Restructuring Institute Advisory Board

John J. Ray III, J.D. CEO | FTX Trading Ltd.

John J. Ray III is the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. He has extensive experience handling the aftermath of high-profile corporate failures, but he is best known for his tenure as Enron’s chairman and CEO after its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, during which he recouped more than $25 billion for creditors. With a legal career spanning more than four decades, his reputation as a restructuring expert in high-profile bankruptcy cases earned him the title of “the turnaround titan.” Ray’s career in corporate bankruptcies followed many years in private and corporate legal practice. In 1998, while serving as general counsel and chief administrative officer of Fruit of the Loom, he successfully led the company through insolvency proceedings that resulted in the sale of the business to Berkshire Hathaway. He later founded his own firm, now known as Owl Hill Advisory LLC, which specializes in large corporate bankruptcies. He has led proceedings for many corporations, including Nortel Networks, Overseas Shipholding Group, and Residential Capital. Ray earned his J.D. from Drake University Law School.

Michael R. Nestor, J.D. Vice Chair and Partner | Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP

Mike Nestor is vice-chair of the firm and a partner in Young Conaway’s Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Group as well as co-head of the firm’s Portfolio Company Management Group. Drawing upon his 30 years of restructuring experience, Nestor advises companies in distress, special committees, boards of directors and myriad stakeholders regarding governance and management issues to develop strategies that provide both maximum value and deal certainty. His experience includes the representation of more than 100 companies in distress, including more than 60 matters as lead counsel. In 2025, Nestor was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. In addition to his “billable” work, he is committed to making a difference in the lives of those in need. Nestor currently serves on the boards of Wine to Water, an international nonprofit committed to supporting dignity for all through the power of clean water, and Action for Delaware’s Children. He earned his J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School.

Steve Coverick Managing Director | Alvarez & Marshal Restructuring & Turnaround

Steve Coverick is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal's North American Corporate Restructuring practice in Dallas. With a background in financial and operational restructuring, he is an experienced advisor to companies and creditors in distressed situations and transactions, including in- and out-of-court restructurings, operational turnarounds, asset sales and debt refinancing. Coverick has worked with public and private companies across a range of industries, including cryptocurrency; energy; technology, media and telecommunications (TMT); logistics; and healthcare. He currently serves as financial advisor to the FTX Recovery Trust (and previously FTX Trading Ltd during its chapter 11 proceedings), where he leads a team of professionals focused on providing recovery to the victims of what the U.S. Department of Justice called "one of the largest financial frauds in history." His team's work on FTX was awarded the Turnaround Management Association's (TMA) 2025 Mega Company Turnaround of the Year and the American Bankruptcy Institute's 2025 International Matter of the Year. Recent notable clients include Seadrill Limited, iHeart Media (TMA 2020 Mega Company Transaction of the Year), White Star Petroleum, Templar Energy and Expro. He has also advised numerous confidential clients in successful out-of-court restructurings. Prior to joining A&M, he was a Manager in Ernst & Young's Transaction Advisory Services practice in Chicago. He is a CFA® charter holder and is recognized by TMA as a Certified Turnaround Professional.

Daniel J. DeFranceschi, J.D. Director | Richards Layton & Finger

Dan DeFranceschi is a manager with Richards Layton & Finger. Praised as the “go-to for complex restructuring matters” by Chambers USA (2024), he has represented numerous chapter 11 debtors as well as creditors, equity participants and purchasers in some of the largest chapter 11 and chapter 7 cases in the country. His experience encompasses many business segments, including retail, energy, manufacturing, automotive, casino, entertainment, amusement parks, real estate development, subprime mortgage lending, telecommunications, high tech, natural resources, food products, flexible office solutions, airlines and health care, among others. In addition to his core chapter 11 practice, DeFranceschi has spent considerable time working on bankruptcy policy and legislative initiatives. He has represented numerous high-profile clients, including Boscov’s, Claire’s Stores, FTD Companies, ExGen Texas Power, Harry & David Holdings, Nextel International, Perkins & Marie Callender’s, and Six Flags. DeFranceschi is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He earned his J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School.

Judge Joseph J. Farnon Jr. Founder & Principal | Farnan LLP

Judge Farnan is the current chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wilmington University and a founder and principal of Farnan LLP. His current practice focuses on complex commercial matters, including chapter 11 proceedings, securities litigation, antitrust litigation and patent litigation. He is often selected to serve as an independent director or a trustee of businesses such as FTX.com, Central European Distribution Corp. (Russian Standard Vodka), Takata, Maxus Energy and Zohar Funds. Judge Farnan also serves as an arbitrator and mediator in complex matters, which have included the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Nortel Bankruptcy distribution dispute. In the Dodgers’ matter, he was first appointed to mediate issues and then was chosen by the parties to conduct a sale of the team and arbitrate any disputes that might arise between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball, which resulted in the Dodgers being sold for over $2 billion, the largest sum paid at that time for a professional sports franchise in North America. In the Nortel matter, he served as the mediator for the Nortel cross-border bankruptcy, which ultimately concluded with an agreement for the allocation of over $7 billion.

Judge Farnan served as a United States district judge for the District of Delaware from 1985 to 2010 and served as chief judge from 1997 to 2001. During his tenure, he presided over hundreds of bench and jury trials involving patents and complex commercial disputes. Judge Farnan earned his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law.

Michael J. Farnan, J.D. Partner | Farnan LLP

Michael Farnan regularly appears in Delaware's federal and state courts. He represents debtors, committees, trusts, lenders and claimants before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Farnan has been part of teams responsible for recovering billions of dollars on behalf of their clients, and he has tried jury and bench trials in Delaware's federal and state courts. He has been recognized as a "Super Lawyer," a "Top Lawyer" by Delaware Today magazine, and "Up and Coming" by Chambers and Partners. Farnan earned his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law, where he was a member and note and comment editor of the University of Toledo Law Review.

Judge Craig T. Goldblatt United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

Judge Goldblatt was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court bench in 2021. Before his appointment, he was a bankruptcy litigator in the Washington, D.C. office of WilmerHale, where his practice primarily involved the representation of financial institutions and other commercial creditors in complex bankruptcy litigation and appeals. Earlier in his career, Judge Goldblatt served as a law clerk to Hon. Richard D. Cudahy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Hon. David H. Souter of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Goldblatt is a conferee in the National Bankruptcy Conference and is a vice president of the American College of Bankruptcy. He has also been active in the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section. He has served on the Education Committee of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and as an adjunct professor (teaching classes focused on bankruptcy law) at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University Law School. In addition, he has helped coach teams of law students in the Duberstein moot court competition for the past seven years. Judge Goldblatt earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as comment editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.

Anthony Grossi, J.D. Partner | Sidley Austin LLP

Anthony Grossi is a partner of the Restructuring group at Sidley Austin LLP. He advises companies and stakeholders in all aspects of distressed and special situations, including through complex liability management transactions, out-of-court restructurings, and in-court chapter 11 and chapter 15 processes. Grossi’s experience includes top-tier large, complex and multinational restructurings, including Jervois Global Limited, CareMax, Inc., Reverse Mortgage Investment Trust Inc., Intelsat S.A., as well as the offshore debt restructuring of Modern Land (China) Co., Limited. Prior to joining Sidley, he served as the bankruptcy counsel to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, and he was a partner at another global law firm in New York and Washington, D.C. Grossi earned his J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Brian S. Hermann, J.D. Partner | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Brian Hermann is co-chair of the Restructuring Department and a member of firm management at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where his practice focuses on a range of restructuring and bankruptcy matters. He has extensive experience representing both borrower and lender clients in complex out-of-court restructurings and chapter 11 cases nationwide and across various industries. A member of the Media, Sports and Entertainment Group, Hermann has also developed a sub-specialty working on music, media, and entertainment company restructurings and related matters. Some of his recent company experience includes advising Diamond Sports Group, Salem Harbor Power Development LP, The Collected Group, Pioneer Energy Services Corp, and Expro Holdings, among others. Hermann also represented the California Public Utilities Commission in the chapter 11 cases of PG&E Corporation. His noteworthy creditor-side representations include advising key stakeholders in the restructurings of Avaya, TOMS Shoes, Country Fresh, and Service King. Hermann is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and serves on the Practicing Law Institute’s Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights Advisory Committee. He is an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School and frequently writes on bankruptcy issues. Hermann earned his law degree from UCLA School of Law.

Michael Katzenstein Senior Managing Director | FTI Consulting

Michael Katzenstein is leader of the Interim Management Practice for FTI Consulting. He specializes in in-court and out-of-court restructurings and has led engagements for public and private companies across many industries including traditional and new media, entertainment, technology, ad-tech, ed-tech, biotech, biosynthesis, software and hardware, aerospace and defense, telecom and other subscriber-based businesses, and investment funds and international fund liquidations. Katzenstein began his career as a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and securities lawyer, and he was a partner in a New York law firm. He has decades of M&A and cross-border restructuring experience and is regularly called upon to lead and assist in implementing strategy for companies in financial or operating distress or transition. Katzenstein has led capital-raising and M&A efforts for dozens of companies. His clients include large and upper middle market corporations, major financial institutions and hedge funds. He has served on many occasions as a consulting or testifying witness on industry and corporate governance issues, and he has significant testimony experience, including in his capacity as CRO or financial advisor in restructuring proceedings. Katzenstein is a Certified Turnaround Professional. He earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Michael Kennedy Partner | Chilmark Partners LLC

Michael Kennedy is a partner at Chilmark Partners LLC and specializes in distressed and restructuring advisory services. He has more than 25 years of restructuring, financial advisory and principal investing experience. Kennedy has led engagements for public and private companies across a variety of industries and subsectors including building supplies, business services, energy, healthcare, industrials, logistics, media, retail, telecommunications and transportation. His representations include both company and creditor mandates that encompass all aspects of the restructuring process. He has served as an investment banker or financial advisor in restructuring mandates that include Zymergen, In-Shape Health Clubs, Kabbage, Acosta, Innovative Mattress Solutions, Steel City Media, USG, JHT Holdings, Idearc and Nortel. He also participated in the sourcing, acquisition, oversight and divestiture of Chilmark’s private equity portfolio companies. Kennedy served as Interim CFO of The Wellbridge Company and provided other supplemental management services including refinancing, M&A analysis and business plan review. He began his career as a senior consultant in the Transaction Advisory Group of a major international public accounting firm where he led financial due diligence on numerous acquisitions and assisted with operations, synergy and valuation analysis.

Alexa J. Kranzley, J.D. Partner | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Alexa Kranzley is a partner in the restructuring group at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. She represents companies and creditors in chapter 11 proceedings and out-of-court corporate and financial restructurings, including, most recently, as debtor’s counsel in the pending chapter 11 proceedings for FTX and as debtor’s counsel in Kidde-Fenwal’s pending chapter 11 proceedings. Kranzley also has experience handling adversary proceedings, contested matters and both debtor and creditor representations in bankruptcy proceedings, including, most recently, representing Major League Baseball and several clubs in connection with the Diamond Sports Group chapter 11 proceedings. She has been recognized by Chambers USA for her work in bankruptcy and restructuring and by The Best Lawyers in America for her work in bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law. She was also recognized as a 2022 “Rising Star” in bankruptcy by Law360 and named a 2021 “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts. She was named to the 2018 class of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 40 Under 40 Program and was nominated and inducted in 2017 into the International Insolvency Institute’s NextGen Leadership Program. She earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Ed Mosley Managing Director | Alvarez & Marsal Restructuring & Turnaround

Ed Mosley has a background in financial restructuring, operational restructuring, interim management, investment banking and finance, and operational experience. He focuses on valuation, financial modeling, due diligence, bankruptcy, finance and creditor negotiation. Mosely is an experienced advisor to creditors and companies in distressed and bankruptcy situations. He holds more than 20 years of experience and has worked with both private and public companies across various industries including automotive, direct sales, health care, industrial construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, retail, telecommunications and transportation. Moseley’s notable assignments include serving as Chief Restructuring Officer to Exide Technologies, a $3 billion global battery manufacturer through its most recent chapter 11 bankruptcy. His financial advisory assignments include Seadrill Limited, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Magnum Hunter Resources, Southcross Energy and Chesapeake Corporation, among many others. Mosley has been recognized as a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor by the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA), and he serves on AIRA’s Board.

Jeffrey D. Pawlitz, J.D. Partner | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Jeff Pawlitz is a partner in the Restructuring Department and chair of the Creditor and Lender Rights practice for Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. He advises sophisticated investors in distressed and opportunistic financing transactions and complex restructuring matters, including multi-jurisdictional and cross-border matters spanning numerous industries. Pawlitz also has significant experience serving as lead counsel to companies in chapter 11 and out-of-court restructuring transactions. He is recognized for his ability to identify and execute creative solutions in complex distressed situations. Clients have noted that he is “a deal-oriented strategic thinker and a consensus builder” and that he “offers a broad perspective and creative solutions.” Chambers USA (2024) ranks Pawlitz among the leading practitioners in the area of Bankruptcy/Restructuring (New York). He earned his law degree from Washington University.

Caroline A. Reckler, J.D. Partner | Latham & Watkins, LLP

Caroline Reckler is a nationally recognized bankruptcy lawyer who advises debtors around the world on all aspects of restructuring and special situations. She helps distressed companies manage difficult circumstances with creative solutions based on a sophisticated sense of market practice. Recker regularly advises public and private companies in financial distress and purchasers of distressed companies. Specifically, she helps clients navigate chapter 11 proceedings; prepackaged, prearranged and involuntary bankruptcies; debtor-in-possession financings; and cross-border bankruptcies. She is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and is regularly recognized in leading legal publications including Chambers USA and The Legal 500. Clients commend her “unique” and “deep-thinking” approach, describing her as a “strong advocate in the face of difficult opposing counsel.” A recognized leader of her firm, Recker has also served as global chair for the firm’s Women Enriching Business initiative, chair of the Chicago office’s Finance Department, and as the firm’s Chicago office recruiting partner. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Sunny Singh, J.D. Partner | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Sunny Singh is a partner and co-chair of the Restructuring Department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. In this role he leads all aspects of highly complex domestic and international restructuring matters. This includes advising debtors, creditors, boards of directors, sponsors, investors and other parties on some of the world’s most significant chapter 11 cases, prepackaged bankruptcies, out-of-court restructurings and liability management transactions. Singh has represented several high-profile clients, including Sears, J.Crew, Tops Supermarkets, Basic Energy Services, Ditech Holding Corporation, Southeastern Grocers and an ad hoc group of RigCo lenders in the chapter 11 cases of Seadrill Limited, among others. Lauded by clients in Chambers USA for his ability to tackle “the most complicated situations with calm and steady advice,” Singh routinely advises on matters spanning a wide range of industries, such as energy, technology, retail, infrastructure, telecommunications, real estate and financial services. In addition, he has been recognized as a “Notable Practitioner” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 and as a “Rising Star” by several organizations and publications, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides, Law360 and Turnarounds & Workouts. Singh earned his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law.