CHICAGO, IL – The Turnaround Management Association (TMA), the premier nonprofit serving corporate renewal and restructuring professionals worldwide, is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Turnaround and Transaction of the Year Awards. TMA will honor this year’s recipients at the TMA Annual Conference, October 27–30, 2026, in Houston, Texas. You can still register to join the celebration by visiting annual.turnaround.org.
Since 1993, TMA has recognized excellence through its annual awards program, celebrating the achievements of TMA members and the professionals producing outstanding work across the broader turnaround and restructuring profession.
“These awards recognize what is possible when talented professionals bring expertise, creativity, and collaboration to complex business challenges,” says TMA Global President Brian Gleason, CTP, J.S. Held. “This year’s recipients have delivered outstanding results that demonstrate the value of our profession. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the leadership, determination, and teamwork behind them.”
“These awards represent the very best work happening across the turnaround and restructuring profession,” says TMA Global CEO Christine Melendes, CAE. “What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is that it brings together TMA members and professionals from across the industry who understand the complexity of this work and the expertise it takes to deliver these outcomes. TMA has long been the home where that expertise comes together, and we are proud to recognize the people and teams setting the standard for excellence across our profession.”
The Turnaround and Transaction of the Year Awards are selected through a rigorous peer-review process conducted by the volunteer TMA Awards Committee. Committee members perform extensive due diligence on each nominated case, evaluating all components of each submission with an emphasis on well-defined, measurable outcomes.
This year’s TMA Awards Committee was co-chaired by John D. Baumgartner, Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC. and Sharon F. Manewitz, Manewitz Associates LLC.
Submissions were reviewed and judged by the TMA Awards Committee.
The 2026 TMA Turnaround/Transaction of the Year Award Winners are:
TMA members are listed first within each award-winning team, with their names in bold.
Small Company Turnaround/Transaction— Ted’s Hot Dogs
Patrick Walsh, Cedar Croft Consulting Inc.
Shawn Greenway, Celtic Bank
David Mancuso, Withum Smith+Brown
Evan Ortolani, President of Ted’s Hot Dogs
Rose B. Sorensen, Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.
Mid-Size Company Turnaround/Transaction— Century Mining
Kirk Burkley, Bernstein Burkley
Frank Guadagnino, McGuireWoods LLP
Kathryn Harrison, Campbell & Levine, LLC
Nick Jones, JS Held
Santino Morena, JS Held
Mark Welch, JS Held
Nick Casey, Retired, Lewis, Glasser, Casey & Rollins PLLC
Paul Cordaro, Campbell & Levine, LLC
Mark Freedlander, McGuire Woods
Daniel Tobin, Houlihan Lokey
Large Company Turnaround/Transaction— IG Design Group Americas, Inc
Brett Anderson, Huron Consulting Group
Eric Chafetz, Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Jeffrey Cohen, Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Mark Franke, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Eric Kaup, Hilco Global
Yi Zhu, Foresight Restructuring LLC
Sue Buchta, IG Design Group Americas, Inc.
Josh Nahas, DundonAdvisors LLC
Oscar Pinkas, Greenberg Traurig
Joe Polancich, Huron Transaction Advisory
David Posner, Lowenstein Sandler
Jamie Rangone, IG Design Group Americas, Inc.
Caroline Reckler, Latham & Watkins LLP
Mike Santivasci,IG Design Group Americas, Inc.
Durc A. Savini, Officium Advisory LLC
Ray Schrock, Latham & Watkins LLP
Randall Weber-Levine, Latham & Watkins LLP
Mega Company Turnaround/Transaction— Claire’s
Hannah Crawford, Kirkland & Ellis
Rudy Morando, Berkeley Research Group
David Salemi, Houlihan Lokey
Josh A. Sussberg, Kirkland & Ellis
Mallika Abidi, Kirkland & Ellis
David Barse, DMB Holdings
Saul Burian, Houlihan Lokey
Bob Duffy, Berkeley Research Group
Elisha D. Graff, Simpson Thacher
Rob Jacobson, Kirkland & Ellis
Bill Kostruros, Alvarez & Marsal
Amy Lee, Alvarez & Marsal
Alexandra F. Schwarzman, Kirkland & Ellis
William Transier, Transier Advisors
Seth Van Aalten, Cole Schotz
International Company Turnaround/Transaction— Fossil Group
Jon Henness, Alvarez & Marsal
Sunny Singh, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Joe Arena, Epiq Corporate Restructuring, LLC
Daniel Lakhdhir, Evercore
Non-Profit Company Turnaround/Transaction— Cardinal Bay
David Fields, Raymond James
David Lawlor, President, Longhill Management & Consulting
Ryan Manns, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Gregory Thome, COO, Longhill Management & Consulting
Nancy George, Wilmington Trust, N.A.
Scott Kortmeyer, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Colleen Murphy, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Kevin Walsh, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
TMA 2026 Awards Committee
Co-Chair: John D. Baumgartner, Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC
Co-Chair: Sharon F. Manewitz, Manewitz Associates LLC
Federico Costa, Contract Manager
Patrick Diercks, CTP, SOLIC Capital Advisors LLC
Monique DiSabatino, Saul Ewing
Joseph M. Esmont, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Jennifer Faubion, Cairncross & Hempelmann PS
Neil Gupta, SSG Capital Advisors LLC
Matt Lupton, Implex Advisors
Mark Melickian, Raines Feldman Littrell LLP
Drew McManigle, MACCO Restructuring Group
IIya Podolyako
Bryce A. Suzuki, Snell & Wilmer LLP
About TMA
TMA is the most diverse group of professionals in the turnaround, restructuring, and corporate health space. It is the only non-profit global organization that allows members of the industry to build their personal brand and develop their professional network. Members include turnaround specialists, attorneys, accountants, lenders, advisors, liquidators, consultants, as well as academics, government employees, and members of the judiciary. Visit https://turnaround.org/ for more information.
Media Contact
Jodi Talley
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications (312) 578-2033
jtalley@turnaround.org