Featured Keynote
From Distress to Disney: The Turnaround Story Behind Marvel’s Comeback
Before superheroes ruled the box office, Marvel was a distressed business fighting for its future. Cuneo helped lead the company through a remarkable post-bankruptcy transformation and into one of the most celebrated exits in entertainment history.
Keynote sponsored by White Oak Commercial Finance
TMA Annual at a Glance
When: October 27–30, 2026
Where: Marriott Marquis Houston
Keynote: Peter Cuneo, former CEO of Marvel Entertainment
One of the greatest turnaround CEOs in America
Business Insider
Leadership under pressure
The Turnaround CEO Who Helped Bring Marvel Back From the Brink
At the TMA Annual Conference, Peter Cuneo will bring battle-tested perspective to the people who understand high-stakes transformation best — you and your peers.
Known as one of America’s standout turnaround CEOs, Cuneo has built a career restaging distressed branded businesses across consumer products, media, and entertainment. His most legendary chapter came at Marvel Entertainment, where he helped lead the company after bankruptcy and position it for extraordinary growth, culminating in its $4.5 billion sale to Disney.
For the TMA community, this is not a celebrity keynote. It is a case study in courage, discipline, stakeholder leadership, and value creation under pressure.
REGISTER FOR THE TMA ANNUALEvery turnaround has a defining moment.
Liquidity is tight.
Confidence is fragile.
The path forward is anything but obvious.
Peter Cuneo has been in that room.
A war story with a boardroom playbook
Cuneo’s story is proof that even the most challenged companies can become extraordinary again when leaders make the hard calls, rally the right people, and believe there is still a future worth fighting for.
At TMA Annual, get ready for a keynote that is equal parts boardroom playbook, turnaround war story, and leadership wake-up call.
Special attendee offer
Attendees Will Receive a Special Discount on Cuneo’s Book
Drawing on more than four decades in the C-suite, including seven corporate turnarounds and a decade leading Marvel Entertainment from near-bankruptcy to its $4.5 billion sale to Disney, Peter Cuneo distills the 28 essentials that separate good managers from extraordinary leaders.
This is not a theory book. Each chapter pairs a hard-won principle with the real moments that forged it — from the bridge of a Navy destroyer off the coast of Vietnam to boardrooms at Clairol, Black and Decker, Remington, and Marvel.
The cape is optional. The lessons are essential.
Attendees will find practical lessons on building culture, driving change, managing crisis, and leading people with honesty and purpose.
Why this keynote belongs at TMA Annual
The Marvel story from the inside
Hear what it took to help move Marvel from post-bankruptcy uncertainty to one of the most powerful entertainment brands in the world.
Leadership under pressure
For restructuring professionals, the real story is how leaders make decisions when time is short, trust is strained, and the future of the enterprise is on the line.
Built for the TMA crowd
Cuneo’s experience speaks directly to the work TMA members do every day: preserving value, rebuilding confidence, and creating a path forward when the odds are long.
What You’ll Take Away
Walk away with a sharper understanding of how great turnaround leaders:
Rebuild stakeholder confidence when belief is running low
Protect and unlock enterprise value in distressed environments
Make decisive moves without losing sight of culture and values
Balance financial discipline with bold strategic imagination
Lead teams through uncertainty, resistance, and reinvention
Because behind every distressed business is a story still being written.
Get a Sneak Peek
Check out Cuneo’s Superhero Leadership Podcast before joining him at TMA Annual.
More About Peter Cuneo
Peter Cuneo is the former President and CEO of Marvel Entertainment and a nationally recognized leader in strategic and financial turnarounds. Over his career, he has completed seven turnarounds of distressed branded businesses, including work connected to Clairol, Black & Decker, Remington, and Marvel Entertainment. At Marvel, Cuneo played a lead role in the company’s post-bankruptcy turnaround, helping position the business for growth and its eventual $4.5 billion sale to Disney.
Join us in Houston for the keynote built for turnaround leaders.
This is the kind of keynote that reminds you why turnaround work matters.