Jim Bannantine
Chairman
410-365-5570
jimb@algongroup.com
- Jim Bannantine is a multi-industry CEO/President with success in start-up, growth, merger and turnaround situations, in public and private companies.
- Most recently he was President and CEO, Aura Minerals, Inc., a publicly traded (TSX symbol ORA) Canadian copper and gold mining company, with $200 million revenue and 2,000 employees in Canada, Brazil and Mexico. Over five years he led restructuring to significantly reduce costs, both operating costs (25% reduction) and G&A costs (50% reduction), while maintaining or increasing production. This was critical in an environment of generally declining commodity prices and lack of financing. During this time the company paid off approximately $40 million of debt, and managed projects to replace production from two expiring mines with a new mine in Brazil.
- Mr. Bannantine previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadwing Corporation (NASDAQ symbol BWNG): an $880 million revenue, 1,700 person telecom rollup, turnaround and sale.
- He also co-founded and served as Managing Partner, Atlantic Capital Group, a $40 million private equity firm located in Baltimore (www.atcapgroup.com).
- Mr. Bannantine held several positions over multiple years at Enron, culminating as CEO of Enron South America: a $1.5 billion revenue, 4,500 person roll up of energy assets into a company in both regulated electric and gas utilities and unregulated power and pipeline energy services, infrastructure development and financing.
- Mr. Bannantine holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with Distinction. He has a Bachelor of Science, mechanical engineering concentration, from West Point where he graduated in the top 1% of his class. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and served 12 years in the US Army Corps of Engineers, including 3 years as Assistant Professor of Finance at West Point.
Troy T. Taylor
President
(404) 423-8086
troy@algongroup.com
- Troy T. Taylor is the Founder and President of Algon Group. Mr. Taylor has 25 years of experience that combines investment banking, restructuring (both in Chapter 11 and out-of-court), and senior management. He has served as the Lead Financial Advisor, Chief Restructuring Officer or Chief Executive Officer in a broad range of industries including real estate/hospitality, energy, manufacturing, and distribution. He recently completed his tenure as Vice Chairman of Hyperion Bank in Philadelphia, PA, and currently serves as an Independent Director of The Dress Barn, Inc. He is also a founding investor and the Chairman of the Audit Committee for Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp.
- Mr. Taylor has completed various real estate restructurings/sales for high-profile clients including The Related Group, Four Season Peninsula Papagayo Resort, One Bal Harbour Resort, BlueGreen, The Altman Companies, and Reynolds Plantation.
- Mr. Taylor has a strong track record of creating value for clients through aggressive negotiating, sophisticated structuring, and creative conflict resolution. In addition, he has substantial experience in managing complex litigation, as well as providing expert witness testimony and litigation support. Mr. Taylor’s clients have included high profile Chairmen of publicly-traded companies as well as high net worth individuals and families.
- Mr. Taylor was formerly President of GMA Partners, Inc., an investment firm backed by a Forbes 400 family office. In that capacity, he assumed the position of Chairman of 1-800-Auto-Tow, Inc., a publicly-traded “roll up” that experienced substantial financial and operational challenges and ultimately filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.
- His experience also includes serving as Managing Director of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, where he was responsible for the firm’s corporate finance activities in the Southeastern United States and parts of Latin America.
- Earlier in Mr. Taylor’s career he held investment banking positions with Oppenheimer & Co., Morgan Keegan & Co., and Thomson McKinnon Securities, Inc.
- He is a Sustaining Member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), and has been a speaker at ABI, real estate, legal and banking-related events.
- Mr. Taylor earned an MBA degree and BS degree cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
- Robert Fishman, Vice Chairman of Algon Group, has over 40 years of experience as a nationally recognized bankruptcy and insolvency attorney. He is a former president and chairman of the American Bankruptcy Institute, where he received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Mr. Fishman was elected to the American College of Bankruptcy in 1998.
- Most recently Mr. Fishman was a member at Cozen O’Connor and a partner at Fox Rothschild, where he was co-chair of the insolvency practice. Prior to that he was the long-time managing partner and chairman of the insolvency practice at Shaw, Fishman, Glantz and Towbin.
- Mr. Fishman is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and served as both its President and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Fishman received the ABI Lifetime Achievement award in 2018. He was elected to the American College of Bankruptcy in 1998 and served as the Seventh Circuit Regent and a member of the Board of Directors of the College.
- Mr. Fishman has represented all parties in insolvency/bankruptcy settings, including debtors in possession, trustees, secured creditors, Creditors’ Committees and disinterested directors. He worked in numerous industries, and some of his major cases have included Toys-R-Us, Nordic Aviation Capital, Deans Foods, Telesphere, Inc., Ingersoll International, Adventist Living Centers, Inc., and AR Accessories Group, Inc. Additionally, Mr. Fishman was the Fee Examiner in the City of Detroit, Michigan Chapter 9 case and has served as a fee examiner in multiple other cases.
- Mr. Fishman served as Chairman of the ABI Mediation Committee from 2011-2015 and has acted as the mediator in numerous bankruptcy/insolvency cases across the United States.
- Mr. Fishman graduated from the University of Illinois in 1976 with a B.A. in political science. He received his J.D. degree from the George Washington University School of Law in 1979.
- Mr. Fishman is a member of the bar of the States of Illinois and New York.
- Luis Liberman served as Vice President of Costa Rica from 2010 until May 2014. Prior to his term in office he was a senior level banker for more than 30 years.
- Mr. Liberman founded and was the CEO of Corporacion Interfin, a bank holding company whose principal business included commercial banking, a leasing company, and securities brokerage with activities throughout Central America and the Caribbean.
- After Interfin was acquired by the Bank of Nova Scotia in 2006 for $330 million, Mr. Liberman remained as CEO until 2009. Prior to founding Interfin he worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, focused on project financing.
- Mr. Liberman has substantial experience providing high level financial advice in a variety of sectors that involved debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, project finance and troubled or distressed loans. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of La Nacion (media), Plasticos para la Construcion (manufacturing), Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (utilities), Compania Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (utilities), and Private Investment Corporation (finance).
- Mr. Liberman has served as Chairman of both the Costa Rican Bankers Association and the Costa Rican Securities Exchange. In addition he has been active as a member of the Chamber of Industries.
- Mr. Liberman holds a BS in Economics from UCLA and a MS and PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois and was a Professor of Economics at the University of Costa Rica for over 25 years.
D. Clarke Ogle
Senior Managing Director
(205) 995-2357
clark@algongroup.com
- Mr. Ogle has been President and/or Chief Executive Officer of nine companies over the past 20 years ranging in revenue from $30 million to in excess of $3 billion, mostly on an interim basis.
- These assignments involved distressed situations that required substantial operational and/or financial restructuring both in and out of bankruptcy.
- Mr. Ogle has been personally recruited for these positions by some of the country’s most sophisticated and well known institutional investors including Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Citicorp Venture Capital, and affiliates of Lazard.
- Mr. Ogle attended Gadsden Junior College and Marshall University. He is currently a Board member at Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp. (NYSE: WPSC).
Ed Weisfelner
Senior Managing Director
(917) 846-2803
ed@algongroup.com
- One of the country’s preeminent bankruptcy attorneys for over 30 years, Ed was the Global Chair of the Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring Department at Brown Rudnick LLP.
- Ed’s practice focused on representing official and ad hoc creditors’ and equity committees, individual creditors and shareholders in both in/out of court matters domestically and internationally. He has managed complex financial and legal strategies with a comprehensive understanding of bankruptcy law, aggressive litigation skills and creative negotiation strategies.
- He has served as a court-appointed litigation trustee, mediator and examiner and was a frequent author and lecturer in the areas of bankruptcy and corporate restructuring.
- Mr. Weisfelner had a leading role in numerous high profile cases, including The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, General Motors, American Airlines, Pacific Exploration & Production Corporation, Energy Future Holdings, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, Global Crossing, Marvel Entertainment, Trump Taj Mahal, MCI World Comm, Ultra Petroleum, Mirant Corp., and Neiman Marcus Group.
- Over his career, Mr. Weisfelner has received recognition from Who’s Who Legal, Best lawyers in America, The Legal 500, Euromoney’s Expert Guide, Chambers Global, Turnarounds and Workouts, and Super Lawyers.
Paul F. Rubin
Managing Director
(215) 570-8716
prubin@algongroup.com
- Mr. Rubin was formerly a Director for Century Business Services (CBIZ) and was active in the Corporate Recovery and Outsourced Financial Services Practice areas. Prior to CBIZ, he was a partner and CFO of Zelenkofske Axelrod & Company, LTD.
- Early in his career, Mr. Rubin was associated with Touche Ross & Co. and Strouse Greenburg & Co., a Philadelphia based real estate developer. He has over 20 years of senior level finance and accounting experience including serving as a full-time CFO for manufacturing, service and distribution companies.
- Mr. Rubin holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1984) and a BBA in Accounting (magna cum laude) from Temple University (1977) and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Pennsylvania. Mr. Rubin is also member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors.
Stephen Douglass
Managing Director
(202) 505-1784
stephen@algongroup.com
- Mr. Douglass ensures businesses are equipped with the operational capabilities and mettle necessary to endure amid distress, drastic change, and high-stakes transformation.
- As founder and Managing Director of Scramble Systems LLC, he led operational interventions and reorganizations for clients across industries and verticals, including global financial services ($1T+ AUM), CPG ($3B+ revenue), technology, and Saas ($1B+ revenue), and middle-market ($10-150MM revenue) companies in transportation, defense, non-profit/associations, manufacturing, education, fintech, and medical/health/wellness.
- In 2018, the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors – facing dozens of lawsuits and a $380+MM contingent liability – engaged Stephen to develop and execute a 60-day cross-functional stabilization plan as it entered into Chapter 11. Key engagements include Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) and Board Observer of a PE-backed Transportation & Logistics Carrier; Head of Operations/Finance for a distressed SBIR-funded defense technology platform; Operating Partner of a manufacturing and metal fabrication firm; and COO of a CPG/food innovation lab. Previously, Stephen worked in M&A investment banking at BB&T (now Truist), completing 7 deals in technology and telecom sectors, and supported operations for 5 portfolio companies at Blackstreet Capital, a $200 million distressed PE fund.
- Stephen competed as a D1 athlete and served as head coach of MIT Gymnastics. Thousands of students have enrolled in his new venture development & innovation programs at Harvard, Northwestern, NYU, Tufts, IDE (Ecuador), and other institutions since 2012. He has a BA in Economics from William & Mary, an MBA from Babson College, and is based in Atlanta, GA.