Jeffrey Stein Founder and Managing Partner STEIN ADVISORS

Jeffrey S. Stein is Founder and Managing Partner of Stein Advisors LLC, a financial advisory firm that provides consulting services to public and private companies and institutional investors.

 Mr. Stein is an accomplished corporate executive and director, including leadership and committee positions, of both public and private companies.  Mr. Stein has been engaged as a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer, Liquidating Trustee, and Executive Chairman to support companies experiencing significant financial, legal and operational challenges. 

Mr. Stein currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Liquidating Trustee for the bankruptcy estate of Ditech Holding Corporation.  Mr. Stein previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer of Rite Aid Corporation and GWG Holdings, Inc. and as Chief Restructuring Officer of Liberty Steel Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Whiting Petroleum Corporation, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, LLC and Westmoreland Coal Company.

William Derrough Managing Director & Global Co-Head of Capital Structure Advisory MOELIS & COMPANY

Bill Derrough is a Managing Director and Global co-Head of Capital Structure Advisory at Moelis & Company. Bill has extensive experience advising all types of parties in major restructurings including companies, boards of directors, creditor groups, shareholders, unions and governmental entities and has been instrumental in building out the Firm’s restructuring franchise. Under his leadership, Moelis & Company has established one of the world’s leading restructuring teams, which has advised on more than 400 assignments globally representing over $1 trillion in value. The team was ranked #1 Restructuring Advisor both globally and in the U.S. in 2019 for completed engagements and was awarded the prestigious Restructuring Bank of the Year award for 2019 by IFR Magazine.

Bill has over 35 years of investment banking experience. From 1998 until joining Moelis & Company, he co-founded and co-headed the Recapitalization & Restructuring Group at Jefferies & Company. While at Jefferies, Bill advised a wide spectrum of clients and investors on restructurings, recapitalizations, financings, mergers and other engagements. Prior to joining Jefferies, Bill was a Principal at Doyle & Boissiere, a private investment firm. Bill began his investment banking career at Salomon Brothers Inc.

Bill holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on the boards of Youth INC, Boy Scouts of Greater New York, Bennington College and the Academy of St. Joseph, New York. He also served as Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee from 2017-2021.

Jon Henes Founder & Chief Executive Officer C STREET ADVISORY GROUP

Jon Henes, founder and CEO of C Street, is one of the leading restructuring, corporate governance, and crisis advisors in the country. After 20 years as a senior partner in the Restructuring Group at Kirkland & Ellis, Jon founded C Street, a market defining strategic communications firm, dedicated to helping clients navigate special situations, including restructurings, liability management transactions, workouts, and chapter 11 cases.

Over his career, Jon has advised boards of directors, companies, and financial sponsors across the spectrum of the economy, including crypto-currency, retail, technology, automotive, energy, industrials, printing, media, radio broadcasting, television, healthcare, education, airlines, sports, real estate, and publishing. Jon is known for his client-first focus and creativity, as he pioneered the first one-day chapter 11 case in history and helped a multitude of clients fix their balance sheet and operations in some of the most sophisticated transactions in the industry.

Jon is also involved in many philanthropic and political activities. Notably, Jon is the Chair of the Board of the Vice President's Residence Foundation and the Co-Founder of the Foundation for Education in Honduras (FEIH). He serves on the Advisory Board of the Black Economic Alliance, and the Boards of Directors of FEIH and CaringKind, the Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving, and is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Jon served as the National Finance Chair for Vice President Kamala Harris' 2020 Presidential Campaign and also as a finance chair for Ray McGuire’s 2021 New York City Mayoral Campaign.

Jon earned his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of the Law Review, and recently taught as an adjunct professor. Jon has also lectured at esteemed institutions, including Harvard Business School, Penn Law School and New York University.

Brian Lohan Partner CLIFFORD CHANCE

Brian J. Lohan is Head of Clifford Chance's Americas Restructuring & Insolvency practice. His work focuses on all aspects of corporate reorganizations, distressed situations and bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. Brian has represented Chapter 11 debtors, noteholders, bondholders, senior lenders Official Creditor Committees and other creditor constituencies or interested parties in domestic and cross-border matters.

Mohsin Meghji Managing Partner M3 Partners, L.P.

Mo Meghji is a nationally recognized U.S. turnaround professional with an exemplary track record of accomplishment across a wide range of industries. His 30+ year career has focused primarily on reviving companies experiencing financial, operational or strategic transitions to maximize value for stakeholders. He has accomplished this through management and/or advisory roles in partnership with some of the world’s leading financial institutions, private equity and distressed hedge fund investors.

Mo has led some of the most significant financial restructurings in recent years, including serving as the Chief Restructuring Officer of Sears Holdings Corporation, Barney’s Inc., Real Alloy Intermediate Holdings, Sanchez Energy Corporation and Capmark Financial Group. In 2021, Mo was appointed to the board of directors of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo at the recommendation of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Prior to founding M3 Partners, Mo served as Executive Vice President & Head of Strategy at Springleaf Holdings, LLC as well as CEO of its captive insurance companies.  At Springleaf, he was a key member of the management team that transformed the struggling consumer lender into a highly successful IPO in late 2013.  Prior to Springleaf, Mo co-founded Loughlin Meghji + Company, a financial and restructuring advisory firm which became one of the leading restructuring boutiques in the U.S.  Earlier in his career, Mo spent 12 years with Arthur Andersen & Co. in the firm’s London, Toronto and New York offices, reaching the position of Partner in the Global Corporate Finance group.

Mo has recently served as a director on corporate boards of, among others, Frontier Communications, Toys “R” Us, Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing LLC and SHOPKO Corporation.  He also previously has served as a director of, among others, Mariner Health Care Inc, Cascade Timberlands, LLC, Dan River, Inc. and MS Resorts.  He is a director of Equity Group International Foundation, which provides funding for underprivileged high potential students in Kenya. Previously, he served on the Boards of The Children’s Museum of Manhattan from 2012 to 2018 and HealthRight International from 2004 to 2012.

Mo is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada and has taken executive courses at the INSEAD School of Business in France. He has qualified as a U.K. and Canadian Chartered Accountant as well as a U.S. Certified Turnaround Professional.

Noah Charney Managing Director and Head of Capital Solutions KING STREET

Noah Charney is a Managing Director and Head of Capital Solutions on the US Capital Markets team at King Street. He is based in New York and is a member of the US Investment Committee.

Prior to joining King Street in 2013, Noah was an Analyst at Trilogy Capital. Before joining Trilogy Capital, Noah held analyst positions at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and GoldenTree Asset Management. Noah began his career at Bear Stearns and Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation.

Noah received a B.A. in Economics from Queen’s University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Ryan Preston Dahl Partner ROPES & GRAY

Ryan Preston Dahl chairs the business restructuring practice group at Ropes & Gray. Ryan has extensive experience representing publicly- and privately-held debtors, investors, and financial sponsors in special situations, out-of-court restructurings and distressed acquisitions, and in-court chapter 11 processes through prepackaged, prearranged, and traditional restructurings. His practice also includes a broad range of transactional and litigation matters across a number of industries including automotive, technology, retail, media, gaming, manufacturing, professional services and financial services.

Ryan is a leading commentator on corporate governance, special situations, and restructuring topics, having been interviewed and quoted in leading publications such the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Financial Times, and his seminar on advanced restructuring strategies at the University of Chicago Law School is a sought-after element of the law school curriculum.  

Ryan has been named among Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers in 2020 and Turnarounds & Workouts’ “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” for 2018, as well as receiving the Rising Star award from Euromoney Legal Media Group and the Law360 40 Under 40 award, also in 2018. Ryan was previously recognized by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges for participation in its Next Generation Program at the NCBJ's 2017 annual conference. Ryan was also identified as one of the “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers” by Turnaround and Workouts in 2023.

Ryan also regularly speaks on a variety of restructuring, executive compensation, corporate governance, and ethics-related topics at institutions and organizations including the University of Michigan Law School, Columbia University, Northwestern University, the Insolvency Institute of Canada, and the International Bar Association. He is a member of the Turnaround Management Association and the International Bar Association.

Jason New Managing Director LAZARD

Jason New is a Managing Director in the Restructuring & Liability Management Group and a Vice Chairman of Investment Banking.

Prior to joining Lazard, Jason was the co-founder of NovaWulf Management and previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Onex Credit Partners, a $25 billion alternative credit manager which is wholly-owned by Onex Corporation.

Prior to joining Onex, Jason spent 15 years at Blackstone, where he was a Senior Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Distressed and Special Situation Investing for GSO Capital Partners (“GSO”, n/k/a Blackstone Credit). Jason was an original partner of GSO and a member of the firm’s Management and Investment Committees. Jason was the Senior Portfolio Manager on several GSO funds and separately managed accounts. Before joining GSO in 2005, Jason was a senior member of the Distressed Group at Credit Suisse and Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Jason started his career as an attorney at Sidley Austin.

Jason has originated numerous transactions and invested billions of capital in the public and private debt, structured credit and public and private equity markets. Jason has served on the boards of over a dozen public and private companies including Cheniere Energy, Momentive Performance Materials, Sorenson Communication, and Eastman Kodak.

Jason has been a frequent speaker on many aspects of the credit and distressed markets. Jason has been actively involved in many of the largest Chapter 11s in history. Jason has led distressed and restructuring transactions in the U.K., Europe and Latin America.

Jason holds a B.A. from Allegheny College and a J.D. from Duke University, where he is a member of the Board of Visitors.

Damon Yousefy Managing Director ALVAREZ & MARSAL

Damon Yousefy is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax, LLC in Dallas. He specializes in advising clients on tax issues of debt restructurings, bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions and internal restructurings.

Mr. Yousefy has worked with clients across a range of industries, including financial services, technology, mining, oil and gas, consumer products, manufacturing, shipping, automotive and healthcare.•With more than 11 years of experience, Mr. Yousefy has advised clients in 30+ complex debt restructuring and bankruptcy matters, including the bankruptcy tax modeling and tax structuring for a radio company with $16 billion in debt, a mattress company with $2+ billion in debt and a mining company with $1.5+ billion in debt.

Mr. Yousefy also brings extensive M&A experience, specifically in tax due diligence, tax structuring, basis step-up modeling, international tax, legal entity rationalization, internal restructurings, carve-outs, spinoffs, sell-side offerings and joint ventures. He has led engagements such as the $8 billion simultaneous acquisition and structuring of two label companies purchased by a leading private equity firm; the merger of two nationally known publicly traded beverage companies worth $19 billion; and the sale of a nationally known cosmetics brand to a global conglomerate for approximately $1 billion.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Yousefy spent over five years with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Mergers & Acquisitions Tax practice, where he most recently served as Director. He began his career in New York in the Transaction Tax practice of Ernst & Young LLP.

Mr. Yousefy earned a BBA in business (cum laude) from Baylor University and an MBA in finance and a J.D. (cum laude) from Indiana University. He is a licensed attorney and a member of the New York State Bar.

Leonard Klingbaum Partner ROPES & GRAY

Leonard Klingbaum is co-head of Ropes & Gray’s global capital solutions and private credit group and actively participates in the firm’s finance group. Leonard’s practice focuses on event driven and opportunistic financing transactions, as well as special situations, workouts, restructurings and insolvency matters. He routinely represents participants in all aspects of the capital solutions' arena, including distressed investing, strategic lending, loan-to-own, and restructuring matters. He has represented lenders (credit funds) and borrowers in direct lending, high yield, and mezzanine transactions, from the lower middle market to large cap transactions. He also acts on behalf of public and private corporate clients as general finance counsel.

Leonard has been recognized by The Legal 500 (United States), where clients recognize him as “diligent and hardworking" and "adept at locating problems and finding solutions.” Additionally, IFLR 1000 ranks him as “highly regarded,” and he has been recognized by the Turnaround Management Association with a Transaction of the Year award. Leonard also has been ranked by Chambers USA as one of America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2021-2023).

Ajay Bijoor Managing Director and Head of Capital Structure Advisory Group BAIRD

Ajay Bijoor is a Managing Director and Head of Baird’s Capital Structure Advisory Group. His career encompasses 25 years of experience in advising companies on financial restructuring, liability management, M&A and debt and equity capital raising transactions across a wide variety of industries. Previously, Ajay co-led DC Advisory’s US Debt Advisory & Restructuring Group. Ajay also spent years at Guggenheim Securities, Peter J. Solomon and Miller Buckfire & Co. Ajay began his career at Credit Suisse First Boston and Latona Associates. Ajay received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Andersen Fisher Managing Director HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS

Andersen Fisher is a Managing Director at HPS Investment Partners and Portfolio Manager of the Special Situations Opportunity Funds. Prior to joining HPS in 2018, Mr. Fisher was the Managing member of Tålamod Asset Management, a distressed credit investment firm he founded in 2008. Prior to founding Tålamod, Mr. Fisher was a Principal at Watershed Asset Management, a hedge fund focused on distressed debt and special situations. Prior to Watershed, Mr. Fisher was an Associate at Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco based private equity firm. Mr. Fisher began his principal investing career as an Analyst in the London office of private equity firm, Hicks Muse Tate & Furst. Mr. Fisher holds an AB in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Ari Lefkovits Managing Partner DELOS CAPITAL

Ari Lefkovits is Managing Partner of Delos Capital. Mr. Lefkovits has nearly 25 years of experience leading complex transactions for, and working closely with, investors, senior executives and boards of directors.

Prior to joining Delos Capital in 2024, Mr. Lefkovits spent his career at Lazard, where he was a Managing Director focused on capital solutions, restructuring, and liability management. During his tenure at Lazard, Mr. Lefkovits worked in the firm’s New York and London offices, where he advised on transactions totaling over $300 billion of value, including many of the firm’s largest, most complex, and award-winning transactions.

Mr. Lefkovits has advised companies, boards, creditors, investors, unions, and government entities across a wide range of corporate finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and reorganizations, debt exchanges and other liability management transactions, spin-offs and split-offs, debt and equity financings, joint ventures, and other matters. Mr. Lefkovits’ transaction experience spans multiple industries and geographies.

Mr. Lefkovits has testified multiple times before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, various state courts, and the New York Stock Exchange. He speaks frequently on industry panels and in the press. He has been named one of Turnarounds & Workouts' People to Watch and one of the M&A Advisor’s 40 under 40 corporate finance professionals.

Mr. Lefkovits earned an AB from Dartmouth College, magna cum laude, and a JD from Stanford University, with Distinction.

Brian Stewart Head of Private Credit FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP

Mr. Stewart is Head of Private Credit and is based in Dallas. He serves on the Leadership Committee and is a member of several investment committees.

Mr. Stewart participates in origination, execution and asset management of private corporate credit investments across industries. Mr. Stewart has 17 years of experience investing in middle market corporate credit. Prior to joining Fortress in 2014, Mr. Stewart was a Managing Director at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a middle market private equity and credit investment firm, where Mr. Stewart led origination, execution and portfolio management for the direct lending, distressed debt and hybrid capital strategies. Mr. Stewart has served on the Board of Directors for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Euramax International, IAP Worldwide Services, Bertuccis Corporation and Jonathan Engineered Solutions. Before that, Mr. Stewart was an analyst at Houlihan Lokey in the financial restructuring group.

Mr. Stewart attended the University of Southern California where he received a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance.

David H. Botter Partner CLEARY GOTTLIEB

David Botter’s practice focuses on large, complex restructuring cases, both out of court and in Chapter 11, across a variety of industries. He frequently handles multijurisdictional and cross-border matters for both distressed companies and major creditors, and is particularly respected for his representation of bondholders and creditors’ committees as part of his broad creditor-side practice. He also has experience representing institutional investors, hedge funds, debtors-in-possession, post-petition lenders, and acquirors of distressed assets in the health care, transportation, and energy sectors, among others.

David joined Cleary Gottlieb as a partner in 2023. Prior to joining the firm, David was a partner at another major international law firm.

Saul Burian Managing Director HOULIHAN LOKEY

Mr. Burian is a member of Houlihan Lokey’s world-leading restructuring practice. He specializes in advising public and private companies and creditor groups in complex restructurings, financings, and other transactions. Mr. Burian also specializes in raising capital for troubled businesses and often represents debtor and creditor constituencies in pre-packaged, pre-negotiated, and other bankruptcy proceedings. He is especially proud of his work crafting creative solutions and forging the consensus necessary to effectuate complex solutions without court proceedings.

Mr. Burian is also Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Real Estate, Lodging & Leisure Group, which is a leading independent M&A, capital markets, and strategic advisor to middle-market and larger real estate companies.

Throughout his career, Mr. Burian has been involved as an advisor in a wide range of restructuring and real estate transactions, including Answers.com; Barneys New York; CEVA Logistics; Constellis Holdings, LLC; Extended Stay America; HealthSouth; Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives; JCPenney; J.Crew; Kaisa Group Holdings; Le Cirque; Lehman Brothers; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals; Mark IV Automotive; MSR Hotels & Resorts Inc.; Nine West Holdings; NPC International; Party City; Payless Shoes; Pinnacle Agriculture; Plymouth Industrial REIT; Production Resource Group; Purdue Pharma; RCS Capital; Sears Holdings; Transeastern Properties, Inc.; TriMark; Toys “R” Us; and Winn-Dixie stores. He has advised investors in acquiring distressed assets and is a frequent speaker on restructuring, M&A, and real estate topics.

Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Burian was a partner in the New York law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, where he specialized in creditors’ rights and bankruptcy. During his 12 years at Kramer Levin, he represented a broad spectrum of clients who were often the primary at-risk constituency in the relevant in- and out-of-court restructurings and bankruptcies, including bank lenders, debtors, creditor committees, and secondary purchasers of distressed indebtedness.

Mr. Burian received a B.A. with honors in Economics from Yeshiva University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Hon. Michael B. Kaplan Chief Bankruptcy Judge DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

The Honorable Michael B. Kaplan was appointed as a bankruptcy judge on October 3, 2006, for the District of New Jersey and designated Chief Bankruptcy Judge on May 1, 2020. Judge Kaplan has presided over numerous notable cases, including Revel AC, Inc., Crumbs Bakeshop, Inc., Sur La Table, Inc., LTL Management, LLC, Blockfi, Inc., Rite Aid, Inc., Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. and the Invitae Corporation. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee, as well as a member of the Chapter 7 panel of bankruptcy trustees, where he received case appointments as both a Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 trustee.

Judge Kaplan received his A.B. degree from Georgetown University (1984) and his J.D. Degree from Fordham University School of Law (1987). He is licensed to practice law in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Court of International Trade and various federal district courts throughout the country. 

Judge Kaplan has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Judge Kaplan also has been appointed by the Director of Administrative Office of the Courts(“AO”) to a term as the Third Circuit representative to the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group, in addition to appointments as the Bankruptcy Judge representative for the Risk and Finance Management Advisory Council, Human Resources Advisory Council and Budget & Finance Advisory Council to the AO. As a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Judge Kaplan has served as Treasurer and Executive Board member. He serves currently as a member of the Judiciary Advisory Council for the Rabiej Litigation Law Center.Since 2009, Judge Kaplan has taught courses in bankruptcy, commercial law and corporate reorganization as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law and Seton Hall University School of Law. He is a co-author of West’s Consumer Bankruptcy Manual and Consumer Bankruptcy Handbook, as well as a contributing author for Collier on Bankruptcy, 16th Ed.

Over the past thirty years, Judge Kaplan has spoken to numerous bar associations and business organizations, including: the Federal Bar Council, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, American Bankruptcy Institute, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, American Legal & Financial Network, American Conference Institute, Turnaround Management Association, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Rabiej Litigation Law Center, the Beard Group, NY Institute of Credit, Bloomberg, L.P., Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers, , Pennsylvania Bar Institute, National Business Institute and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Judge Kaplan has been the recipient of the NCBJ President’s Award for Excellence, the Conrad B. Duberstein Memorial Award given by the New York Institute of Credit, the Judicial Service Award from the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees’ 2006 Distinguished Service Award and New Jersey State Bar Association’s 1999 Legislative Recognition Award. 

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as Mayor and Councilman for the Borough of Norwood, NJ, and as a member of the Norwood Planning Board

Rachael Ringer Partner, Co-Head, Distressed Investing KRAMER LEVIN

Rachael Ringer has played a prominent role in advising on many of the largest restructurings in recent years across a diverse range of industries, including transportation, pharma and health care, retail, oil and gas services, and shipping. She handles high-stakes and complex bankruptcy matters on behalf of creditors’ committees, bondholders/creditor groups and companies.

Rachael’s recent representations include leading the representation of the parent ad hoc claimant group in the cross-border case of LATAM Airlines, which successfully emerged from bankruptcy in November 2023, facilitated by nearly $4 billion in exit capital backstopped by the parent ad hoc claimant group, after prevailing in multiple litigations before the bankruptcy court and appellate courts (including the Second Circuit). Rachael is also currently representing the official creditors’ committees in the Rite Aid and Endo Pharmaceuticals bankruptcies, each of which involves numerous cutting-edge litigations as well as issues attendant to mass tort cases. Rachael also represented the Boy Scouts of America official creditors’ committee and represents the ad hoc committee of governmental claimants in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy cases. She has also recently represented the GenesisCare, Aegerion, Hexion and Toys “R” Us creditors’ committees as well as a large lender in the Nine West bankruptcy. Rachael regularly advises hedge funds in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and sale transactions as well as on investments in distressed credits with complex capital structures.

Rachael previously represented the creditors’ committees in the bankruptcy cases of CHC Group Ltd., (a large commercial helicopter service provider), Arch Coal Inc. (second-largest holder of U.S. coal reserves), NII Holdings Inc. (Nextel branded Latin American mobile communication services provider) and Residential Capital (the largest bankruptcy of 2012). She represented Luxor Capital Group LP in the 2016 bankruptcy of RCS Capital Corp., and represented the RCS Creditor Trust, which was formed for the benefit of unsecured creditors pursuant to the confirmed restructuring plan. She was also involved in the lawsuit on behalf of holders of more than $18 billion in PREPA bonds challenging the constitutionality of Puerto Rico’s proposed bankruptcy statute.

According to Chambers USA, sources say Rachael is “really exceptional. She has the knowledge, wisdom and judgment of somebody with many more years” and “In terms of her mastery of the issues, she is really excellent.” She “is a rising star. Her grasp of bankruptcy law, her commercial intuition, and her ability to get things done are a rare combination,” and she “gets to the heart of the matter immediately and thinks strategically.” Clients also note that Rachael “provides excellent client service.” In 2021, Rachael was named to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s list of 40 Under 40. She was named one of Turnarounds & Workouts’ 2020 Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers, one of Law360’s 2020 Rising Stars and one of M&A Advisor’s 2019 Emerging Leaders. She was also a finalist in Bankruptcy Litigation for the Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Rising Star Award and has been named a Thomson Reuters New York Super Lawyers Rising Star every yearfrom 2017 through 2023.

Alejandro Sainz Chair of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Practice SAINZ ABOGADOS

Alejandro Sainz heads the Insolvency and Restructurings practice area at the firm and is also a member of the Finance, Compliance and Investigations, and M&A practice groups.

Alejandro has more than 30 years of experience advising and representing clients in cases of cross-border insolvency and restructuring (both out-of-court and in-court proceedings - concursos mercantiles), finance, refinancing, and corporate reorganizations, as well as in the purchase and sale of distressed assets. Throughout his vast experience, he has represented clients from various industries, both nationally and internationally, domestic and foreign companies, public and private organizations, as well as several ad-hoc committees of international bondholders and noteholders issued abroad by Mexican issuers.

He is also well-known for his service to the community, by providing pro-bono representation to various organizations. He has taught and spoken in several courses, seminars, postgraduate courses and lectures, in Mexico and abroad, on topics such as restructuring, commercial bankruptcy and cross-border restructuring and insolvency proceedings. He is a member of several boards of directors and committees.

Alejandro is listed in Chambers Latin America as Band One Lawyer in Bankruptcy / Restructuring; in The Legal 500 as Hall of Fame Lawyer for Bankruptcy and Restructuring; in Who’s Who Legal as Global and National Leader for Restructuring and Insolvency; in Best Lawyers in Mexico for Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2023); among other important recognitions.  

His latest publications are:

• Alejandro Sainz and Gabriela Avendaño; "The Interplay Between Different Stakeholders in Mexican Restructurings: Equity Versus Debt" in The Guide to Restructuring, Edition 3; Latin Lawyer; 2023. 
• Alejandro Sainz and Gabriela Avendaño, "Mexico: Restructuring & Insolvency" in the Restructuring & Insolvency Country Comparative Guide - Q&A; The Legal 500; 2022. 
• Alejandro Sainz and Gabriela Avendaño, "Mexico: Law and Practice" in Chambers Insolvency 2022 Guide.
• Alejandro Sainz and Gabriela Avendaño, "Mexico: An Introduction to Bankruptcy/Restructuring", Overview for the Bankruptcy/ Restructuring Chapter in Chambers Latin America 2024. 

Nicolás García-Huidobro Latam Credit Portfolio Manager COMPASS

Nicolás is a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Latin American Corporate Debt Strategies at Compass. Before, he was also Head of Research for Peru, Colombia and Central America. In 2017, he returned to the Chile office after working in the New York office since 2011 where he started as high-yield credit analyst and the continued as Co-Portfolio Manager of the Compass LatAm High Yield strategy since 2016. He is also involved in private credit analysis and structuring for the same strategy.

Nicolás began his career at the firm in the Santiago office in 2009 as an Analyst for the Small Cap Chile fund and was responsible for Large Cap companies by the end of 2010. Nicolás has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and an MSF from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Santiago, Chile. He is CFA Charterholder

Ray Zucaro Founder and Chief Investment Officer RVX ASSET MANAGEMENT

Ray is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of RVX. Before establishing RVX, he co-founded SW Asset Management LLC in 2009, where he served as a managing partner and portfolio manager. In this role, he was responsible for single-name idea sourcing and credit research. In 2015, SW Asset Management sold its investment management contracts to Salient Partners.

From 2006 to 2009, Ray was a Portfolio Manager at Drake Management, focusing on emerging market investment opportunities. His $1 billion emerging market portfolio was the best-performing fund at Drake during the Credit Crisis. Prior to Drake, Ray worked as a senior investment analyst at Consilium Investment Management LLC in Florida, where he managed portfolios that involved researching and recommending corporate fixed-income and equity securities across both absolute return vehicles and benchmarked long-only accounts.

Ray began his career as a corporate analyst at Americas Trust Bank (ATB) and later transitioned to corporate research analysis at Standard (Bank) Asset Management in Florida, working with the same team.

He holds an MBA with a concentration in International Business, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Psychology from Temple University, graduating with High Honors. Ray also earned the CFA designation, is fluent in Spanish, and has working knowledge of Portuguese.

Kyle Asher Partner and Co-Head of Alternative Credit Solutions MONROE CAPITAL

Kyle Asher, Partner, Managing Director & Co-Head and Co-Portfolio Manager, Opportunistic Private Credit. Mr. Asher is a Managing Director, Co-Head and Co-Portfolio Manager of Monroe Capital’s Opportunistic Private Credit investment vehicles. He is responsible for deal origination, structuring, and portfolio management, as well as overseeing the opportunistic business and its team.  As part of the opportunistic business, Mr. Asher co-leads the firms’ investments in real estate, specialty finance and corporate special situations.   He joined the firm in 2009 and is a member of the Opportunistic Private Credit Fund’s Investment Committee. He serves as the Co-Chair of the firm’s Strategic Planning Committee. Mr. Asher has over 15 years of investment experience and has led the underwriting of over $5 billion of debt and equity transactions, across a variety of opportunistic private investments. Prior to Monroe, he was an Analyst with Chicago-based Calder Capital Partners, a direct and fund-of-funds private equity firm partly owned by Goldman Sachs and Ares Capital (formerly Allied Capital), where he performed due diligence on various direct and fund-of-fund investments, sourced transactions and assisted in capital raising. Mr. Asher began his career as an Equity Analyst for MindShare Capital, an institutional money-manager where he focused on the valuation and trading patterns of small-cap growth companies. Mr. Asher earned his M.B.A. in Finance and International Business from Northwestern University and his B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Northwestern University.

Michael O'Hara Co-Head of US & Managing Director, Debt Advisory & Restructuring JEFFERIES

Michael O’Hara is Co-Head of US and Managing Director of the Debt Advisory and Restructuring Group at Jefferies.  With over 25 years of investment banking experience, Michael specializes in advising on a variety of restructuring and special situation assignments for companies, creditors, corporate boards, and acquirers and sellers of distressed assets. Additionally, he has worked on several sovereign debt situations.

Michael joined Jefferies in 2020 from PJT Partners (formerly Blackstone), where he was a Partner in the Restructuring and Special Situations Group. Previously, he worked in the M&A groups at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Stephens Inc.  Michael holds a BS in Finance from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Joe Salameh Managing Director, Corporate Private Investments ARENA INVESTORS

Joe is adept at creating customized financing solutions that can harness the debt or equity capital structures or both. Before joining Arena, he was a managing director at Silver Swan Capital, a special-situations private equity firm focused on opportunistic equity, debt, and hybrid capital solutions. Joe sourced, structured, and managed investments, primarily in Europe, Latin America, and the US, in a variety of sectors including industrial agriculture, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, logistics, and others. He previously was a vice president at Citigroup.

Joe holds a BA in economics from Cornell University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Brad Kahn Partner AKIN GUMP

Brad Kahn is a partner in Akin’s financial restructuring practice, focused on large, complex in-court and out-of-court corporate restructurings. Brad’s experience includes representing ad hoc and official creditors’ committees, as well as debtors, in high-profile chapter 11 cases. He also advises clients in multijurisdictional and cross-border insolvency proceedings.

Doug Lyons Managing Principal PEARLMARK

Douglas W. Lyons is a Managing Principal of Pearlmark, with responsibility for the firm’s capital markets and debt investment activities. He is also a member of the firm’s Management and Investment Committees. Prior to joining Pearlmark in 1996, Mr. Lyons was Vice President of Equity Institutional Investors, Inc. where he was responsible for merchant banking activities and strategic portfolio management projects for the Zell/Merrill Lynch Real Estate Opportunity funds, the Zell/Chilmark Fund, and other Sam Zell-related affiliates. In addition, Mr. Lyons actively managed an institutional portfolio of REIT stocks. Previously, he worked in the New York Real Estate Capital Markets groups for Bankers Trust Company (1989-1991) and Merrill Lynch & Co. (1987-1989).

Mr. Lyons earned a BA degree in History from Amherst College where he was a two-time All-American in soccer, and his MBA from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He currently serves several nonprofits including the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and the JDRF Illinois Chapter for the Real Estate Games. Mr. Lyons is also a member of the Pension Real Estate Association and the Urban Land Institute, where he is a Trustee. Mr. Lyons currently serves as a Trustee of the Loomis Chaffee School chairing its Buildings and Grounds Committee and previously served as a Trustee for Lycée Français de Chicago and Chair of its Facilities Committee and as Treasurer of St. James Cathedral in Chicago.

Joseph Griffin Principal and Managing Director, Head of Commercial Real Estate MARATHON ASSET MANAGEMENT

Joseph Griffin is a Principal and Managing Director in Marathon’s Structured Credit Group, Head of Commercial Real Estate and Co-Head of Marathon’s Liquid Structured Credit Trading business. He is also a member of Marathon’s Executive Committee and Personnel and Culture Committee. Mr. Griffin oversees portfolio construction and asset allocation across public and private Commercial Real Estate strategies and develops the thematic strategy of the portfolio. He joined Marathon from RBS Greenwich Capital where he spent 11 years, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of CMBS Secondary Trading. Prior to joining the CMBS trading team, Mr. Griffin held various roles at Greenwich Capital, including roles within the debt capital markets and origination groups. Mr. Griffin received his BA in History from Brown University.

Warwick Olney Managing Director, Head of Real Estate SUMMIT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Warwick rejoined Summit as a Managing Director/Head of Real Estate in 2020 to assist in various capacities including deal sourcing, underwriting and leading the firm’s real estate strategies.

Prior to rejoining Summit, Warwick led CBRE’s equity platform for the Western US. Before that he spent five years in New York City helping build the U.S. real estate platform for the Bank of Ireland.

He started his career as an intern with CBRE and served in various roles within CBRE/New England. Warwick is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

Jochen Schmitz Managing Director GREENHILL & CO

Jochen joined Greenhill in 2012 and is a Managing Director in the Financing Advisory and Restructuring Group. Jochen has over 16 years of experience across liability management, recapitalizations, in-court restructurings, mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity capital markets and has represented companies, creditors and stakeholders in over 40 transactions representing ~$100 billion of capital.

Jochen began his career in the Energy & Power group of WestLB New York and the Merchant Banking group of FCF in Europe and the Middle East. Jochen also worked in the strategy group of Levi Strauss in Hong Kong. Jochen received his BSc in International Business from HEC Montreal and his MBA from Columbia Business School in conjunction with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Eugene Lee Managing Director LINCOLN INTERNATIONAL

Eugene is a Managing Director in the Capital Advisory Group at Lincoln International. Eugene provides advisory services to sponsors, shareholders, lenders, debtors, bondholders, creditors and court-approved representatives of financially stressed and distressed companies. He has more than 30 years of experience in both advisory and client buy side roles.

Prior to joining Lincoln, Eugene spent 15 years investing with various hedge funds with a focus on stressed and distressed credits. Eugene co-founded and managed Taal Capital, an opportunistic hedge fund that used fundamental analysis to make investments long and short across the capital structure with a focus on event-driven names. Previously, Eugene co-founded and managed Fort Warren Capital, a long/short credit opportunity fund that invested across the capital structure in complex, event-driven, distressed and value-oriented situations. Before that, Eugene was with Regiment Capital, a multi-billion-dollar credit hedge fund that spun out of Harvard Management Company where he led investments in the media, telecom and retail sectors. Prior, Eugene was a Managing Director at GSO Capital where he led investments in the technology, media and telecom, retail and consumer sectors.

Prior to going to the buy side, Eugene was a Managing Director in the Restructuring Group at Evercore Partners where he led many of the firm’s restructuring engagements. Prior to Evercore, he was an Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he worked on a broad range of client transactions involving high yield, leveraged loans, equity, merchant banking and M&A transactions.

Eugene holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Ayse Kelce Reporter DEBTWIRE

Ayse Kelce is a reporter covering restructuring and distressed debt at Debtwire. Her reporting focuses on companies in the technology, media and telecom sectors. Ayse previously wrote about the asset backed securities market, covering asset classes including fiber, data centers, automotives and aircraft.

Ayse received a BA in business journalism and political science from Baruch College.