Carl Marks Student Paper Competition Winners Announced

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC congratulates the winners of the Turnaround Management Association's (TMA) Carl Marks Student Paper Competition, which has recognized outstanding graduate-level student achievement in the field of corporate renewal since 2003. Carl Marks sponsors a $3,000 first-place prize and a $1,500 second-place prize in two categories: turnaround case analysis and theoretical/conceptual aspects of turnarounds.

The 2010 winners are as follows:

Case Analyses:

• 1st Place: "Restructuring Crocs, Inc." – Columbia Business School: Ronald Shulhof, Molly Bennard, Julie Thaler, Kevin Sayles, John Wolff
• 2nd Place: "Media General's Restructuring: An Investor's Perspective" – Columbia Business School: Brian Hindo, Nate McMurry, Ryan Orton, Sumit Suman, Sonal Kapoor

Theoretical/Conceptual:

• 1st Place: "The Death of Emergence" – University of Chicago: Aditya Habbu and Nikhil Abraham
• 2nd Place: "Patent Activity in Bankrupt Technology Firms: An Empirical and Case Based Study" – Emory University: Grant Moss

"The future of the turnaround industry is of vital interest to Carl Marks, which is why we enthusiastically support the training of the next generation of restructuring professionals," said Mark L. Claster, partner of Carl Marks Advisory Group and president of Carl Marks & Co. Inc. "This competition gives students an ideal way to explore the turnaround profession and discover first-hand how the industry seeks solutions for the critical challenges facing distressed businesses.  We congratulate this year's winners for their outstanding research efforts."

Qualifying entrants must have been enrolled in and attending an MBA program or an equivalent business-related master's degree program at an accredited university at the time the paper was written. Submitted papers were required to be completed between May 30, 2009 and May 31, 2010.

Awards were presented to Carl Marks Student Paper Competition winners on Thurs., Oct. 7, during a recognition luncheon at TMA's annual convention at the J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. One author of each winning paper received registration and travel expenses to accept the award during the event.

About Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC and Carl Marks Securities LLC

Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC, with offices in New York, Vienna, Va., Bedminster, N.J., and Charlotte, N.C., provides a wide array of investment banking and financial, operational and real estate advisory services to the middle market, including mergers and acquisitions advice, sourcing of capital, financial restructuring plans, strategic business assessments, improvement plans and interim management.  Carl Marks is the 2010 recipient of the Turnaround Management Association's Turnaround of the Year Award in the Large Company category.

Carl Marks Securities LLC, based in New York, assists its clients in executing private placements of debt and equity. The firm is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Additional information about Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC and Carl Marks Securities LLC is available at www.carlmarks.com.

About Turnaround Management Association

The Chicago-based Turnaround Management Association has more than 9,000 members in 45 regional chapters who comprise a professional community of turnaround practitioners, attorneys, accountants, investors, lenders, venture capitalists, appraisers, liquidators, executive recruiters and consultants. For more information, visit www.turnaround.org.

SOURCE Carl Marks Advisory Group LLC