Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has bolstered its North American Commercial Restructuring practice with the addition of Evan Blum and Matt Covington who join as managing directors in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. Together they bring more than thirty years of financial advisory, turnaround consulting and interim management expertise, with portfolios of work that include restructuring matters and special situations in court and outside of bankruptcy.
“As the turmoil in oil and gas bleeds into other markets, many organizations will face fiscal challenges that can only be resolved by the most practiced restructuring professionals – talent best exemplified by Evan and Matt,” said Jeff Stegenga, Chair of A&M’s North American Commercial Restructuring practice. “Our turnaround and restructuring legacy combined with our leading performance improvement capabilities, empowers us to bring in only the very best practitioners to help guide our clients through tumultuous environments.”
Blum represents domestic and international clients in industries including media, telecom, coal, retail, finance, grocery, food processing, real estate/hospitality and manufacturing. He is expert in both the operational and financial aspects of restructurings. Additionally, Blum has managed liquidity and business plan issues and negotiated complex balance sheet restructurings and recapitalizations. He has extensive experience in bankruptcy planning and strategy, assistance in the negotiation of debtor in possession financing, preparation of liquidation analyses and the development of recapitalization and refinancing plans.
Blum joins A&M from Glass Ratner and has also held positions at Triax Capital Advisors, Communications Equity Associates and Merrill Lynch. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association.
Covington advises debtors, creditors and financial sponsors across sectors including aerospace/defense, energy, food processing, forest products, government, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail and staffing. Practiced in leading all aspects of the restructuring process, he has negotiated with lenders and other creditor constituencies; developed cash flow forecasts and liquidity assessments; prepared and reviewed business plans; identified capital structure alternatives; and developed restructuring and reorganization strategies.
Covington joins A&M from Conway MacKenzie and has also worked at Kibel Green, Chanin Capital Partners/Duff & Phelps and Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA) and a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP). Covington is currently President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and is also a member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Privately held since 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that delivers business performance improvement, turnaround management and advisory services to organizations seeking to transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action. Our senior professionals are experienced operators, world-class consultants and industry veterans who leverage the firm's restructuring heritage to help leaders turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage.