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2020 EBDJ Banquet honoring Mr. Jay Alix

Jay Alix
Each year, the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal honors a member of the bankruptcy field with the Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement. This year’s recipient is Jay Alix, founder of AlixPartners.

Mr. Jay Alix is the Founder of AlixPartners. AlixPartners has played a leading role in many of the major corporate restructurings of the last two decades, including General Motors, WorldCom, Enron, Dana Corporation, Calpine, and Kmart Corporation. The firm also serves as a confidential advisor to many leading U.S., European, and Asian companies that seek to solve urgent and high-impact issues that inhibit financial performance. Mr. Alix has served as CEO, COO, and CFO, and has introduced, developed, and served in the roles of chief turnaround officer and chief restructuring officer for a variety of companies undergoing significant change. He has served as an advisor to major lenders, bondholders, trade creditors, and shareholders as well as to city and federal government agencies, and has assisted these various entities in maximizing the value and recoveries from distressed companies. Mr. Alix has played a pioneering role in creating and building the turnaround industry, including his role in creating and promoting the industry's lexicon, most notably combining the words "turn" and "around" to create the noun "turnaround."

President Clinton appointed Mr. Alix to the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, which was established by Congress and charged with making proposals to revise the nation's bankruptcy laws. Additionally, he has been recognized as an expert in courts throughout the U.S., as well as by Japan's legal scholars and government leaders. Mr. Alix also served on a pro bono basis as a strategic advisor to Dennis Archer during his first term as mayor of Detroit, helping to plan and lead Mayor Archer's 400-member transition team, as well as the restructuring and turnaround of the city's finances and operations.

Mr. Alix has lectured widely, written many articles on turnaround management, co-authored two books on the financial issues facing companies in reorganization, and given many speeches on companies in transition, debt negotiations, and the corporate revitalization process.

Since 2006, Mr. Alix has focused on pro bono and creative activities. A devoted advocate for Mayo Clinic, Mr. Alix works alongside Mayo leaders, driving transformational change rooted in Mayo Clinic's vision and core values. Using his skills and philanthropy to advise the Mayo Clinic's leadership team, Mayo Clinic is now ranked #1 in U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings.

As a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees and grateful patient, Mr Alix remains inspired by Mayo's commitment to solving the world's most serious and complex medical challenges -- one patient at a time.

Mr. Alix's unprecedented philanthropic support at Mayo is designed to help "recruit the best of future generations of talented medical students and create an innovative curriculum that enables them to achieve dramatic advances in medical science, technology and patient care." To recognize his vision and generosity, Mayo designated the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in his honor.

He enjoys many other projects including producing award-winning documentary films, six-time Tony-winning Broadway musicals and plays, and Grammy-nominated music. He actively helped the Detroit Public School System restructure and the Norman Rockwell Museum advance its mission. He has two accomplished daughters and travels globally for business and pleasure.

Mr. Alix holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in Accounting from Rutgers University, and completed the YPO/Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

The Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal is honored to present Mr. Jay Alix with our Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement.


Past Banquets