Restructuring a company is not a 9-to-5 job, it's more like working in an emergency room. What does it really look like when the phone rings at 5pm on a Friday night? 20-year advisory firm veteran Douglas Brickley, the current Managing Director at Stout, has been in the trenches. In today’s episode, Doug isn’t afraid to talk shop about what he’s learned, where things can go wrong, and why restructuring might be headed in a new direction.  

Key Insights & Timestamps: 

[00:00] Podcast begins 

[01:15] What Is a Restructuring Professional? Diverse skillsets & dynamic understanding 

[08:41] How Do You Manage a Crisis? The 24/7 job of a restructuring position 

[19:35] What About Private Equity? Liquidation costs & a lack of fixing businesses 

[31:50] Why Do These Companies Get In Trouble? Outsider perspectives on the industry 

[39:55] Who Stands Out? Personal experiences, lessons learned & victories made 

Guest Spotlight: 
Douglas Brickley 
Douglas Brickley is the Managing Director at Stout, a global advisory firm specializing in corporate finance. He held previous similar roles at The Claro Group, Jefferies, KPMG, and LECG.  

Key Takeaways: 

Finance or Operations? When it comes to background, Doug believes that a strong restructuring professional doesn’t have to have one type of background. “I think there's not one right background and one right path,” Doug explains. “I think that you need to supplement your core competencies with other areas. I need to make sure with my finance background, I have people on my team that are good at operations.”  

9-to-5 or 24/7? Restructuring professionals are no stranger to a 5pm panicked phone call or a weekend crisis.” I think technology has been a little liberating in dealing with those crisis calls,” Doug acknowledges. “But it is usually a scramble. It’s almost impossible to have absolute boundaries in our business.” 

Management or Business Model? Outsiders to the industry always want to know how companies get to such a dire state of financial restructuring, but there’s never just one answer. “Overly aggressive lenders and private equity firms that want to leverage a business up doesn't help,” Doug clarifies. “If you are over-leveraged and there's any kind of hiccup in the business or the market, that’s very difficult to recover from.” 

Resources Mentioned: 
Stout | stout.com 

Connect with Douglas Brickley: 

LinkedIn 

For More Information: 
Produced by Speakerbox Media. [Insert Additional Links] 

Call to Action: 
If you want the unfiltered truth behind corporate collapse — and the lessons hidden in the fine print of Chapter 11 — hit follow on Reviving Giants. Share this episode with a colleague in finance, law, or operations, and join the conversation on where bankruptcy law is headed next. 

What does it take to rescue a company from the brink of collapse?

The year was 1978. A new bankruptcy code hit the books, and suddenly, the playbook for American business failure was rewritten. 47 years later, we're still living in its shadow. John Melko is a seasoned restructuring attorney and partner of Foley & Lardner and has watched bankruptcy courts evolve from its reformist roots to the high stakes, high cost beast it is today. In this episode, John helps us unpack the rise of Chapter 11, the potential fall, the industries it has failed, and the billion dollar burn rate it now takes just to go broke. This isn't theory; it's the hard truth behind corporate collapse.

Key Insights & Timestamps:

Guest Spotlight:

John Melko

John Melko is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice focuses on complex sales, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and financings in the energy sector throughout the United States, as well as shipping-related issues in both foreign and domestic cases and financings. John has years of cross-border and multinational experience with oil and gas exploration and production, refining and marketing, airlines, telecommunications, electric utilities, manufacturing, retail, rig and ship finance, mass torts, and asset-backed securities.

Throughout his career, John has helped guide clients through dislocations in the energy, shipping, telecommunication, real estate and health care markets, utilizing chapter 7, chapter 11, and chapter 15 procedures. John also serves as co-chair of the firm's Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice and vice-chair of the firm’s Oil & Gas Industry Team.

Key Takeaways:

Resources Mentioned:
Foley & Lardner LLP | foley.com

Connect with John Melko: