From Our President
Harold Israel, Kaye Scholer LLP

A Time to Lead

It is hard to believe that it is time to start the process of selecting our leaders for 2013. The process is relatively straight forward. Around August 15, all Chicago/Midwest TMA members will receive an email containing nominating forms and a description of the officer, director and committee chair positions. Simply complete the form, nominating yourself or another TMA member, and return the form to Chris Glatz on or before September 7. Shortly after this deadline, the 2012 nominating committee, consisting of myself, Kevin Krakora (2012 President-elect), and at-large members Gordon Gouveia, Jeff Kolke, and Joel Schneider, will meet and select a recommended slate. The slate will be presented to the Board at the October Board of Directors meeting and, upon approval, ballots will be distributed to the membership, who will then have at least 10 days to vote.

Why volunteer to be a leader? To develop business relationships, expand your referral network and give back to your profession. When selecting our co-chairs, one factor we try to take into account is to match people with different backgrounds to allow, for example, attorneys and lenders to work together as co-chairs. Even if that does not work out, you may have the opportunity to work with those in your profession outside of a client representation, resulting in a relationship that may benefit a client in a future transaction or case. Regardless, our co-chairs have found the experience beneficial and rewarding.

Our officers, directors and steering committee co-chairs meet on the second Friday of every other month. This year’s leaders consist of  the following professionals: financial advisors (11), lenders (10), consultants (11), attorneys (16), private equity (4) and liquidators (2). As I hope is clear, serving in a leadership position in the Chicago/Midwest Chapter exposes you to a cross section of the turnaround community, allowing you to expand your business referral network.

Lastly, serving as a TMA leader allows you to give back to your profession and the community at large. As a TMA leader you can help benefit our community at large through the Pro Bono and Entertainment committees (through the golf outing, which benefits the TMA Scholarship Foundation); educate our community through the Breakfast, Continuing Education, CTP, Special Programs, and University Relations Committees; help connect our community through the Communications, Future Leaders, Entertainment, Membership, Public Relations, and Women’s Group Committees; and recognize your peers by serving on the Awards Committee. The Milwaukee Committee allows you to do all of the above and the Sponsorship Committee raises the funds that allows our chapter to put on all of its great programs and events.

Whatever your reason, please complete the nomination form and serve as a TMA Chicago/Midwest Chapter leader.

Premier Events

We look forward to your participation at two of our highest profile events. I encourage each of you to register for the 2012 Mid America Regional Conference to be held on September 13-14 at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile. The MARC planning committee, led by Kevin Krakora, has put together a fantastic event featuring keynote speakers David B. Rusate, managing director of Foreign Exchange and Commodity Risk Management at GE Capital and treasurer at GE Energy, and Richard M. Daley, former mayor of Chicago, as well as five outstanding panels featuring industry leaders from throughout the Midwest. Please register today and join your TMA colleagues from Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio for this great conference.

On November 28, the Executive Speaker Forum returns to the Chicago Hilton and Towers and will feature former United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson. We anticipate that Paulson will address the events surrounding the financial crisis of 2008, including the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy as well as recent events that may impact the global financial markets, especially the China market. Paulson will be interviewed by Fortune magazine senior editor Geoff Colvin. Colvin will also present a current state of the economy and his perspectives on that topic in a separate session, prior to his interview of Paulson. Please contact Chris Glatz to purchase a table to the premier turnaround event of the year in Chicago.

Sincerely,
Harold Israel