About
CRAIG BROWN
Craig Brown is the Founder of Restructuring Advisory Group and is an expert in all facets of chapter 11 reorganizations and the restructuring of real estate and business debt. Mr. Brown first began consulting to chapter 11 clients in 1990. He has written over 300 bankruptcy reorganization plans that restructured over $1B in debt. The Company also provides both debt and equity financing for real estate projects and businesses nationwide. In addition to consulting to property owners and businesses in chapter 11, Mr. Brown has, as a principal, restructured the debt on 2 of his own projects through chapter 11 in the 1990’s and understands the process from the property owners’ perspective.
A 1979 graduate of UCLA, Craig Brown began his career in real estate that same year as a commercial real estate agent in the Silicon Valley, specializing in R&D leasing and the sale of R&D land for spec development. He was subsequently recruited by Crocker Mortgage Company and joined them as an Assistant Vice President in their mortgage banking division where he specialized in the analysis, underwriting and placement of commercial real estate loans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1986 he was recruited by Trammell Crow Residential Company and opened their Orange County California office as their Director of Land Acquisitions where he began his career in the development of institutional quality multi family properties. He subsequently opened the California offices of Worthing Western Corporation as its Vice President of Development in charge of all of the company’s residential development and financing thereof in the state of California.
His Worthing Western projects were underwritten for and joint ventured with Travelers Insurance Company.
In his capacities with Trammell Crow, Worthing, and thereafter he acquired and entitled in various partnerships over 2,500 acres of raw land which has been developed into subdivisions totaling over 3,000 multi family units and single family homes brings over 30 years of development and finance expertise to his clients.
At the onset of the Great Recession, he reformulated his Debt Restructure and Chapter 11 consulting business and founded Restructuring Advisory Group whose primary focus is as a Chapter 11 business and financial advisor to Businesses and Real Estate organizations nationwide, assisting in them in the restructure of business and commercial real estate debt in Chapter 11 through the formulation of reorganization plans, the negotiating and restructuring Bank debt as well as the negotiation of creditor settlements.
REZA JAFARY
Reza Jafary began his career as a multi-family investment analyst for Elite Financial Group, a firm specializing in the financing of multi family, residential loans. In 2004 Mr. Jafary formed Meridian Funding Group, real estate fiinance firm specializing in financing high net worth clientel in their acquisition and refinancing of commercial real estate. Mr. Jafary averaged production of 60M per year while managing the day to day duties of his office and oversaw 5 loan officers and two support staff. Mr. Jafary subsequently formed Venture West Funding which specialized in providing premiere financial consulting and lending services to businesses and individuals for structured finance. Mr. Jafary is an expert in complicated real estate financial transactions, Mezzanine Financing, and Equity financing and debt restructure. He brings 12 years of real estate finance experience to Restructuring Advisory Group.
Larry Williams
Thirty-nine years career experience from 1975 to present specializing in real estate and corporate
transactions. Real estate transactions have included acquisitions, entitlements, construction, joint
ventures financing and mortgage banking acting in the capacity as a principal and/or as a consultant for clients. Corporate transactions have included asset-based financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate debt restructuring, strategic partnerships and capital raises utilizing private investment funds, investment banking firms, fund managers and venture capital firms. In addition to the private investor base clients have also included both public and private companies.
Typical projects include real estate finance and development as well as corporate finance and ventures acting in the capacity as a principal and/or as a consultant for clients. These projects are typically in a value range of $5 Million to $100 Million. On some occasions certain projects have been significantly over $100 Million.
Mr. Williams is a principal of Windsor Business Solutions www.windsorcompanies.net and brings his team, due diligence, and debt and equity funding to Restructuring Advisory Group clients.
George P. Morris, PhD
George P. Morris has over 20 years experience in the areas of Investment Banking and as a Chief Executive Officer of several Public companies. Past/present positions include President of Morris Financial, Inc. an NASD Broker/Dealer Firm. He is Chairman and President of two OTC:BB companies fully reporting to the United States Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”), George has been a corporate Finance and Marketing consultant and has worked as an assistant professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California and California State University, respectively. He is a member of the Securities Industry Association (“SIA”), FINRA, the Southern California Investors Association (“SCIA”), Financial Services Exchange (“FSX”) and the Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”). George Morris has a wide range of industry consulting and management experiences.
Mr. Morris raises equity capital for Restructuring Advisory Group Clients through his Business Development, Company Morris Development Company www.morrisbdc.com/advisors.htm
Ahmed Shuja, PhD
Ahmed Shuja, PHD has authored 13 patents and brings his years of experience providing product planning, IP strategies, competitive patent analyses, & technology due-diligence to the Restructuring Advisory Group team.
As a SIEMENS innovator Mr. Shuja worked globally across business groups to implement a new electronics cooling technology and as an entrepreneur in residence with SIEMENS his charter was and is to craft a business model around a unique set of technical capabilities. This innovation management included competitive analysis, market research and TAM sizing on various application areas. To that end, Mr. Shuja brings a unique skill set to CRG in its analysis of Companies. Mr. Shuja works with Chapter 11 Companies to shape business plans, corporate strategy and operational management, utilizing a hands on entrepreneurial approach to view the people, market, technology, and financial growth needs to fully package companies for funding.
He has extensive experience in executive & engineering level leadership of teams developing leading edge technologies at industry leading & new-start companies.
Mr Shuja has raised venture capital and Angel Financing both for his own and his clients companies and is responsible for developing supplier relationships, expanding business development, writing grants, and writing business plans as well as IP creation and strategy on his assignments.
He has made notable contributions to the LED Lighting field by developing patented low-cost thermal management of LED systems, which is the primary area of needed innovation that holds back LED lighting from reaching mainstream, mass market prices and subsequent adoption
Specialties: Technology expertise: LED Packaging, High Lumen Output Lighting Design, Industrial Lighting Market, MEMS Fabrication, Semiconductor Fabrication, Two Phase Heat Transfer, Business Expertise: IP strategy, competitive patent analysis, technology due diligence
Mr. Shuja additionally provides product planning, IP strategies, competitive patent analyses, Venture Capital and Angel Capital interface, & technology due-diligence for CRG.
Patents
- US Patent 7,705,342 B2 “Porous semiconductor-based evaporator having porous and non-porous regions, that porous regions having through holes”, H.T. Henderson, A. Shuja, S. Parimi, F.M. Gerner, P. Medis (granted)
- US Patent 7,692,926 B2 “Integrated Thermal Systems”, H.T. Henderson, A. Shuja, S. Parimi, F.M. Gerner, P. Medis (granted)
- “System and Method of Heat Transfer System and a Condenser”, H.T. Henderson, A. Shuja, S. Parimi, F.M. Gerner, P. Medis (granted)
- US Patent 7,723,760 B2“Semiconductor-based porous structure enabled by capillary force”, H.T. Henderson, A. Shuja, S. Parimi, F.M. Gerner, P. Medis (granted)
- US Patent 8,188,595 “Two Phase Cooling for Light Emitting Devices” A. Shuja
- US12/860,707″LED Bulb for High Intensity Discharge Bulb Replacement” A.Shuja et. al (pending)
MIKE MINDER
Mike Minder has more than 40 years of experience in domestic and international diversified real estate finance, disposition and development that he brings to Restructuring Advisory Group. Mr. Minder sits on the Advisory Board of Capital Underwriters Fund, a bankruptcy specific fund that finances and invests in real estate projects that are in chapter 11. Originally from Big Bear California, Mr. Minder began his professional career working with his father in the family lumber business. After the lumber company was sold, he entered the real estate investment business with the purchase of Spencer Real Estate in Big Bear and subsequently the formation Capital General West, serving as its President and CEO. The Jensen Minder Real Estate Investment Partnership followed, with an emphasis in raw land acquisition and development. Success from the land business was parlayed into Akami, Ltd., an agricultural land company based in Hawaii, whose holdings consisted of Macadamia nut farms on the big island of Hawaii and sugar cane plantations that were subsequently subdivided and became the beginnings of the town of Princeville on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
A sabbatical from the real estate business ensued when Mr. Minder co-founded the Generation Company, a book publishing consortium with both profit and non-profit divisions. With profits from the Generation Company, domestic and international real estate was acquired, including Playas Palmeras near Campeche, Mexico, where two destination resorts were designed, as well as banking investments in Capistrano National and Southland National banks in southern California. Mr. Minder became a Principal of U.S. Housing in the 1980’s, a company specializing in commercial and single-family home development projects throughout the United States.
He was instrumental in the development of five subdivisions containing 460 homes in Antelope Valley, California; an outpatient surgical center adjacent to Holy Cross Hospital on Rinaldi Street in Mission Hills, California; a medical office building on Lyon Street in Santa Clarita, California; condemnation, relocation and build-out of the old Century Freeway project (now California route 105); and the acquisition of 1200 apartment units in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to founding Samson Investment Company in 1992, Mr. Minder co-founded Alda Samson Land Ventures, a real estate finance company for developers, completing project financings of over one hundred and twenty million dollars, including single family homes, condos, infill projects and redesigning of the residential portion of downtown Antioch, California, which incorporated 1500 mixed use units and provided a resolution to the city’s hazardous waste problem on the site.
In addition to consulting to property owners in chapter 11, Mr. Minder, as a principal, restructured the debt on 2 of his own projects through chapter 11 and understands the process from the property owners’ perspective.
JAMES M. IRVING
James Irving began his real estate career in 1986 as a senior loan officer specializing in the financing and management of commercial and hospitality properties. In 1992 he formed Harrington Phillips Funding Corporation, a mortgage brokerage firm in Beverly Hills specializing in high net worth clientele and the financing of multi-million dollar custom homes, commercial property and construction financing. In the17 years since its formation, Mr. Irving has funded over $1 Billion in loans, 70 % of which are commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Irvings relationship with CRG dates back to 1995 when Harrington Phillips Funding Corporation was utilized by C.H. Brown to fund super priority loans and take out finanicng for real estate projects in chapter 11. Mr. Irving is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and is experienced in directing all aspects of business and real estate reorganizations.
RENE BAYANI
Rene Bayani began his career as a legal assistant to Rattan and Tucker where he analyzed client financial data, created financial models and performed forensic accounting. He subsequenhtly joined Washington Mutual Bank as a commercial loan officer where he was responsible for the underwriting and financial analysis of commercial properties, averaging over $200 Million in production annually, and eventually worked with non-performing assets.
He brings 10 years of real estate experience to Restructuring Advisory Group and a lenders perspective to debt restructure negotiations.
JACK FERNANDEZ
Jack Fernandez began his career in the finance industry with WFS financial, where between 1985 and 1998, he rose from the manager of 1 of the 3 branch offices to senior vice president overseeing the production in 70 offices in the Western United States Mr. Fernandez was additionally on the team that pitched WFS to Wall Street and the team that made the Road Showwhen the Company went public. In 1999, Mr. Fernandez was recruited as the COO of Triad Financial Corporation, and subsequently rose to Senior Vice President.In the 3 years he was with the Company, he oversaw the Risk Management Strategy Department and implemented the firms funding, underwriting, and credit policies. Mr. Fernandez began investing in and developing real estate in earnest in 2003 and funded the $35M joint venture for purchase and development of an 800 acre, 3 hotel, 2000 home, golf course, ocean-front resort in Mazatlan, Mexico. He is an expert in real estate finance and complex equity transactions.
