Happy Saturday and welcome to CEO Speaks for Saturday, February 8, 2025, sponsored exclusively by Second Wind Consultants, specializing in Article 9, out-of-court, transactional restructurings.
Do you see what I see? I see the 900 attendees packing and planning, setting up meetings, coffees, dinners, and more. I feel the buzz of energy and opportunity to connect and close at the most highly anticipated, most coveted, and important industry conference of the year—the 2025 TMA Distressed Investing Conference.
In just three days, the restructuring universe will ascend on Las Vegas, NV, where this enriching and connected TMA experience will launch with great fanfare, opportunities to learn, connect, network, and set the table for the economic turbulence of the year ahead. All of this begins at this year’s DIC, an experience that will capture it all.
First, we welcome TMA’s new Executive Board and Board of Trustees, including our worldwide chapter presidents, to our first joint Executive Board and Board of Trustees meeting, which will be led by TMA’s sixth woman president, Rachael Smiley.
Then, the week takes off with the greatest mix of networking and education, sprinkled with the glitter and glitz that Las Vegas always has to offer.
All three tracks of our immensely popular TMA Restructuring Bootcamp will welcome a sold-out class, led by Jacen Dinoff, CTP, and Jim Horgan, CTP, kicking off the finance and management section, followed by former TMA Global Chair Jeffrey Hampton and TMA Global VP of Marketing and Communications Sari Placona, together with Northern District GA Bankruptcy Judge Sage Sigler.
The newest program for those who have taken the first two tracks will be led by former TMA Global Chair Matthew English, CTP, along with TMA leaders Rachel Mauceri and Michael Rosow.
While networking is central to this marquee experience, this year’s education and speaker lineup will bring to the forefront some of the most cutting-edge, real-time, relevant topics that are at the forefront of the restructuring screen today.
Jack Butler, CEO of Birch Lake Holdings, Enrica Ghia, former TMA Italy and Europe President, TMA President-elect, and Senior Managing Director at J.S. Held, the Hon. Tom Horan from the District of DE, and Richard Morgner, Managing Director and Joint Head of Restructuring at Jeffries, will kick off the conference day with an opening plenary session: “Solving the Rubik’s Cube: Collaborative Best Practices for Successful Capital Sourcing.”
And that’s just the beginning. There will be discussions of deals and steals and what it means to bet on distressed assets, the high-risk, high-reward world of cannabis investing, an exchange about the lender liability landscape, and a grand finale closing plenary session on “Navigating the Ethics, Trust, and Future of AI,” featuring Daniel Brosious, CFO of Lionbridge; Anton de Leeuw, TMA UK Board Member, DIC Co-Chair, and CEO of BM&T; Robb McWilliams, Partner and Managing Director at Alix Partners; Nicole Stefanelli, Special Counsel at Lowenstein Sandler; and Ken Yager of Newpoint Advisors.
This year’s keynote will be the perfect centerpiece for a day of networking and learning, as former presidential and NYC mayoral candidate, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and founder of Humanity Forward and Venture for America, Andrew Yang takes center stage to share his perspective on our rapidly changing world and the trials and tribulations that lie ahead.
This well-rounded, one-of-a-kind experience also includes our sold-out Network of Women Luncheon, a marquee networking event that is as impactful and empowering as it is enjoyable for all.
And for networking, there is something for everyone—from bringing together first-timers and international participants to a speakeasy where ideas can be shared and exchanged about the changing dynamics and mechanics of what DE&I means and how to navigate the pressures being put on it in industry, government, and beyond. With 40 capital providers looking to spend some cash, the late-day Capital Forum Networking Reception will bring us all together, where we can engage in some wheeling and dealing with a splash of solid networking, too.
This year’s DIC brings to the forefront not only a best-in-class conference experience that year over year showcases the very best of who we are at TMA, but also reminds us of the people and power of being a TMA member—the relationships we make, the trust we build, and the personal equity we hold because of the time and effort our members put into building, participating in, and engaging with those new to this TMA big tent.
Through and through, TMA lights the way in member value, and this conference experience shows why that is so. Membership matters, and ensuring we support it, nurture it, and show its power for our professional well-being is at the root of what this next week will be about—after which the tone of 2025 will be set for the opportunities we will all pursue together as we connect and close on what it means to be part of this big tent.
As always, thanks for taking the time to listen today. And thanks again to our TMA CEO Speaks exclusive sponsor, Second Wind Consultants, for your support of TMA and this podcast.
As TMA lights the way, your input is critical, your contributions paramount, and your engagement the foundation that will create a better TMA for all of our members.
Until next time, I’m Scott Stuart. Be safe, resilient, and TMA proud. And for those who will be in Las Vegas next week for DIC, see you there.