Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference 2019

Rick Schifter

Senior Advisor and Former Partner
TPG

Rick Schifter is a senior advisor at TPG. He was a partner at TPG from 1994 through 2013. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Schifter was a partner at the law firm of Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in bankruptcy law and corporate restructuring. He joined Arnold & Porter in 1979 and was a partner from 1986 through 1994.

Mr. Schifter currently serves on the boards of directors of LPL Financial Holdings, Inc., Caesars Entertainment Corporation, ProSight Global, Inc., the American Jewish International Relations Institute, and on the board of overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Mr. Schifter also is the co-chair of the National Advisory Board of Youth, I.N.C. (Improving Non-Profits for Children). Mr. Schifter received a B.A. with distinction from George Washington University and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Edward Sassower

Partner, Restructuring Group
Kirkland & Ellis

Edward Sassower is a partner in the Restructuring Group of Kirkland & Ellis. His practice focuses on representing debtors, creditors and distressed or special situation investors in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and acquisitions. He has extensive restructuring experience across a broad range of industries including energy, retail, transportation, real estate, and media. Edward has consistently been recognized by Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Global, The World's Leading Lawyers for Business. Most recently, interviewees described Edward as a "master strategist and brilliant technician" who "demonstrates incredible creativity" with "both a brilliant and commanding understanding of the law as well as a complete and thoughtful view of business" noting that his "ability to build consensus and to coalesce the group around important issues was stunning." Each year, Edward teaches two full-semester courses at Wharton (one course to MBA and JD students and one to undergraduate students) titled "Corporate Restructuring."

Sonia Gardner

President, Managing Partner, and Co-Founder
Avenue Capital

Sonia Gardner is President, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group, a global alternative investment manager with over $9.5 billion in assets under management focused on distressed and undervalued debt and equity in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with headquarters in New York and 10 offices across the globe. Ms. Gardner is the Partner in charge of managing the firm, and distressed investing has been the focus of her professional career over the last 32 years. Ms. Gardner also co-founded Amroc Investments, L.P., a boutique distressed brokerage firm, where she was a Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for investing the partners’ capital. She was the recipient of the 100 Women in Finance 2008 Industry Leadership Award, and also served as the organization’s Global Chair of the Board of Directors. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, and the Client Advisory Board of Citi Private Bank.

Ms. Gardner received a B.A. with Honors in Philosophy from Clark University (1983) and a J.D. from the Cardozo School of Law (1986).

Marc Lasry

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder
Avenue Capital Group

Marc Lasry is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group, a global alternative investment manager focused on distressed and undervalued debt and equity opportunities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 1995, Mr. Lasry formed Avenue with his sister, Sonia Gardner, with less than $10 million in capital from friends and family. Today, Avenue is one of the largest distressed debt investors globally, managing assets of approximately $9.7 billion, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, and five offices throughout Asia.

Mr. Lasry is known as a pioneer in distressed investing which has been the focus of his professional career for over 33 years.

After law school, Mr. Lasry clerked for Edward Ryan, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York. He spent the following year practicing law at Angel & Frankel, which focused on bankruptcies.

Mr. Lasry subsequently became the Director of the private debt department at R.D. Smith, the firm where he first became involved in “trade claims,” the market in purchasing and selling to investors the unsecured claims of vendors and other creditors against a debtor. In 1987, he moved to Cowen & Company where he was Co-Director of the bankruptcy and corporate reorganization department. It was at Cowen that he caught the attention of the Texas investor Robert Bass, who was a client of the firm. When he left Cowen, Mr. Lasry went to manage over $100 million for the Robert Bass Group, Inc., where he invested in bank debt, senior bonds, and trade claims. The Bass fund Mr. Lasry oversaw was called Amroc Investments, L.P., and, at the time, it stood as one of the largest distressed funds in the U.S. In 1990, he co-founded a boutique distressed brokerage firm, keeping the Amroc name and maintaining the affiliation with the Robert Bass Group.

Mr. Lasry is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he has served and will continue to serve on various other boards of advisors/directors of both for-profit and not-for-profit private and public companies. He is also co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team.

Mr. Lasry received a B.A. in History from Clark University (1981) and a J.D. from New York Law School (1984).

Bob Pittman

Chairman and CEO
iHeartMedia

Bob Pittman is Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc., the number one audio company in America. With over a quarter billion monthly listeners, iHeartMedia has a greater reach than any other media company in the US. The company’s leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms, including 850 live broadcast stations; its iHeartRadio digital radio service; influencers; social; branded iconic live music events; and podcasts, as the #1 commercial podcast publisher.

Pittman is the co-founder and programmer who led the team that created MTV. He has led some well-known transformations and delivered record growth as CEO of MTV Networks, AOL Networks, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises and as COO of America Online, Inc. and later AOL Time Warner.

Pittman has been inducted into both the Advertising Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame; received AdWeek’s first ‘Media Visionary’ award; was named one of Advertising Age's "50 Pioneers and Visionaries of TV" and "10 Marketers Who Changed American Culture”; and was recognized as one of Life Magazine’s “Five Original Thinkers of the 80s” as well as the eighth of Life Magazine’s “50 Most Influential Boomers.”

Pittman is the former chairman of both the New York Public Theater and the poverty-fighting organization the Robin Hood Foundation.

Steve Zelin

Partner
PJT Partners

Steve Zelin is a Partner and Head of the Restructuring and Special Situations Group in the Americas at PJT Partners, based in New York. Prior to joining PJT Partners, Mr. Zelin worked at Blackstone for 17 years as a Senior Managing Director. Previously, Mr. Zelin was with Ernst & Young, where he was a Partner in the firm’s Restructuring Group.

Since 1988, Mr. Zelin has advised on all aspects of domestic and international formal and informal restructuring transactions across multiple industries. Examples of Mr. Zelin’s public assignments include Clearwire Corporation, Cumulus Media, Energy Future Holdings, Enron Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, iHeartMedia, JCPenney, Kerzner International, LightSquared, Samson Resources, Verso Corporation, Walter Energy and Washington Mutual.

Mr. Zelin is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, an honorary association of bankruptcy judges, lawyers and restructuring specialists whose members are admitted based upon achievements in the profession. He is a frequent lecturer on restructuring related topics at New York University and serves on its Board of Overseers. In addition, he serves on the boards of Her Justice and the University at Albany School of Business. Mr. Zelin received a BS in Accounting from the University at Albany and an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business.