James Mcdermott

Biography

James (Jim) McDermott is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Insurance and Risk Advisory Services in New York. He specializes in business turnaround, crisis management, financial restructuring and capital markets transactions. He brings more than 20 years of management experience, including nearly a decade of advising and / or managing financially and operationally challenged companies. Over the course of his career, Mr. McDermott has advised boards of directors on complex accounting and actuarial issues, SEC investigations, related party transactions and matters involving shareholder derivative actions. He has led or been an integral part of the acquisition or disposition of 25 operating companies and public capital markets transactions exceeding $3.4 billion. WATCH: James McDermott: How the insurance industry is reinventing itself as a result of regulation James McDermott: The changing face of risk and risk management in the insurance sector Before joining A&M, Mr. McDermott was Managing Director of the Eagle Rock Group, a business advisory firm that he co-founded in 2001. There, he advised or took on management roles with clients such as Genworth Financial Group, RSL Communications and the World Black Belt Association. He most recently served as President and CEO of AF&L, Inc., a privately-held specialty insurer focused on the senior marketplace, where he helped develop and implement a turnaround plan. Prior to forming Eagle Rock, Mr. McDermott was Chief Financial Officer of PennCorp Financial Group, a $6 billion financial services firm, where he helped lead an operational stabilization, debt reduction and recapitalization plan that was ultimately completed through the Chapter 11 process. He began his career with a Big Eight accounting firm, where he specialized in serving clients in the insurance, consumer retail and telecom industries. Mr. McDermott earned bachelor's degrees in business administration, with concentrations in accounting, actuarial science and quantitative analysis, from the University of Wisconsin. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the state of Georgia. Mr. McDermott has been admitted and testified as an expert in U.S. Federal District Court on acquisition due diligence matters.

Research Interest

James (Jim) McDermott  specializes in business turnaround, crisis management, financial restructuring and capital markets transactions and he has 20+ years of management experience, including nearly a decade of advising and / or managing financially and operationally challenged companies