Our History
In less than 20 years, TMA’s growth in numbers and accomplishments in fulfilling its mission of membership service and management excellence is impressive. This timeline provides a perspective on how far TMA has come and how it is positioned for dramatic growth in the future.
1987: A research study on business failure and the turnaround process is sponsored by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina. The study was followed by a university conference to which national turnaround experts were invited to share experiences, which led to interest in establishing an organization for turnaround professionals.
1988: TMA is founded as a nonprofit association as a result of input from industry professionals and further support from the Kenan Institute.
1989: Originally envisioned as an organization solely for practitioners, TMA opens its doors to all professionals whose work is related to the turnaround industry.
1990: TMA has 637 members, and regional chapters are introduced.
1991: TMA’s Board of Directors adopts the Code of Ethics.
1992: Membership reaches 1,000 with 10 chapters.
1993: TMA moves from the Washington, D.C., area to the Sears Tower in Chicago. Nancy Davis begins as the sole full-time staff member and ultimately serves for eight years as executive director. TMA has 1,100 members and 12 chapters. A new awards program honors excellence in outstanding turnarounds, chapter achievements, and individual contributions to the industry. TMA forms the Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals and launches the CTP program. During the first exam administered by Northeastern University in Boston, 20 individuals earn their CTP designation. (ACTP was merged into TMA as of January 1, 2008, and TMA now administers the certification program.)
1994: The first TMA chapter outside the United States is formed in Canada.
1995: TMA moves to 230 N. Michigan in Chicago. Staff has increased to four. The Cornerstone program is established to help fund educational opportunities through corporate sponsorships, and $40,000 is donated during its first year. The Annual Conference in Atlanta hits a new exhibitor record—21.
1996: TMA holds its first legislative conference with Mary Matlin and James Carville as keynote speakers.
1997: TMA launches its Web site, www.turnaround.org. TMA holds its Spring Meeting back-to-back with INSOL International and tries a resort location— The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida—for its Annual Conference, with great success.
1998: TMA celebrates its 10th anniversary, with 600 attending its Annual Conference in Chicago. The Legislative Conference is discontinued, and the Advanced Education Workshop is initiated in its place. Membership increases to 3,000. Headquarters moves to 541 N. Fairbanks Court in Chicago. The Journal of Corporate Renewal takes on a new look and direction, changing from a newsletter format to a magazine.
1999: The Annual Conference in San Francisco attracts 700 attendees. The first overseas chapter, New Zealand, is organized. The Academic Advisory Council, whose members include faculty from top business schools, is founded to aid TMA in bringing the latest research and education to its members.
2000: TMA hits the 30-chapter and 4,000-member marks. At this point, the Cornerstone program is in its fifth year and has attracted $650,000 in donations. The exhibition hall at the TMA Annual Conference breaks new records with 40 exhibitors. Advertising in The Journal of Corporate Renewal tops $250,000. In October, Nancy Davis is named executive director emeritus and becomes TMA’s international relations consultant. Linda M. Delgadillo, CAE, is hired as the association’s new executive director. With the hiring of Cecilia Green, APR, CAE, as director of public relations, a three-year public relations plan is developed to increase awareness of TMA in the business world and to establish the organization as the voice of corporate renewal worldwide.
2001: The TMA Strategic Plan is adopted and an operations plan is developed to implement it. For the first time, the Advanced Education Workshop is held in conjunction with a university and TMA’s Academic Advisory Council. The workshop, focusing on distressed firm research, attracts 250 attendees to the Salomon Center at New York University’s Stern School of Business, about 100 more than the previous year. The Spring Conference also sets an attendance record, with 318 at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. The Annual Conference follows suit, with 702 at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida—despite being held less than a month after the September 11 attacks. Active CTPs now number 183. More than 150 interviews are obtained for TMA leaders in the business press, and TMA is mentioned in articles in major media outlets, such as Associated Press, Industry Standard, Investor’s Business Daily, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal. Monthly TMA Trend Watch surveys begin gathering industry statistics for use by members and news media. The staff has grown to 10, and a membership goal of 4,500 by the end of 2001 is within sight.
2002: TMA continues to thrive, reaching the 5,000-member mark well before the end of the calendar year. International headquarters moves to a new Chicago office at 100 S. Wacker Drive. A brand position of TMA being “the premier professional community dedicated to corporate renewal and turnaround management” is integrated into strategic planning and all TMA communications. TMA co-brands a publication, “Turnaround Management: A Guide to Corporate Restructuring,” with Institutional Investor journals. The Advanced Education Workshop is held in conjunction with Boston College, with 185 attending. The Spring Conference at the Sheraton El Conquistador in Tucson sets a new record for spring meetings, with 369 in attendance. By mid-2002, active CTPs number 207. TMA’s first Annual Report, highlighting the organization’s achievements of 2001, is produced in March. New Troubled Loan Workout modules are made available for chapters to use for local educational programming. TMA's Web site moves into its next evolution, with an entirely new design and enhanced content and usability introduced in the fall. The Annual Conference is at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs—the largest attended conference to date.
2003: TMA’s 15th anniversary is marked with several special activities, including a Community Commitment Award to recognize chapters for outstanding community service programs and an Annual Convention in San Francisco with the theme “Fifteen Years of Leading the Way: Rebuilding Corporate Value Worldwide.” The Cornerstone program begins its transition from an annual sponsorship commitment to Cornerstone 15, a board-designated endowment to provide funds earmarked for specific education and research initiatives. Other new programs include a High School Teacher of the Year Award to honor a teacher who effected a student “turnaround” and a Student Paper Competition to honor outstanding papers written by university students on corporate renewal subjects. Both conferences held early in the year set new records: the Spring Conference in March at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, with 496 attendees, and the June Advanced Education Workshop in Chicago, held in conjunction with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, with 306 attendees. The 2003 membership goal of 6,000 is reached on July 22. France becomes a chapter in formation, and Australia is designated as a provisional chapter. TheJournal of Corporate Renewal’s 2003 advertising revenue goal of $340,000 is reached by mid-year. The October Journal is a 15th Anniversary commemorative issue. By mid-year, the number of active CTPs has increased to 240, and the transition of CTP responsibilities to Professor James Seward at the University of Wisconsin-Madison begins. TMA's Web site expands its e-commerce capabilities for conference registrations, and more chapters take advantage of customized Web pages and adding regional events to the centralized calendar.
2004: With 6,950 members and 34 chapters worldwide, TMA continues to grow despite an improved economy and subsequent slowdown in the demand for turnaround services. A three-year strategic plan for 2005-2007 is developed, which includes corporate governance changes. Japan and France become provisional chapters. The first issue of the International TMA Newsletter is published. Technology innovations included an online Leadership Web as a resource library for chapters, a chapter broadcast e-mail system, and preparation of a digital 2005 Directory of Members and Services. The CTP Body of Knowledge course materials and exams undergo extensive revisions, and curriculum updates are completed. The number of CTPs increases to 287. A new dues allocation process is established, and the Chapter Response and Resource Council (CRRC) establishes a Chapter Assistance Fund. Cornerstone 15, the new board-designated endowment, generates total commitments of $1.02 million in its first year. The Spring Conference at the Dallas Four Seasons Resort and Club carries the theme, “Turnaround Roundup: Maximizing Corporate Renewal Opportunities in a Transitioning Economy.” The Advanced Education Workshop at the University of Toronto is TMA’s first conference held outside the United States. The 2004 Annual Convention on “The Evolving Role of Turnaround Management” features keynote speaker Rudy Giuliani at the New York Marriott Marquis and breaks records for attendance (1,032) and largest number of exhibitors (60). The first Butler-Cooley Excellence in Teaching Awards are given to three classroom teachers.
2005: With increased interest in corporate renewal worldwide, TMA establishes a licensing model for chapters outside of North America that provides the flexibility needed to accommodate varying cultural, financial, and organization needs. TMA grows to 7,065 members worldwide in 36 chapters. The CTP study materials are updated, and new marketing materials are developed for the program. Broad, fundamental changes are made to the CTP program that make it possible for the first time for lenders, portfolio managers, and corporate restructuring executives to earn certification. New categories of certification are created and include honorary CTP for industry veterans and CTP-Designate for young professionals who don’t meet the five-year experience requirement for CTPs. By July participation in review courses has tripled over the previous year, and the number of exam takers has quadrupled. By the end of the year, 293 professionals hold CTPs. TMA launches its first public service program in response to the devastation to the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina. In December, TMAssist offers free business recovery workshops in Louisiana. The March 9-12 Spring Conference in Phoenix is on "Meeting the Challenges of Corporate Renewal," with keynote speeches by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Charles Case and Olympic Gold Medalist Lisa Fernandez. The Annual Convention, "The Wide World of Corporate Renewal," is held in Chicago and establishes a new attendance record at 1,198. Former Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, National Public Radio’s Cokie Roberts, and former Olympic hockey star Jim Craig are keynote speakers. A new category, Transaction of the Year, is added to TMA’s awards program. Cornerstone 15 funds the development of a new educational product, the “13-Week Cash Flow” seminar for use by chapters. Cornerstone 15 reaches $1.3 million in the third year of its $1.5 million, five-year goal.
2006: With 40 chapters, TMA reaches 7,683 members worldwide. Four new chapters formed – three of them outside of North America. The Spring Conference in Phoenix attracts 475 registrants and 29 sponsors with keynote speakers Judge Majorie Rendell, UCLA Prof. Lynn LoPucki, and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Rocky Bleier. The Cornerstone 15 Board-designated Endowment Fund awards two grants, one to develop a Webinar series to bring three discussions of current topics right to members’ desks and another to fund a Call for Papers competition on Liquidity and Corporate Renewal, which were presented at the June Global Education Symposium in Chicago. Networking and education opportunities expand, as regional conferences across the U.S. and Canada grow to five. By year’s end, 373 have attained CTPs, and review course attendance is up 64 percent over the previous year. TMA’s Japan and U.K. Chapters begin developing custom CTP programs for their members. The Annual Convention in Orlando has the theme “Wave or Ripple: What Does the Future Hold?” and features former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and Aloha Airlines CEO David Banmiller. TMA continues its commitment to the Gulf Coast by holding two more workshops for small businesses and their advisors in Louisiana, and garnering national awards for its efforts.
2007: The emergence of new providers of capital spurs TMA to launch its first Distressed Investing Conference in January in Las Vegas, co-produced with The Deal, with proceedings published online. The Spring Conference in Dallas, “What You Need to Know Now,” features Judge Edward Prado of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Dr. Daniella Saltz, counsel for Ford Motor Company; and author and former New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald. The growing TMA, now with 16 staff members, moves to larger offices at 150 South Wacker Drive in Chicago in July.