AIRA Breakfast Program
Presents
Tuesday, October 30
7:30 - 8:45 am
Marriott Rivercenter, Salon G
AIRA Breakfast and Program
Corporate Governance Issues
This panel will address recent issues concerning independent directors, chief restructuring officers, Chapter 11 trustees, creditor trusts and other related topics.
Panelist Bios
Steve Darr - Huron
Mr. Darr has more than 30 years of experience providing accounting, auditing and financial consulting services to business organizations, many of which are experiencing significant financial and operating difficulties. Mr. Darr has led advisory engagements involving several significant reorganization cases, has served in a variety of fiduciary capacities, including Creditors’ Trustee, Liquidating Trustee, Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors and Chapter 11 Trustee.
In addition, Mr. Darr was formerly a Chapter 7 Trustee for the District Of New Hampshire. Mr. Darr’s experience includes identification and pursuit of potential causes of action, including tortious interference claims, claims against directors and officers, fraudulent conveyance, preferential payments, solvency, indubitable equivalency and other related matters.
William Harrington - United States Trustee for Region 1 and Region 2
William K. Harrington was appointed as the United States Trustee for Region 1 on November 8, 2010 and as the United States Trustee for Region 2 on November 26, 2013. Prior to his appointment as the United States Trustee for Region 1, Mr. Harrington was the Assistant United States Trustee for the District of Delaware. Prior to joining the Office of the United States Trustee, he practiced bankruptcy and reorganization law at Duane Morris LLP. Mr. Harrington is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the Delaware State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Delaware Bankruptcy American Inn of Court. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law.
S. Gregory Hays - Hays Financial Consulting, LLC
Mr. Hays is a court appointed fiduciary and forensic accountant that specializes in recovering funds from insolvent companies and investment offerings. He is routinely appointed by federal and state courts as a receiver or bankruptcy trustee to manage businesses in order to maximize recovery for creditors. He has been appointed as a fiduciary by courts in seven states.
Mr. Hays is a recognized expert in Ponzi schemes and receiverships and has been quoted in many articles in national publications. The TV show American Greed featured a story on the Al Parish Ponzi scheme where he served as receiver. Other cases in which he has served as a fiduciary have been the subject of TV broadcasts including CNN's Anderson Cooper, CBS Evening News, and local news programs.
He has spoken on bankruptcy, receiver and fraud issues at conferences sponsored by the ABI, ACFE, AIRA, IAAR, INSOL, NABT, NACM, NAFER, NCBJ, TMA and other professional organizations.
Mr. Hays has thirty-five years of financial experience including twenty-five years managing bankruptcy and receivership cases and investigating fraudulent activity. He manages a firm of corporate financial consultants that specializes in turnarounds, workouts, asset recovery, forensic accounting, litigation support, and interim management. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional (“CTP”) and a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (“CIRA”) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors. He also serves as the President of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (“NAFER”).
Hugh Sawyer - Regis Corporation
Professional Experience
Since April 2017, Mr. Sawyer has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Regis Corporation, a publicly traded corporation that owns, franchises and operates beauty salons worldwide. Mr. Sawyer previously served as a managing director at Huron Consulting Group, beginning in January 2010, and led the Operational Improvement Service Line for Huron's Business Advisory Practice. He has more than 35 years of experience leading operational improvements, turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions and strategic transformations for both public and private companies across a diverse group of industries. While at Huron, he served as Interim President and CEO of JHT Holdings, Inc., a provider of specialized transportation and logistics services, from January 2010 to March 2012; as the Chief Administrative Officer of Fisker Automotive Inc. (now known as Fisker Inc.), a manufacturer of hybrid electric vehicles, from January 2013 to March 2013; as Chief Restructuring Officer of Fisker Automotive from March 2013 to October 2013; and as Interim President of Euramax International, Inc., a global manufacturer of building products, from February 2014 to August 2015. Including Regis, he has served as the president or chief executive officer of nine companies, including Wells Fargo Armored Service Corporation, The Cunningham Group, Inc., National Linen Service, Inc., Aegis Communications Group, Inc., Allied Holdings, Inc., and Legendary Holdings, Inc.
Board Service
Mr. Sawyer serves on the board of Huron Consulting Group, Inc. and has served on the boards of numerous other companies, including Regis Corporation, JHT Holdings, Inc., Energy Future Competitive Holdings Company LLC and Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Company LLC from 2013 to October 2016, and Edison Mission Energy from July 2012 to April 2014, and thereafter on the Board of Managing Trustees of the EME Reorganization Trust until December 2016.
Individual Contributions
Mr. Sawyer has a history of providing transformational leadership and support to companies in a broad range of industries, including consumer car rental, consumer retail, utilities, building materials, healthcare, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, security and guard services, graphic arts and printing, industrial laundry, CRM solutions and telecommunications, automotive OEM, automotive supply, commercial nursery operations, marine retail, real estate development, resort and hotel operations. Mr. Sawyer also has extensive governance background as a board member in businesses with sophisticated constituents facing complex circumstances, and will be able to bring this experience with him to the board.
Tickets for the AIRA Breakfast are available for purchase as part of the NCBJ registration process.