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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
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2015 Spring Newsletter - President's Letter
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Another glorious Michigan summer has finally arrived! As I near the end of my term as Chapter President I'm struck by how quickly this year seems to have passed. It was a busy one for our Chapter; in addition to our regular roster of programs, our nextGen and Network of Women groups were very active and held several special events. The engagement within these segments of our membership base has been impressive and energizing.
On the tail of our Chapter's successful launch of nextGen, we have now also been recognized across TMA Global as a leader in the Network of Women initiative. In May I participated in the NOW Global Summit in New York, where I presented "best practices" related to our Chapter's NOW activities. This year our Chapter also undertook the task of updating our organization's bylaws. Many thanks to our Immediate Past President Paul Hage for his leadership on this project, and to the team of Past Presidents who volunteered to assist with it.
This March our Chapter suffered a deep loss with the passing of Janice Murray. Janice was a long-time TMA supporter and served as President of the Michigan Chapter in 2002-2003. She also had the distinction of being our first female Chapter President. Janice was a well-respected professional in our field, a great mentor and role model, and had many friends within our Chapter. She is very dearly missed.
In April our Chapter held its annual Spring Conference titled "Detroit's Turnaround...the Inside Story". The Event Committee, led by Tim Weed and Angus White, put together an outstanding program including three fascinating panels and an inspirational keynote address from Detroit's former Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. In May we enjoyed a nextGen sponsored panel event focused on Distressed Private Equity Deals. Our 18th annual golf event will be held June 22nd at Forest Lake Country Club, the Summer Soiree networking event will be held July 30th at Bosco's in Ferndale, and the fall kickoff event is planned for September 10th so please mark your calendars. TMA Global's 27th Annual Conference will be held October 5-7 in Scottsdale, AZ.
Many thanks as always to our Sponsors, Board of Directors and Committee Members for their commitment and ongoing efforts to support our Chapter's success. I would also like to recognize and thank Steve Weber for his leadership in Grand Rapids, as well as John Klehm and Sharon Kimble for their efforts in producing this newsletter. In this edition our Member Spotlight features Jeff Johnston and Tim Weed, two long-time Chapter members.
For those who may be interested in becoming more active within TMA, please note that the committees are currently looking for a few new volunteers to bring fresh ideas to the table. There will also be several board seats opening up over the next few years and the nominating committee will be looking for strong candidates to fill them. It's a great time to get more involved and connected with other professionals in the TMA network. This year we're pleased to welcome two new Directors to our Board: Brendan Best of Schaefer & Weiner, and Angus White of PNC Business Credit.
It has been an honor to serve as President for the TMA Michigan Chapter this year, and I'm grateful for all of your support. As we transition leadership to our incoming Chapter President Scot Lund, and President-Elect Jason Bank, we can all look forward to another great year with Michigan TMA. The future of our Chapter is very bright!
Sincerely,
Meagan Hardcastle, CTP
TMA Michigan Chapter President
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Written by John Klehm Jeffrey L. Johnston, Managing Director, AlixPartners, LLP
Jeff is a long-time member of the TMA and was an early member of one of the best-known restructuring firms based in Michigan. He has a diversity of experience as both a hands-on restructuring advisor and as an expert witness.
Starting in the auditing function at Deloitte out of college in 1983, Jeff was fortunate to be assigned to a special practice area led by Van Conway and Don MacKenzie. Doing work for one large client in particular, Van and Don had developed an expertise in evaluating troubled businesses, quantifying economic damages and testifying as an expert in bankruptcy and other courts. This work led to relationships with bankruptcy lawyers and litigators. However, the practice that Van and Don were building wasn't something Deloitte was entirely comfortable with because, at that time, these types of consulting services were new to the Big Eight CPA firms and were, therefore, viewed as risky. Just a few months after Van and Don left Deloitte to form Conway MacKenzie in 1987, Jeff joined them and also joined the nascent TMA. Over time, Jeff found the TMA to be a valuable resource for getting to know bankers with troubled credits and attorneys with distressed clients, leading to an expanded network of contacts. As Jeff said, "it was the place to meet other high quality professionals in the restructuring industry". One of his highest profile engagements while at Conway MacKenzie was a major forensic accounting investigation he helped lead on behalf of the Michigan Insurance Commissioner regarding the U.S. operations of Canada's largest life insurance company. The Michigan regulators had criticized the U.S. subsidiary's investment assets and placed the company in rehabilitation. This engagement provided Jeff leadership responsibilities on a large, complex, and highly visible matter working with lawyers in New York, Toronto and Detroit. In 2007, Jeff had the opportunity to join AlixPartners. While Jeff had great respect and affection for Conway MacKenzie, he saw this as an opportunity to grow with a larger, international firm. He had worked across the table from AlixPartners from time to time and knew and respected many of the senior professionals and they him. His experience at AlixPartners has further developed his own knowledge and expertise and, with 1,000 professionals, the firm is unique in its depth of in-house industry experts. One memorable engagement, a few years ago, took Jeff to the Pacific Northwest to lead the restructuring of a redwood forest and associated logging company on behalf of the secured lender. This business faced a number of challenges stemming from its unique nature, including strict state and federal regulations on how much redwood lumber could be harvested. For example, the old-growth redwood was protected because it served as the only habitat for an endangered species of bird called the marbled murrelet, which nested at the top of these 350 foot tall trees. The regulations on harvesting seriously impaired the company's operating cash flow and resulted in the first ever Chapter 11 filing of a redwood forest business. Thinking back on the start of his career, Jeff mentioned how his early years at Deloitte were an outstanding training ground. The required attention to detail was a great foundation upon which to build his restructuring and expert witness consulting career. Jeff really enjoys the variety of work in the restructuring industry. Each day is different and never dull. He also appreciates the team aspect of engagements. Working with other high quality professionals, including bankers, lawyers and other consultants, has been of great satisfaction to Jeff throughout his career.
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Written by John Klehm
Tim Weed, CPA, Consulting Partner, Plante Moran
Tim Weed is a leader in his profession and someone who has made meaningful contributions to the success of TMA Michigan.
After graduating from Wayne State University, Tim went to work for the fast-growing CPA firm, Plante Moran. After six years in traditional audit work, Tim was contracted out to a prominent turnaround and restructuring firm, known at the time as Jay Alix & Associates. After two years with Jay Alix, Tim returned to Plante Moran, and it was decided that his recent experience could be well used to start a restructuring consulting practice at the firm. In 1993, Tim worked with his partner, Mike Colella, to begin building the foundation of the restructuring services area, the focus of which was to help existing clients and grow via referrals from area banks and attorneys. Tim is a longtime member of the TMA. He recalled one meeting, years ago, when the number of attendees was much smaller and the speaker was sharing information on a new technology, "the world wide web." Over the years, Tim found the TMA to be an invaluable resource for getting to know bankers and attorneys as he sought to grow the firm's practice. Tim has been a TMA Michigan Board Member twice, each for six-year terms in the 1990s and 2000s. His contributions have frequently centered on programming. One event that Tim recalls leading featured former Dykema attorney Lou Kasischke. Lou was a member of the 1996 ill-fated Mt. Everest expedition in which eight people died; it was chronicled in the book Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer. Lou's talk focused on "making a plan and sticking to it." A successful ascent and descent of Everest requires disciplined timing. If progress slips and the team is in danger of not getting back to camp by nightfall, you must turnaround or face likely death. Despite years of preparation and many thousands of dollars spent, when it became clear that he was unlikely to "summit" and return to the safety of his tent before dark, Lou made the hard decision to turn around, just a few hundred feet short of his goal. Others pressed on and didn't return. This decision probably saved his life. Looking back over his work with clients, one consulting engagement was particularly memorable. Back in 2002, Tim's group was hired by the bankruptcy examiner of Enron Corporation to complete a forensic investigation. After the largest corporate collapse in U.S. history, Tim and his team were charged with untangling the web of special purpose entities such as Raptor, JEDI, and Chewco, as well as investigating Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andy Fastow. More recently, Tim was co-chair of the TMA Michigan Spring Conference. 2015 was Tim's last year in this role, and he went out on a high-note with former Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr as the keynote speaker. Regarding professional accomplishments, Tim is most proud of his work building the consulting practice at Plante Moran. The practice has grown to over 250 professionals over the past 20 years to include cybersecurity, due diligence, IT selection, interim staffing, lean manufacturing, post-merger integration, process improvement, project management, as well as core restructuring services. Tim enjoys his work and looks forward to many more years of networking with other professionals at TMA events.
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2015 SPRING CONFERENCE RECAP
Written By John L. Klehm
Sure to be one of the highlight events of the year was the 2015 Spring Conference held on April 23 at the Detroit Athletic Club. The Spring Conference is always something to look forward to and this year's program titled, "Detroit's Turnaround...The Inside Story" did not disappoint. The focus of the panel discussions this year centered around hearing from key professionals directly involved in the Detroit restructuring. Topics included: The Legal Fight for the Future of Detroit moderated by Paul Hage, Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss with panelists Robert Gordon, Clark Hill; Steve Hackney, Kirkland & Ellis; Steve Howell, Dickinson Wright; and Heather Lennox, Jones Day. Getting the Motor (City) Running Again moderated by Van Conway, Conway MacKenzie with panelists Gary Brown, Group Executive of Operations, City of Detroit; John Hill, Chief Financial Officer, City of Detroit; John Naglick, Finance Director, City of Detroit; and Beth Niblock, Chief Information Officer, City of Detroit.
Distressed Municipalities: The Battle Outside of Bankruptcy
moderated by Jessica Thomas, Rehmann Group with panelists Bill Anderson, SEMCOG; Brad Coulter, Emergency Manager, City of Lincoln Park; Edward Koryzno Jr., Director-Bureau of Local Government Services; Brian Lefler, RW Baird; and Alan Wilk, Dykema. Keynote Speaker, Kevyn D. Orr The conference was wrapped up by keynote speaker, Kevyn D. Orr, former Emergency Manager, City of Detroit, who spoke on his role in the Detroit bankruptcy. For those that attended, his engaging narrative of the evolution of Detroit from pre-Chapter 9, the restructuring process and negotiations during bankruptcy to the post bankruptcy outlook was fascinating. He left the audience with a terrific insider's view of what was going on behind the headlines. Many thanks to the TMA Spring Conference Event Committee for putting on another outstanding program!
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Free yourself from LUST, Michigan! Written by Mike Kulka, Founder and CEO, PM Environmental
Before you chide me for being unromantic, understand that I'm referring to Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST).
These large, underground containers hold liquids or gases and have piping and a pump station to move the tank contents to where they are used. About 95% of all USTs store petroleum products like gasoline or oil.
When a tank leaks, the clean-up can cost a business owner hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Leaks from underground storage tanks may even threaten a community's water supply. Michigan is in the top five states with the most open LUST sites, approximately 8,500.
Earlier this year, Michigan took a step in the right direction and passed a law establishing an Underground Storage Tank (UST) Cleanup Fund that is planned to be available in October.
Michigan did have a fund (Michigan UST Financial Assurance Fund or MUSTFA) at one time; however, the program was hugely in debt and went bankrupt in 1995. It was funded by a 7/8 cent per gallon environmental protection regulatory fee on all refined petroleum sold or imported to Michigan. Though MUSTFA went belly up in 1995, they still collected the fee. The fund was eventually renamed the Refined Petroleum Fund (RFP), but the money was used for purposes outside the program's original intent.
The new fund will be beneficial for a variety of sectors, such as logistic companies, retail petroleum and airline companies, who currently utilize private insurance or self-insure. It will provide money to oversee cleanups, reimburse owners or operators for corrective actions that address leaking USTs, achieve compliance with laws that regulating leaking USTs, and assist UST owners in meeting their financial responsibility required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Private insurance was never a great option. What has evolved over time and exists today is an assortment of UST insurance policies which, depending on a lengthy set of circumstances and contingencies, may or may not cover remediation and third party expenses. For sites with aging UST systems or previous existing contamination, it was nearly impossible to even be considered for insurance.
The reality was, often when someone had a claim to file, the insurance companies would deny it.
For example, my company had a client who had a catastrophic event occur. One of its product lines failed and over 4,000 gallons of product spilled. The insurance company dragged the claim process out so long that the company eventually went out of business and the site was never cleaned up.
I'm no fan of government intervention in the private sector; however the private sector alternatives haven't been successful. Several states have long-term UST cleanup funds that have and continue to work well. In short, this new UST fund will be a good thing. It will benefit people and industries who currently pay money for insurance as well as the overall health of Michigan's environment. About PM Environmental PM Environmental, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is a full-service environmental consulting firm with offices throughout the United States. PM Environmental is a sponsor of the West Michigan TMA. This article originally appeared in DBusiness, February 23, 2015.
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| Alex Calderone, CTP, Managing Director, Calderone Advisory Group, LLC, served as Guest Editor for TMA's March 2015 edition of The Journal of Corporate Renewal and also contributed a co-authored article titled, Staying the Course When the Training Wheels Are Gone: Ensuring the Long-Term Viability of Minority-Owned Contractors. Van Conway was quoted in an article, A High Stakes Bankruptcy Game Plays Out on Atlantic City's Boardwalk, in The Street publication. Van Conway was quoted in an article; Atlantic City Mediator Believes a Solution Outside of Bankruptcy can be Found, in The Deal Pipeline publication. Van Conway was quoted in an article, Is Marchionne Seeking Sale of Fiat Chrysler?, in the April 29 issue of the Detroit Free Press. Ken Dalto, President of Kenneth J. Dalto & Associates/Dalto Consulting, was quoted in The Detroit News March 16 article, Forman Mills opens in Pontiac, Other Under-Served Areas. Harrington Dragich is now The Dragich Law Firm and transitioning to a new office in Grosse Pointe effective June 1st. John Dimovski of Harmon Partners was interviewed by Trademark Production for its Detroit Entrepreneurs podcast. Paul Hage published a book for the American Bankruptcy Institute titled Credit-Bidding in Bankruptcy: A Guide for Lenders, Creditors and Distressed-Debt Investors. Paul Hage was appointed Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute's Unsecured Trade Creditors committee. On March 20, 2015, Meagan Hardcastle, Jason Bank, Steve Howell and Brendan Best participated on a panel for a seminar titled, Enhancing Debtors' Potential for Success in Small to Medium Size Chapter 11 Cases - Part II - Alternatives to Chapter 11. The seminar was hosted by Phillip J. Shefferly, Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States Trustee. Meagan Hardcastle of Harmon Partners was appointed to the TMA Global Awards Committee and the TMA Global Network of Women Leadership Committee. Meagan Hardcastle of Harmon Partners was the panel moderator for the Risk Management Association's Annual Banking Industry Update event. April 7, 2015 Michigan Lawyers Weekly published an article titled, Humanizing Goliath - Softening the Perception of the Corporation as a Defendant written by Patrick O'Keefe, CEO of O'Keefe. Effective July 1st Meredith Taunt of Strobl and Sharp will transition to the nextGen Board president. Jessica Thomas launched an independent practice, Governmental Turnaround Consulting, with a focus on providing turnaround consulting to distressed municipalities and school districts across Michigan. |
| NOW High Tea | January 29, 2015
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Meagan Hardcastle and speaker Victoria Wood Tashjian
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Casino Night and Charity Event | February 2015
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Winning Futures Ken Elkins and President-Elect, Scot Lund
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Center: Rhett Rowe playing Blackjack
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| Center: Russ Long contemplates his bet |
Spring Conference
| April 2015
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| From left to right: Kim Hilary and Kerri Ross |
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From left to right: Paul Hage, Robert Gordon,
Heather Lennox and Steven Howell |
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| From left to right: Van Conway, John Hill, Gary Brown, Beth Niblock and John Naglick |
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From left to right: Jessica Thomas, William Anderson,
Brad Coulter, Alan Will and Brian Lefler |
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| From left to right: Daron Gifford and Joe Gifford |
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| Keynote Speaker, Kevyn Orr |
Private Equity Panel | May 2015
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From left to right:
Don Engle, Mac Gerlach and Peter Bridges |
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Upcoming Events
June 22, 2015
18th Annual Golf Outing
Forest Lake Country Club
July 30, 2015
2nd Annual Summer Soiree with ACG and RMA
Bosco's, Ferndale
August 20, 2015
nextGen Social
Location to be announced
September 10, 2015
Fall Kick-Off
Location to be announced
October 5-7, 2015
TMA Annual
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Scottsdale, Arizona
Visit thetmaannual.org for more information.
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2014-2015
Meagan Hardcastle, President
Harmon Partners
Scot Lund, President-Elect
Crestmark Bank
Russ Long, Treasurer
O'Keefe
Jason Bank, Director
Kerr, Russell and Weber, PLC
Brendan Best, Director
Schafer and Weiner, PLLC
John Dimovski, Director
Harmon Partners
Robert Gordon, Director
Clark Hill PLC
Paul Hage, Immediate Past President
Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC
Mike Hausman, Director
Conway MacKenzie
John Klehm, Director
SPECTRUM Commercial Services
Kerri Ross, Director
O'Keefe
Jacob Villemure, Director
Comerica Bank
Sharon Kimble, Chapter Executive
TMA Michigan
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Thank you for your support!
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Thank you for your support!
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The Journal of Corporate Renewal
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May 2015 issue
Click on the cover and view our photos from the Spring Conference on page 40-41!
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| Mick D Young Mercer Daniel C Schultz Conway MacKenzie Maxim Ananich Amherst Partners LLC Robert M Bertucci Comerica Bank Paul Moma B2B Capital Funding LLC Carmen Jaeger Gordon Advisors PC Michele Manley Klippstein Morgan Stanley Geoff Kotila Hub International William C Blasses Osipov Bigelman Ryan C Plecha, Juris Doctor Lippitt O'Keefe Gornbein PLLC Alex Schroeder Quarton Partners Jeffrey Bigelman Osipov Bigelman Nicholas B Andrew B.O.C. Law Group PC
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Looking to renew or Join TMA?
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Sharon Kimble
Chapter Executive
TMA Michigan
734.757.4689
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