora Management Partners. He has managed workouts and divestitures across numerous industries. He has served Aurora’s clients as Chairman, CEO, Federal Receiver, State Receiver, CRO, COO and as the financial advisor to official creditors’ committees. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Accounting.


Thomas W. Buck

Tom is a crisis management professional with over 20 years of experience advising distressed businesses in a wide variety of industries. His restructuring acumen includes operational turnarounds, financial restructurings, divestiture transactions, merger integration, enterprise improvement and orderly liquidations. Tom has performed many debtor and creditor roles within the bankruptcy process, including such cases as Transit Group, Inc., Parmalat USA, Best Manufacturing Group LLC, KidsPeace Corp., Saint Michaels Medical Center, Inc., Lombard Public Facilities Corporation, Agera Energy, Buckingham Senior Living, and Volunteer Energy. He can perform financial advisory, interim management, and CRO roles for distressed companies. His experience managing the complex dynamics across the stakeholder spectrum has resulted in many innovative and consensual solutions. Before his restructuring career, Tom spent approximately 9 years in manufacturing in various roles including production operations, marketing, and executive management. Tom has an MBA from Wake Forest University and holds the CTP and CIRA designations.

What Tom enjoys about his career... What I have enjoyed most is being able to work in a variety of industries and working with incredibly talented professionals on both sides of the aisle. I have taken pride in always being able to create value in uncertain circumstances.


Michael Buenzow

Michael is the Vice Chairman of Restructuring and Company-Side Practice Leader of the Turnaround & Restructuring practice. He specializes in assisting underperforming companies. He has more than 20 years of experience serving as a financial advisor, including extensive international and public company experience. His industry expertise includes retail, consumer and industrial products, steel, automotive, construction, apparel, entertainment and leisure, transportation, real estate and distribution. Mr. Buenzow has extensive operational turnaround and interim management experience. He has served as interim chief executive officer and chief restructuring officer for numerous clients.

What Michael enjoys and values about his career... I enjoy and value the relationships and long-standing friendships that are created through the restructuring community. The favorite part of my career is leading businesses through challenging situations. It’s rewarding to save and preserve jobs and assist communities that are dependent upon our clients’ ability to successfully turnaround and prosper.


Keith S. Daniels

Keith has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive, management consultant, and restructuring advisor. Prior to joining Carl Marks Advisors, he served in several C-level and executive roles at multiple consumer products companies, including numerous Fortune 500 and middle market companies: Town and Country Living, NewellRubbermaid, Philips Electronics, Disney, and McMaster-Carr Supply. His experience also includes working with several of the largest retailers, such as Walmart and Amazon. Mr. Daniels notable engagements have included in- and out-of-court restructurings of consumer products, healthcare, grocery and food, media, energy, manufacturing, and distribution companies. He often serves in interim management roles as CRO, CEO, CFO, COO and financial advisor. Mr. Daniels earned a BA from Princeton University, an MBA from Duke University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

What Keith enjoys about his career... I am continuously learning with each restructuring case. The unique challenges and creating solutions alongside colleagues and other professionals make me better every day. Putting companies back on the right track and saving jobs is very rewarding.


John DiDonato

John has more than 30 years of experience guiding organizations through restructuring, operational transformation, capital raising, buy-side advisory and merger integration. He has served more than 250 companies, functioning for many as the chief restructuring officer and the lead fiduciary. He is a trusted adviser to financially and operationally distressed organizations and their leadership. John has extensive experience servicing debtors with complex capital structures and has raised billions of dollars in replacement and exit financings. Prior to joining Huron, John was the president of Glass & Associates.


Jordan Fisher

Jordan is a member of EY’s global turnaround and restructuring leadership team. He brings experience advising clients on assessing and managing liquidity, preparing and executing business plans, restructuring operations, monetizing assets, evaluating strategic alternatives, and negotiating agreements. He has over 20 years’ experience in complex situations across a broad range of industries. He joined EY from Alvarez & Marsal where he worked for over 10 years on restructuring and turnaround situations. Prior to A&M, he spent 9 years at Citigroup, working on internal strategy and acquisitions, as well as advising external clients on structured finance transactions. Prior to Citi, he spent 3 years at Bankers Trust underwriting and structuring principal investments in distressed commercial real estate. He earned his B.A. in Economics from University of California, Berkeley and MBA from Columbia Business School.

What Jordan values about his career... I value the positive impact we make on our clients, as well as the meaningful relationships developed along the journey.


Brian F. Gleason

Brian has managed or participated in more than 200+ turnaround engagements over the past 25+ years. Using his executive, operational, financial, and negotiating skills, he has led numerous Phoenix projects in both the private and public sectors. He has served in advisory capacities as well as independent director and interim management positions in a variety of industries. Mr. Gleason’s interim management roles have included CRO, CEO, CFO, and COO. Furthermore, he is regularly retained to act as a Board Member of companies facing disruption and has provided expert testimony in numerous financial and turnaround management matters Mr. Gleason is President of the Global Certification Oversight Committee for the TMA as well as Vice President of Certification on the TMA Executive Board. Brian is a graduate of Drexel University with degrees in both Finance and Marketing.


Andy Graiser

Andy co-founded A&G Real Estate Partners in 2012 with 30-year business partner Emilio Amendola. Graiser is a go-to resource for boards and c-suite executives at healthy and distressed companies, as well as lenders, investment bankers, private equity firms, financial advisors and attorneys. He oversees the execution of real estate projects involving lease renegotiation/termination, real estate optimization, sales, valuations and strategic growth.

What Andy values about his career... We have saved $10 billion in occupancy costs and sold $12 billion in real estate and leases for more than 750 clients. The impact of this—creating the art of the possible, providing critical liquidity, saving jobs and keeping the doors open—is what I love most about my job.


Philip J. Gund

Philip has more than 35 years of professional experience, including 30 years working with troubled companies and their creditors, their investors, and court-appointed officials. He enjoys a national reputation as a restructuring expert and crisis manager forging consensual agreement among diverse parties. He has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer, and Chief Financial Officer in crisis and interim management situations, as a Responsible Officer in liquidation matters, and as a member of the board in a number of matters.


Sandeep Gupta

Sandeep has spent more than two decades guiding clients from high pressure, high stakes financial challenges to best-case outcomes. His areas of expertise include performance improvement, turnarounds, interim management, bankruptcy and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and asset divestitures. Before co-founding Novo Advisors, Sandeep spent five years as Managing Director in FTI Consulting’s Corporate Finance group. He was also a lead restructuring consultant for Silverman Consulting for eight years, and an operational and strategy consultant at Arthur D. Little for two years. Sandeep earned his MBA in Finance and Business Strategy, University of Chicago, and BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago.