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Reviving Giants

Reviving Giants

By: Reviving Giants
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Summary

 What does it take to rescue a company from the brink of collapse? In Reviving Giants, veteran turnaround expert Drew Mcmanigle takes you behind the closed doors of boardrooms and courtrooms to find out.© 2025 All rights reserved. "Reviving Giants" podcast, content, title, and logo owned by Macco. Unauthorized use prohibited. Contact: rg@speakerboxmedia.com. Respect our creativity. Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Why Liability Maneuvers Fail: Judge Kaplan on Spirit Airlines, Rite Aid, and Overleveraged Giants

    Why Liability Maneuvers Fail: Judge Kaplan on Spirit Airlines, Rite Aid, and Overleveraged Giants
    May 7 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with Hon. Michael B. Kaplan of the District of New Jersey to go inside the rarely seen world of bankruptcy from the judge’s chair. Drawing on years of overseeing high-profile Chapter 11s and small consumer cases, Judge Kaplan talks through what actually happens in those “first day” hearings, why so many liability management deals and quick restructurings fall short, and how often operational problems get ignored in favor of balance-sheet fixes. The conversation explores the human side of the work: what it’s like to carry the weight of decisions that affect jobs, communities, and families, and the tension between what feels fair and what the Bankruptcy Code demands. Judge Kaplan also reflects on how the practice has evolved with private equity, private credit, rising fees, and faster timelines, and what those shifts mean for the future of Chapter 11. 🎧 Episode Highlights [03:02]: The high stakes of decisions that reshape lives and companies [05:08]: “How can I help?:” as his courtroom philosophy [08:55]: Why liability management deals often fail struggling companies [13:40]: The human toll of foreclosures, evictions, and underwater homes [17:33]: How Chapter 11 shifted from reorganization to runway extension 🔑 Key Takeaways: ● Bankruptcy, in Judge Kaplan’s view, is fundamentally a problem‑solving arena rather than a ritual of failure. He emphasizes that judges sit at the crossroads of law, business, and human impact, making rapid decisions that can determine whether companies survive, liquidate, or quietly wind down. The stakes are measured not only in dollars, but in jobs, homes, and entire communities that live with the consequences of each ruling. ● Many high-profile restructurings fail because they treat Chapter 11 as a way to “extend the runway” instead of fixing the underlying business. Judge Kaplan sees too many liability management exercises and quick, milestone-driven cases that focus on capital structures and buzzword excuses—COVID, interest rates, tariffs—while ignoring core operational issues like broken business models, footprints, labor costs, and management failures. Without confronting those realities, he argues, even the most sophisticated financial engineering simply delays an inevitable collapse. ● Great outcomes in bankruptcy depend on the quality and mindset of the professionals in the room. Judge Kaplan looks for counsel, CROs, and advisors who truly understand the business, manage client expectations, listen to the court’s questions, and can translate complex financial and operational stories into clear evidence. Reputation, preparation, and candor matter: the best practitioners help the judge make informed decisions, while recognizing that the law, not personal preference, ultimately constrains what “fair” can look like in any given case. 👤 Guest Spotlight: Hon. Michael B. Kaplan Hon. Michael B. Kaplan is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey and a former chief judge of the court, with decades of experience deciding some of the nation’s most complex restructurings and liquidations. Before taking the bench, he served as a practitioner and Chapter 7 and 13 trustee, giving him a ground-level view of both business reorganizations and consumer financial distress. Known for his practical, problem‑solving approach, Judge Kaplan has presided over high-profile Chapter 11 cases while remaining deeply attuned to the human impact of foreclosures, evictions, and failed turnarounds on ordinary people. Stay Connected: ● ⁠https://www.macco.group⁠ ● ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmcmanigle⁠ ● ⁠https://www.njb.uscourts.gov/content/honorable-michael-b-kaplan⁠ Produced by Speakerbox Media.
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    47 mins
  • Corporate Crisis Playbook: The Turnaround Strategy Becky Roof Uses to Save Businesses

    Corporate Crisis Playbook: The Turnaround Strategy Becky Roof Uses to Save Businesses
    Apr 2 2026
    Drew sits down with turnaround veteran Becky Roof to explore the high-stakes world of corporate restructuring and the accidental career paths that lead people into it. Becky shares stories from decades of crisis leadership, including stepping in as interim CFO during Kodak’s bankruptcy and navigating complex negotiations with creditors, pensions, and global stakeholders to preserve value and jobs. The conversation dives into what it really takes to lead when companies run out of liquidity, employees fear for their futures, and the path forward isn’t clear. Becky also looks back on mentorship, the evolution of the restructuring industry, and what it meant to build a career as a woman in a historically male-dominated field. 🎧 Episode Highlights: [06:28]: The bankruptcy that pulled Becky into restructuring [07:17]: The mentors who shaped Becky’s career [29:44]: Becoming Kodak’s interim CFO during bankruptcy [38:57]: The case that almost got Becky arrested in Italy [45:00]: Becky’s advice for the next Generation of turnaround leaders 🔑 Key Takeaways: ● While restructuring often focuses on capital structures and liquidity, Becky emphasizes the human side of crisis leadership. Communicating honestly with employees, acknowledging uncertainty, and preserving as many jobs as possible are central to responsible turnaround work. For Becky, the day telling someone their job is eliminated stops hurting is the day it’s time to leave the profession. ● Successful restructurings require creativity under extreme pressure. Cases like Kodak showed how turnaround leaders must constantly search for unconventional solutions when time and liquidity are running out. By identifying hidden pockets of value and negotiating complex compromises, such as separating business units and resolving pension claims, teams can create paths to survival that initially seem impossible. ● Effective turnarounds require a disciplined crisis playbook. Becky emphasizes starting with a clear understanding of the business, maintaining constant communication with stakeholders, and aligning management, creditors, and advisors around a realistic strategy. Transparency, liquidity management, and prioritizing what is urgent versus what is truly important are critical steps in stabilizing a company and creating a path toward recovery. 👤 Guest Spotlight: Becky Roof Becky Roof is a former Partner and Managing Director at AlixPartners and one of the most respected turnaround and restructuring leaders in the industry. With decades of experience as an advisor and interim CFO in complex, high-stakes situations, she has helped companies navigate bankruptcies, strategic restructurings, and financial transformations across global markets. Becky also played a key role in building AlixPartners’ Houston office and is known for her ability to step into crisis situations, earn trust quickly, and guide leadership teams through pivotal decisions. Stay Connected: ⁠https://www.macco.group/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmcmanigle/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-roof/⁠ Produced by Speakerbox Media.
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    52 mins
  • When the Banks Failed: Lessons from the 1980s Texas Oil Bust Part 2

    When the Banks Failed: Lessons from the 1980s Texas Oil Bust Part 2
    Mar 5 2026
    In part two of this episode, Drew, Berry, and Charlie look back on the cases that shaped modern restructuring: from the chaotic El Paso refinery bankruptcy to the high-stakes battles inside Enron. They share firsthand stories of IRS shutdowns, courtroom showdowns, copper price crashes, and creditor warfare that redefined how Chapter 11 works in practice. The episode explores how bankruptcy evolved from a scrappy, Wild West profession into a complex, high-dollar industry driven by sophisticated capital structures and venue strategy. Along the way, they debate lender-on-lender violence, mass tort bankruptcies, and whether the system still rewards creativity or just balance sheet engineering. It’s a candid look at how the biggest collapses built today’s restructuring playbook. 🎧 Episode Highlights ● [03:52]: A Risk That Recovered $30M ● [05:24]: The Refinery Case That Shook Texas ● [08:30]: When the Court Demanded Proof ● [14:29]: Patience, Copper, and a Comeback ● [33:01]: Enron and the New Era of Restructuring 🔑 Key Takeaways: ● The El Paso refinery collapse showed how an unprepared Chapter 11 filing can accelerate failure instead of prevent it. When IRS liens triggered a reactive bankruptcy without evidence, financing, or a clear strategy, the court’s refusal to bend the rules led to an immediate shutdown and hundreds of lost jobs. In restructuring, process, preparation, and proof matter as much as urgency. ● The four-year Asarco bankruptcy demonstrated that restructuring is often a long game shaped by external forces like commodity cycles. Rising and falling copper prices completely changed creditor leverage, settlement dynamics, and ultimate ownership. Sometimes survival depends less on legal maneuvering and more on understanding markets and waiting for the right moment to act. ● From Enron’s creditor committee infighting to today’s lender-on-lender battles and complex capital structures, bankruptcy has evolved into a high-stakes arena dominated by sophisticated players. Yet beneath the balance sheet engineering, the core tension remains: is the goal to truly fix the business, or simply to rearrange financial claims? The answer continues to shape the future of the restructuring profession. 👤 Guest Spotlight: Berry Spears Berry D. Spears is a partner at Keller Benvenutti Kim LLP with a nationally recognized bankruptcy and restructuring practice rooted in decades of hands-on experience. Over the course of his career, he has represented virtually every stakeholder in a financial crisis from debtors and creditors to boards, lenders, and committees, bringing pragmatic, creative solutions to complex restructurings across industries including energy, healthcare, financial services, and real estate. Charles Beckham Charles Beckham is a partner at Haynes Boone and a nationally respected restructuring and bankruptcy lawyer with deep roots in complex financial crises. He built his career during the West Texas oil collapse of the 1980s, representing banks, the FDIC, and other stakeholders through some of the region’s most consequential failures. Stay Connected: ● https://www.macco.group/ ● https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmcmanigle/ ● https://www.linkedin.com/in/berryspears/ ● https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-beckham-753b1a32/
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    53 mins
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