A Free Livestream by ABF Journal
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
12:30pm – 2:00pm EST
ABF Journal Live+ Series is a virtual event focused on issues and solutions for retailers caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Register now! Can’t make the live event? No need to worry.
We will provide recordings to everyone who registers.
Managing Editor, ABF Journal
Featured Guests:
President, Appel Associates LLC
Michael Appel is president of Appel Associates LLC, an advisory firm he founded in 1991 that provides performance improvement and turnaround consulting services to retail and consumer goods companies.
An experienced retail executive, he has had direct supervisory responsibility for every functional area within a retail operation, across hard and softlines categories and multiple channels from off price to luxury. Appel has served as interim CEO, COO and turnaround advisor for such well known retailers as Laura Ashley, rue21, Barney’s, Wilkes Bashford, Baccarat, Loehmann’s, MacKenzie Childs and Kasper/Anne Klein, for which Appel won the 2004 Turnaround Management Association Turnround of the Year Award.
Appel served as CEO and chairman of rue21, the 700-unit fast fashion retailer, from its emergence from Chapter 11 in Sept 2017 until February 2020 and led its successful turnaround with outstanding financial results in fiscal 2019.
Managing Director, Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC
Harold Bordwin is a principal and managing director of Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC, which represents tenants in negotiating lease concessions and lease terminations with landlords, brokers and auctions real estate, and provides investment banking services, namely brokering real estate bridge financing and sale-leaseback transactions, and running distressed M&A transactions.
Bordwin is responsible for all aspects of Keen’s advisory and transactional business. With more than 30 years of real estate and corporate finance experience, he develops and implements strategic real estate and corporate finance plans for his clients. Bordwin was a recipient of the 2016 Transaction of the Year Award, Mid-Size Company, by TMA Global, is a frequent speaker at conferences and is frequently quoted in leading publications. Bordwin is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
President, Cedar Croft Consulting
Patrick Walsh, CPA, CA, CTP, is the president and managing director of Cedar Croft Consulting. He has provided clients, throughout a variety of industries, with turnaround and crisis management, financial advisory, cash flow management and profit improvement services for more than 20 years. Acting as a project manager on assignments with middle market companies, his role and mission is to achieve successful turnarounds, both within and outside of bankruptcy filings. Walsh is well known for his experience and efficiency in the roles of chief restructuring officer, interim chief financial officer and responsible officer. Cedar Croft Consulting and his own client operations have been and are currently situated in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Europe.
Partner, Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Jeffrey Wurst is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP, an Am Law 200 firm with offices across the country. He has more than 30 years of experience and is well recognized for handling significant commercial finance and bankruptcy matters. He is an esteemed fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and is a panelist on the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Arbitrators. Highly regarded for his knowledge and experience in commercial finance, Wurst is an outside-the-box thinker who is skilled in handling matters involving loan workouts, asset-based lending, factoring, syndications, leasing and C&I, as well as bankruptcy matters and turnaround situations stemming from transactions. He has been involved in numerous retail workouts both in and out of bankruptcy court. He is an established writer and contributor to ABF Journal. He also authors a commercial finance blog, Wurst Case Scenario, and is a frequent lecturer.