Expert Details
Corporate Turnarounds, Crisis Management, Financial Restructuring, Re-financing
ID: 726993
Delaware, USA
A. CORPORATE TURNAROUNDS – up to full service, depending on request. Expert significantly improves client’s strategy and operations, using, but not limited to, Expert’s Primary Expertise Areas listed under Guideline terminology. Major elements in corporate turnarounds guided by Expert are:
- Penetrating evaluation of: i) Quantity & quality of client’s earnings; ii) Management system & its key members; iii) Independent comparison of client’s operating & financial performance with its industry; iv) Prospects for client’s sustained profitability.
- Improving client’s financial management via Expert’s superior financial skills, incl. detailed cash-flow modeling and controls.
- Improving client’s management system via, as needed, re-design of job descriptions, mentoring, hiring and terminating managers.
- Applying Expert’s superior financial & general management skills to improve client’s cash-flow, sales, operations, manufacturing, plants, marketing, assets, and client’s management - from Board interface to C-level executives to middle managers.
- Combining Expert’s entrepreneurial creativity with his broad knowledge of effective business practices in excess of 20 industries, also increasing client’s financial and operating discipline.
- Rapidly moving client’s culture towards more analytical, more energetic and more disciplined.
B. WORKOUTS & Other FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING. Expert reorganizes financial structure (debt and equity) of distressed or under-performing companies either consensually (out-of-court), via Reorganization Plans in Chapter 11 or under State insolvency laws, using mechanisms such as: forbearances, deferred payment plans, debt-to-equity conversions, inter-creditor agreements, factoring, re-financing, joint ventures, licensing, and settling lawsuits by creditors. Expert conducts relevant negotiations with client's approval and under Restructuring Plans that Expert develops.
C. CORPORATE CRISIS MANAGEMENT, same elements as for Corporate Turnarounds (A) above, but on time-critical basis.
D. BUYER-SIDE ASSISTANCE, for parties contemplating investment in distressed or under-performing companies, using Expert’s above-detailed rapid and penetrating evaluation skills to identify / evaluate key drivers of the investment target’s sustained profitability. Also, renders assistance with Purchase Agreements based on such evaluations.
Expert has rendered above services in many industries, including but not limited to Manufacturing (in different industries), Public Warehousing, Marketing (traditional & Internet based), Contracting (e.g. rehabilitation of water mains / sewers, office relocation), Construction, general contracting and trades (e.g. excavation, electrical, mechanical), Engineering & Architecture, Retail Industry and Merchandising, Distribution / Wholesale, Real Estate, Recovery of Nationalized Property, Hospitality (hotels, conference centers)
Expert’s proven track apart from corporate renewal, includes profit and productivity improvement, project management, engineering management, and starts ups.
Expert operates as advisor to Boards, CEOs or other C-level executives, or as interim C-level executive, e.g. CEO or CRO.
TURNAROUND. Expert was tasked to diagnose the situation and to propose turnaround measures for a leading independent (family firm) American manufacturer of bedding, with sales in many States. Expert conducted Rapid Investigation / Assessment, including as follows: he reviewed internal documents, interviewed officers, managers and shop-floor employees; he observed operations of client's main plant and reviewed statistics of client's industry. On that basis in a short time, Expert made very practical and comprehensive recommendations (see below), which subsequently owners implemented. A YEAR LATER OWNERS CREDITED EXPERT’S “WISDOM” AS THE FACTOR THAT “ENABLED THEM TO REMAIN IN BUSINESS”. HIS DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS : 1) Reduced Manufacturing Cost, thorugh changes in purchasing policies and materials bought, and improvements to plant layout; 2) Decreased Operating Expenses through various specific measures; 3) Improved Client's Website & Its Promotion, through specific measures; 4) Implemented Direct Mail & Telemarketing (again specific measures), resulting in increase to sales and profit margin; 5) Restructured Debts to improve cash flow (again a specific action plan); 6) Evaluated Costs / Benefits of Satellite Facility (supported by Expert’s initial financial analysis); 7) Improved Products Development via periodic competitive analysis / comparison with products and manufacturing policies of competitors; 8) Implemented job-costing; 9) Altered the company culture towards increased profit-orientation and increased accountability (via above and other measures). Written reference provided to Guideline on this project.ORDERLY SELF-LIQUIDATION. Expert was initially engaged by an exavation company in Colorado to reorganize its debts and to create an operating turnaround. Expert Reduced Client‘s Operating Expenses, Increased Accountability and Obtained Initial Forbearances from some creditors. However, turnaround was not feasible because of pre-existing great hostility of the unions. In this situation Expert Designed and Proposed An Orderly Self-Liquidation and Convinced All Key Players (the owner, the bankruptcy counsel and company bankers) that such orderly self-liquidation was feasible and more beneficial than a bankruptcy liquidation. Afterwards Expert Guided This Orderly Self-Liquidation, as follows: 1) He obtained from company's bankers, the IRS and other creditors, sequential temporary forbearances, against some payments and detailed reporting, and thereby prevented the fire-sale liquidation of assets; 2) He guided in-house refurbishing of heavy construction equipment; 3) He guided retail sales of individual equipment units at much higher prices than at unreserved auctions (the traditional means of liquidating such equipment); 4) He enabled the performance of work for customers with the equipment to be sold, right until the relevant units were sold. BY THESE ACTIONS EXPERT MAXIMIZED THE REALIZATION ON FIXED ASSETS AND THE COLLECTION OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE. EXPERT GUIDED THIS ORDERLY SELF-LIQUIDATION PROCESS IN FACE OF GREAT HOSTILITY OF THE COMPANY’S LABOR UNIONS. THIS ORDERLY SELF-LIQUIDATION PROCESS HAD PROVIDED AN ALMOST FULL RECOVERY FOR BANKS, SOME RECOVERY FOR OTHER CREDITORS, AND ENABLED THE COMPANY’S OWNER TO KEEP HIS HOUSE. Written reference provided to Guideline on this project.PROPERTY RECOVERY IN POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRY (POLAND). In 1997, while doing some unrelated business in Poland, Expert was approached by Clients (friends of a friend in Montreal, Canada) to help them recover properties in Poland, left there by the Clients’ parents just after WW II, i.e. 50 years earlier.
At the time Expert had no prior experience in property recovery in formerly communist countries. Clients believed they inherited several properties in various areas of Poland, but had no exact addresses, no title documents and no contacts in Poland and they did not speak Polish.
Expert interviewed in Polish the Clients’ elderly parents and their friends, determined the approximate location of the properties and the "chain of inheritance". Next he travelled in Poland to various localities, interviewed elderly persons and located all Clients' properties. He obtained, despite some roadblocks, documents pertaining to the legal status / current ownership of these properties. He also obtained estimates of their current value.
At the outset of this project, Expert, a non-lawyer but with much knowledge of business law, educated himself in relevant Polish law. With such preparation and the facts he gathered, he consulted a Polish attorney, who was recommended to him as solid and fair, by persons in Poland in whose opinion Expert had confidence. Locating such reliable and knowledgeable sources of referals and such reliable attorney was a critically important part of this project.
Afterwards Expert provided to Clients his estimate of costs and benefits of recovery for each of their properties. This was based on semi-contingent arrangement Expert made with the selected attorney, the assumptions that Expert made about his own ability to locate additional evidence (some records were lost) and his opinion of the future value of these properties when Poland was still some years away from jointing the EU and its membership in EU was uncertain. On such basis, Expert recommended to Clients that they act to recover several of these properties. However, Clients tasked him only with the recovery of two of them; which Expert accomplished. Expert recovered one of these properties in face of a tough contestation. In particular, he obtained documents and witness evidence in Canada (sworn at the Consulate) to confirm the identity of Clients’ Father’s, which was contested because of document errors. Further, Expert convinced the Polish attorney to commission legal research for the specific facts of the case, when such research was not yet customary for Polish attorneys. Expert defined the questions for this legal research. This legal research proved crucial to the Clients’ success. Later, at an appropriate time, Expert recommended a successful conservatory petition that prevented Client’s adversaries from selling or encumbering the property before his Clients had legally recovered the title. Shortly before the final hearing, Expert recommended to Clients to settle with the opponents and then successfully negotiated such settlement, which was attractive to Clients. Subsequently, Clients requested Expert to assist them to administer their share of the property. He does this to-date, supervising for Clients the local administrator, with whom they contracted on his advice and on terms he recommended. POST-MORTEM: After the recoveries, very satisfied Clients informed Expert that before hiring him, they searched widely for advice in the Jewish community in Montreal, where their family is prominent, but found nobody who had been able to recover their property in Poland after so many years, and the general advice they then received, including from Canadian lawyers with roots in Poland, was that the matter was hopeless. In addition, noting the large intervening appreciation of the value these properties as a result of the westernization of Poland and its entry into UE, Clients told Expert that they should have followed his advice TURNAROUNDS, FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING AND CRISIS MANAEMENT.
Client was the owner of a group of companies in Ohio, that were active in diverse lines of business, including conference center, real estate investment, electrical contracting and supply of certain materials. In 2004 some of these companies required turnaround and restructuring services. EXPERT TURNED AROUND THE CONFERENCE CENTER / BANQUET HALL (CC) WITHIN 3 MONTHS, BY INCREASING SALES AND PROFIT MARGIN. AMONGST OTHERS, EXPERT TOOK THE FOLLOWING TURNAROUND ACTIONS: 1) He objectively analyzed the performance of CC’s General Manager (GM), uncovered major lack of ability and performance an had this GM fired. Until suitable replacement was hired, Expert assisted Owner to manage the CC’s daily operations on a part-time basis, under Expert’s guidance. The bulk of the turnaround was achieved during that time, with Expert performing the following turnaround related services: 2) He developed marketing and operating strategies for the CC and assisted the implementation. 2) When the former GM asserted a claim against the company, Expert provided Client with financial analysis, which showed that this claim was fraudulent. As a result, the former GM dropped his claim; 3) Expert improved the company’s website and effectively promoted it via the Internet. Within a space of a few months, this Internet promotion brought large additional sales. The bulk of CC’s customers were new customers who came through the Internet, and the marketing costs were much lower than beforehand when client advertised with local radio and newspapers; 4) Expert hired sales agents on commission, based on written contracts, which Expert developed, and which were advantageous and motivating to both sides; 5) Expert developed computerized event quotation forms and customer contracts for different types of CC’s events, such as weddings and conferences; 6) Expert implemented controls over liquor inventory and improved cash management controls; 7) Expert developed leases for part-time and shared use of the Cc’s facilities. EXPERT ALSO PERFORMED CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING SERVICES TO ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING, MATERIALS SUPPLY AND REAL ESTATE / INVESTMENT COMPANIES OF THE OWNER. This included the following actions (not a full list): 1) Expert instilled confidence in Owner and staff at the time of severe crisis; 2) Expert analyzed the performance and viability of above-mentioned companies, documented potential for revival and used this analysis to negotiate the following financial restructuring; 3) Expert restructured existing bank loans and equipment leases that were in default; 4) Expert obtained forbearances from the IRS and the Revenue Departments of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana in respect of payroll taxes, and from the County in resprct of property taxes; 5) Later Expert secured a subordination of large IRS tax liens based on payroll taxes owed; 6) Expert created, via joint-ventures, marketing and financial resources for the electrical contracting company. Written reference provided to Guideline on this project.CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING. Expert, acting in interim management role (CRO), assisted a deeply insolvent engineering firm (Client) to survive a severe crisis and become profitable again. Expert’s actions included the following: 1) Expert diagnosed the Client’s situation and prepared a turnaround plan; 2) With the aid of this plan and via agreeing to co-manage the Client, Expert secured a moratorium on payments from Client’s lenders, and trade creditors other than utilities; 3) Expert secured subordination of liens held by Client’s lenders in favor of a factoring firm and obtained factoring financing for Client; 4) Expert assisted Client to reduce its operating expenses and to achieve profitability at a level of gross income at which in the past the Client always lost money; 5) Expert restructured Client’s debts is such a way that monthly debt payments are sustainable; 6) Expert prevented the bankruptcy of Client and its Owner and bought time for Client to grow its sales; 7) Expert prevented unfounded creditor lawsuits that were threatened; 8) Expert prevented a hostile takeover of Client. Written reference provided to Guideline on this project.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1975 | Degree: MBA | Subject: General MBA, with extra courses in Industrial Engineering. Concurrently was Teaching Assistant at McGill's Management Dept., and later Research Assistant at the inter-university Gamma Institute. | Institution: McGill University |
| Year: 1973 | Degree: Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) | Subject: Electrical Engineering, including Honours Math program | Institution: McGill University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2000 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President / Partner | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert oversees the management of this boutique Corporate Renewal & Wealth Recovery firm, and is active as Project Director / Senior Consultant. Projects include Corporate Turnarounds, Financial Restructuring, comprehensive Crisis Management and Other Types of Wealth Recovery. Expert is the president of the American firm bearing his name since 2003 and the president of the Canadian firm since 2000. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1993 to 2000 | Employer: Self-employed part-time (70% retired) at age 43 to age 50 | Title: Self-employed part-time as Consultant and Entrepreneur | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert was largely retired at age 43 (in 1993) until age 50 (in 2000). During this period he did limited / part-time Business Consulting, including in Poland. This included: general business consulting to Owners, Brokering a Joint-Venture for Vivendi to establish a major hydrocarbon waste treatment plant in Poland and Recovery of Nationalized Property in Poland for foreign heirs. Concurrently, during 1997 - 1999 did a stint as a Client Advisor / Partner in Technology Transfer / Contracting firm in Poland. See below. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1997 to 1999 | Employer: PRI - Przedsiebiorstwo Rehabilitacji Infrastruktury Sp. z.o.o. | Title: Client Advisor / Partner (part-time) | Department: |
Responsibilities:During 1997 - 1999 did part-time stint as a Client Advisor and Partner in PRI, a Technology Transfer / Contracting firm in Poland. PRI performed no-dig repairs and rehabilitation of sewers and water-mains and primarily promoted technology transfer (Canada and USA to Poland) for no-dig sewer, water-mains and plumbing rehabilitation technology (lining, pigging, electromagnetic pipe cleaning, etc.) to regional sewer & water utilities, contractors and large housing cooperatives in Poland. Around 2000 sold his interest in PRI. Subsequently that company was acquired by another. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1982 to 1993 | Employer: CTT Corp. | Title: President / Principal Consultant & Owner | Department: |
Responsibilities:As Principal Consultant, with assistant or directing a team of freelancers: Performed BROAD RANGE OF BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES TO OWNERS AND CEOs, such as: Designed Strategic and Operating Business Plans (usually based on his independent market research); Devised and implemented Productivity and Profit Controls; Negotiated / Secured Equity and Debt Investment; also Government Grants. Performed advisory services, and times C-level (as CEO, VP or GM) interim management for operations, marketing, R&D – for established companies, start-ups and distressed companies in a number of industries. Initially, before the above, performed Project Management and Project Engineering services, including for R&D management in high-tech and productivity consulting in manufacturing.Concurrently during 1986 - 1987 Taught Management part-time at Concordia University. Concurrently during 1986 - 1993 operated PAKIT Division, see below. By 1993 became bored with work. He had savings and no personal or business debt, and was single at the time. He retired at age 43 (in 1993). Later returned to work, see above. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1986 to 1993 | Employer: CTT Corp., PAKIT Division | Title: Owner-Operator | Department: |
Responsibilities:Simultaneous with above consulting work through CTT Corp., as Owner-Operator managed PAKIT Division of CTT Corp. PAKIT distributed specialty packaging products to retail stores and small business. DEVELOPED TOOLING AND MANAGED PRODUCTION for some products via sub-contracts; bought and re-sold other related products. Grew SALES VIA FOLLOWING COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS: direct mail, telemarketing and merchandising, for which he developed direct mail literature, telemarketing scripts, POS scripts and POP displays. Trained and directed sales force. The division was small but profitable, it had no debt. Became bored with it, sold company assets and retired at age 43 (in 1993). Was single then. Later returned to work. See above. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1977 to 1982 | Employer: Vanguard Control Technologies Ltd. | Title: President, before that V-P, Engineering and before Project Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Initially a Project Engineer (1977 – 1980), became V-P Engineering (1980 – 1981). In 1981 became President, while retaining the responsibility for delivery of engineering services. Vanguard, an innovative high-tech engineering firm, was developing commercial and consumer products based on early microprocessors, and comprising application and system software, electrical hardware, and even mechanical sub-assembles, such as a specialty time-clock printer.As Project Engineer, he oversaw technical development of products. As V-P Engineering, he directed project engineers, prepared project proposals and quotations. As President, he retained the last foregoing responsibilities, also consulted for clients on pre-production preparations and oversaw feasibility studies. Became a shareholder of the firm. When the rainmakers / main shareholders had retired, he started CTT Corp. in 1982 (see above). During 1979 - 1980 simultaneously taught Managerial Economics part-time at McGill University (Dept. of Managment. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1974 to 1976 | Employer: Noranda Research Centre | Title: Assistant Engineer, before that Special Assistant to Director | Department: Techno-Economics Dept. |
Responsibilities:As Assistant Engineer, PARTICIPATED IN TECHNO-ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS, MARKET STUDIES AND COST-ENGINEERING SERVICES performed by the Noranda Research Centre for the member companies of the Noranda Group. The latter was a mining, metallurgy, metal products and forestry conglomerate, since absorbed by Falconbridge Mines.Originally hired after his first year of MBA studies, as Special Assistant to the famous Dr. William Gauvin, then the Director of the NRC, was tasked with creating guidelines for the evaluation of NRC’s effectiveness. On completion of this task, was tasked to carry out an in-depth study of NRC’s effectiveness during its first 10 years of operation. His report was approved by the Noranda Board and was circulated to the executives of the Noranda companies. Concurrent with his last 6 months at NRC, acted as freelance Development Engineer in early microprocessor-based products. This led to his employment with Vanguard. See above. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1973 to 1973 | Employer: Schlumberger | Title: Junior Field Engineer | Department: Field Explorations, Oil and Gas |
Responsibilities:Worked as JUNIOR FIELD ENGINEER IN NORTHERN OIL AND GAS EXPLORATIONS. Initially was trainee / assistant to field engineers. Received training as operator and field engineer in logging of oil and natural gas wells. Passed the Schlumberger Field Training School on the first pass. Left Schlumberger to pursue MBA studies. |
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Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has the following litigation-related expertise: Commercial litigation support, Detecting commercial fraud, Preventing and settling litigation, Legal recovery of nationalized property in Eastern Europe. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Expert belongs to TMA - Turnaround Management Association and ABI - American Bankruptcy Institute, also is a a member of ABI's Small Business Reorganization Committee, belongs to AIRA - Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, IIE - Institute of Industrial Engineers (as senior member), SEMS - Society for Engineering and Management Systems, and OIQ - Quebec Order of Engineers. Other experts of this firm hold CPA, JD and MD degrees, and belong to appropriate professional organizations. |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Expert is P.E, and MBA. Other experts of this firm hold contracting license, real estate license, pilot license, CPA license, MD license and admisions to the bar of various states. |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Expert has written a well-regarded Treatise On Turnarounds (white paper) in 2002. He is presently revising and enlarging it. In his former engineering career he published a short paper with IEEE. In his early business career he wrote a report approved by the Board of Noranda Group (a large conglomerate) for circulation to top executives of this conglomerate. Expert's current writing, including reports for banks and the IRS is commercial confdential - samples, sanitized for confidentiality, are available. OTHER EXPERTS OF THIS FIRM have various publications, and one is a commercially successful inventor, with US and foreign patents. |
Fields of Expertise
business management, cash management, channel management, corporate crisis management, crisis communication, crisis intervention, crisis management, crisis public relations, executive management, factory management, financial management, hotel management, management, management system, manufacturing management, manufacturing profitability restoration management, operating expense management, performance management, plant management, production management, project cost management, project management, receivables management, sales management, strategic management, technology management, corporate turnaround, loan workout, corporate restructuring, debt restructuring, financial restructuring, human resources policy, waste disposal management, technology innovation management, retail industry management, machine shop management, industrial construction management, contract service management, scientific management, retail management, property management, practice management, nonprofit management, motel management, legal matter management, loss management, fleet management, estate management, design management, asset management, cross-functional team, mentoring, modern management tools, Methods-Time Management, technical management, warehouse management, distribution management, supply chain management, product management, vendor control, value management, materials management, configuration management, engineering management, re-engineering, process management, quality management