Corporate restructuring and public affairs strategies firm Gavin/Solmonese announced that it has hired Stephen Kunkel as Managing Director and Adam Kaplan as a Consultant in the firm’s newly opened Chicago office.  This expands the firm’s operations to seven cities nationwide, including Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and its headquarters in Wilmington, DE.

Kunkel, who brings more than 30 years of executive practitioner, operational and restructuring expertise to Gavin/Solmonese, will lead the firm’s Chicago office.  He has held permanent leadership positions at large international, publically traded corporations (and smaller enterprises, as well), including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief  Financial Officer, and has served on a number of boards of directors, including serving as chairman and on compensation, capital budget, and audit committees, including the boards of Ames/Axia Corporation, Kil-Bar Engineering, Tenatronics, Sterling Electronics, and Crownline Boats, among others.

Kunkel has served as Chief Restructuring Officer for a number of matters, most recently for PJ Finance, Pac-West Telecom, and Press-a-Print Corporation.  He previously served as Senior Managing Director of a nationally recognized interim management and restructuring firm, where he advised corporations and creditors in a wide variety of circumstances, including profit improvement,distressed markets, large corporate restructurings, and complex negotiations.

Further, his experience includes numerous intercompany transactions, many public and international, for a variety of purposes, including expansion and growth, competitive acquisition, the funding of innovation, and value preservation and realization.

Kaplan joins Gavin/Solmonese as a Consultant.  He most recently worked as an Associate at GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group in Chicago.  Previously, Kaplan was an intern in currency trading at the University of Trading, Chicago Board of Trade.  He is a graduate of the Inter Disciplinary Center Herzliya in Herzliya, Israel.  Kaplan also attended University of Tel Aviv and American University.

“Steve Kunkel and Adam Kaplan will not only strengthen our presence in Chicago, but will greatly expand our firm’s offerings to borrowers, creditors and stakeholders,” said Ted Gavin, CTP, Gavin/Solmonese Managing Director and Founding Partner.  “Steve’s leadership in the industry, his knowledge and experience will further enhance our firm’s recent growth in the creditor and turnaround spaces, particularly in engagements by complex Debtors and parties involved in complex structure financial transactions.”

The new Gavin/Solmonese Chicago office is located at the Mercantile Exchange, 30 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL 60606. 

Gavin/Solmonese leads companies to measurable bottom line improvement. Named one of the country’s Outstanding Turnaround Firms by Turnarounds & Workouts for 17 years, the Gavin/Solmonese Corporate Restructuring Group (formerly NHB Advisors) provides leadership for underperforming and troubled companies and their stakeholders, helping businesses maximize value for owners, investors, creditors and employees.  The Gavin/Solmonese Corporate Engagement & Public Affairs Group leads organizations through critical strategic thinking and tactical planning, creating better connections with consumers, decision makers and the media, resulting in market share growth and higher profitability.