Asset Allocation / Management Consultants: 13

William H. Purcell has over 50 years of experience in Investment Banking, Mergers and Acquisitions, and other Finance Issues. He is currently a Senior Director at Seale & Associates, a boutique investment bank with both U.S. and foreign clients. Seale is focused on Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Finance Advisory, and Strategy Consulting.

Mr. Purcell's past client coverage includes such companies as Anheuser-Busch, Hoechst Celanese, Volkswagen, and Metropolitan Life to name a few. He was also appointed CEO of a publicly-traded company going through bankruptcy proceedings. Additionally, Mr. Purcell has been a director on several corporate boards. Through his relationship with Seale & Associates, Mr. Purcell has affiliations with professors at The George Washington University Business School and the University of Virginia Business School. He has been an occasional guest lecturer in investment banking and finance at George Washington University and Monmouth University.

Consulting Services Include

• Mergers and Acquisitions - LBOS and Recapitalizations
• Fairness Opinions
• Adequacy Opinions
• Solvency Opinions
• Valuations
• Damage Issues
• Fiduciary Issues
• Advice to Special Committees of Boards and Trustees
• Due Diligence and Disclosure Issues
• Financing of debt and Equity - Public and Private
• Leasing and Real Estate Financing

View Expert Witness Profile.

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Barrington Capital Management, Inc. provides customized financial solutions for unique financial challenges and objectives. Their expertise is in the development, implementation and ongoing management of a customized and diversified investment strategy. Barrington's mission is to assist in building, enhancing, and protecting personal wealth and maintaining financial security. 

President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Lawson, has over 35 years of financial services experience as an Investment Advisory and Insurance Agency Executive, Securities Principal, and Options Principal. Bob proudly serves as an industry arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the National Futures Association (NFA), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), ERISA (3)-21 Fiduciary, Master Registered Financial Consultant, and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary. In addition to teaching advanced investment strategies and Retirement Planning classes throughout the year. 

Bob Lawson has special expertise in stock options and has presented the following Options Industry Council (OIC) seminars to retail and industry professionals throughout the United States:

View Bob Lawson's Expert Witness Profile.

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a Certified Financial Planning Expert with 18 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Ms. Cheng is a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional® and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Ms. Cheng helps educate the public, policymakers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013 – 2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). 

Marguerita Cheng CNBC Interview on Social Security

Awards and Honors - Ms. Cheng is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC).

Litigation Support - Ms. Cheng serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for CFP Board, contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. She also volunteers for CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings. Services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant include financial due diligence, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

CBM1 is a Southern California-based Commercial Real Estate Leasing and Investment Sales Brokerage specializing in landlord and tenant and property investor representation for retail, industrial, and other commercial real estate properties.

Consulting Services - CBM1 has the market knowledge, industry relationships, and marketing prowess to average nearly 300 transactions annually over the past three decades, leasing well over 6,000 properties. Clients have included Walmart, Sprouts, Habit, Popeyes, Sprint, Best Buy, Smart & Final, CVS, Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Subway, and many more. 

Rick Rivera, Principal at CBM1, is a Commercial Real Estate Professional and Shopping Center Property, Asset Management, and Brokerage Expert in the real estate business for over 30 years. He specializes in representing landlords and tenants in the leasing and sale of commercial properties.

Formerly President and CEO of CBM, Inc., Mr. Rivera oversaw 11 million square feet, thousands of tenants, several hundred landlord clients, dozens of property managers, and leasing agents. He was the broker of record for more than 300 leasing and sales transactions annually. He supervised daily operations and directed a team responsible for managing and leasing a 500+ shopping center and retail specific portfolio. 

CBM was a CoStar ranked “Power Broker” for nearly a decade for leasing and/or selling 300+ properties annually. He has personally represented sellers and buyers in the sales of over $300 million in retail properties.

Mr. Rivera is currently listing over 250 properties for sale or lease. His clients include private and institutional investors.

View Rick Rivera's Expert Witness Profile.

Centennial Advisory Group is a boutique consulting firm specializing in Investment Management and Financial Services. They are a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches and hold the Certified Professional Resume Writer designation. Their goal is to enhance the career success and earnings potential of investment industry executives.

Services:

Frank Carr is a Certified Professional Resume Writer, a former Hedge Fund Chief Financial Officer, a Corporate Banker, and a 20-year executive search veteran for the Financial Services and Investment Management industries. Mr. Carr has advised thousands of junior, mid-level and senior executives on how to position and maximize their careers within the financial world. With over 4,800 investment industry connections on Linked In, his reach throughout the financial services world is extensive. He has written articles for and has been frequently quoted by publications such as Bloomberg News, CNN Money, Fund Fire, Ignites, Absolute Return, Hedge Fund Alert, and Hedge Fund Manager Week. Prior to forming Centennial, Mr. Carr had been a Managing Director in the Global Asset Management practice at A.T. Kearney Executive Search, a top 10 U.S. search firm. He began his search career at LAI Ward Howell which was later acquired by TMP Worldwide (owners of Monster.com). 

Prior to entering executive search, Mr. Carr was Chief Financial Officer of a Connecticut-based equity long-short hedge fund. He managed investor relations, accounting, and compliance, including registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Frank had spent eight years in commercial bank lending, initially with Citibank in their Wall Street Commodities division and later was a banker to the feature film and TV industries.

View Frank Carr's Expert Witness Profile.

Chasen Capital Advisors is a strategy and business advisory services firm specializing in the Hospitality and Vacation Ownership Industries.  At their core, they provide knowledge and practical solutions to assist industry players in the many aspects of the hospitality and vacation ownership industries including operations, sales and marketing, asset management, acquisitions, financing and branding strategies.

Chasen Capital Advisors specialize in working with and managing inter-disciplinary teams in the areas of architecture, construction, legal, resort operations, finance and development.  In real estate, every project is different and every solution unique and tailored made.

Consulting Services

Hospitality Services - Hotel operations, hospitality litigation and expert testimony, fractional ownership, contracts review, capital markets, hotel repositioning, acquisition and dispositions, management contract negotiations and franchise selection.

Vacation Ownership Services - Financial, sales & marketing, product development, legal & litigation services, and capital formation and origination consulting.

Asset Management - Owner’s representative, board member, asset manager and outside consultant; monitor property operations, including management company performance; analyze property reporting, including variances relative to pro forma, provide real-time recommendations for property and operational improvements, etc.

Acquisition Due Diligence -  Physical product development and sales; acquisition due diligence; economic and financial feasibility services; liquidity issues and financing options resulting from review and analysis of the consumer receivables portfolio; managing the servicing of consumer receivables, etc.

Management Contract Disputes - Corporation defined, used primarily for a purpose, taxable income, transfer pricing, tax returns.

Jon R. Simon, Managing Partner, is an experienced Finance and Investment Professional with decades of Consulting, Operations and Investing experience. He has a long and accomplished background in the Hotel and Vacation Ownership Industries where he has advised some of the largest U.S. investment funds, hospitality and gaming companies, and high net worth individuals.

Mr. Simon started his career at KPMG where he was elected to the partnership at the age of 31, making him the youngest full equity partner in the United States. At KPMG he headed the firm’s hospitality and real estate consulting practice for the Southeast US, Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on hotels, mixed-use resorts and shared ownership.  He also served as a national acquisitions partner serving senior roles in some of the largest hospitality industry acquisitions.

After leaving Starwood, Mr. Simon was one of the 5 founding principals of a late-stage private equity fund oriented to the hospitality industry where he also assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer.  In his first full year, he oversaw the underwriting and closing of over $150 million of direct investments, representing over $500 million of asset value.

View Jon R. Simon's Expert Witness Profile.

Carlo Scevola & Partners is an International Fiduciary Company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with branches in six continents. We specialize in International Planning, Strategic Consulting and Wealth Management. Our clients trust us for everything from setting up an Offshore Company to Mergers and Acquisitions to Business Finance and Asset Protection. 

CS&P’s customer-centric methodology ensures that each client gets a custom-tailored solution which addresses that business’ individual objectives and requirements. Our team has expertise in every functional category and every important geography. From finance to operations to human resources to marketing – from the Americas to Europe to Africa, Asia and Oceania – CS&P can bring together experienced executives who know how to advise you and will make your enterprise a success. All this while always protecting your privacy. 

Services Offered: Business and Strategic Consulting

• S.W.O.T. Analysis
• Pre-investment Feasibility Studies / Competitive Background Assessments
• Business Plan Research, Writing and Production
• Strategy Definition / Implementation
• Reworking of Operating Processes for International Suitability
• Industrial Partnership Scouting / Matching
• Tailor Business Model to Market Environment, Jurisdiction and Local Authorities Requirements 

Corporate Finance:

• Mergers, Acquisitions and CessionsCommercial Due Diligence or Investment / Financial Appraisals
• Company Reorganization and Restructuring
• Financial Feasibility Plans for Industrial Expansion
• Scouting / Recruiting Highly Qualified Financial Management
• Exit Strategies in the event of Buy-outs, Buy-ins, Spin-offs or MBOs, MBIs and LBOs
• Listing on Stock Exchanges 

Offshore Consulting:

1. International Tax Planning
2. Corporate Structuring, Maintenance and Trusts
3. International Contracts Law
4. Jurisdictions
5. Residency and Citizenship
6. International Banking
7. Logistic Support
8. Government Licenses
9. Aircrafts and Vessels
10. Intellectual Property 

CS&P Operates In More Than 80 Countries Around The World.

David D. Gibbons & Company, LLC provides Banking and Bank Regulation Litigation Consulting and Advisory services. Their business serves a diverse clientele, ranging from banks and bankers to lawyers and litigators, to bank regulators, to other financial service organizations. Their knowledge, expertise, experience, and services cover a broad spectrum of banking, bank regulation, and enforcement matters, from safety and soundness to compliance and conduct. 

Regulatory Risk Advisory Services:

Policies, Plans, and Frameworks

Allowance for Loan Losses
Regulatory Relations Management

David D. Gibbons, President, has 45 years of experience in Banking, Risk Evaluation and Risk Management, and Bank Regulation. He is widely recognized as an accomplished financial services executive with unique perspectives as a Former Chief Risk Officer HSBC, former Senior Bank Regulator (both policy and supervision), Chief Risk Officer, Deputy Comptroller for Credit Risk and Troubled Banks at Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Banking Consultant (shadow regulator).

Mr. Gibbons leverages his experience with financial services organizations, ranging from community to regional to systemically important.  He has demonstrated credit and enterprise risk evaluation and management expertise. He has extensive knowledge of industry regulatory policies and practices, including risk assessment, examination, and enforcement. With proven regulatory issue, and troubled bank, remediation and resolution expertise, he is effective both as an individual contributor or in a team leadership role.

View David D. Gibbons' Expert Witness Profile.

• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Restructuring of Capital and/or Debt of the Company
• Spin-Offs
• Recapitalizations
• Pass-Through Voting
• Tender Offers
• Leveraged, Un-Leveraged and Multi-Investor ESOP Buy-Outs
• Hybrid Securities

• Determine Fair Market Value of a Company's Shares
• Evaluate Transactions from a Financial Point of View
• Advise the Fiduciary During Negotiations and Structuring of Transactions
• Render Necessary Opinions of Fair Market Value and Fairness and Provide Suitable Documentation

Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc is a full-service independent consulting firm with more than 100 years of experience providing innovative and clever solutions to a wide range of Actuarial and Risk Management Challenges. They offer a wide range of tactical consulting services providing valuable assistance in the day-to-day operation of your firm, as well as strategic consulting to inform decision-making on matters of extreme gravity.

Huggins employs leading professionals, having the combination of strong analytical skills, business knowledge, and understanding of human behavior to identify, measure, and manage risk. The firm has a reputation of actuarial excellence and a proven track record providing clients with the information and vital services they need to succeed. 

Huggins actuaries have issued more than 600 loss reserve opinions to date, and counting. Credentialed actuaries on staff average over 25 years of experience and have reached top levels of achievement in the actuarial profession, including Chief Actuaries of large multi-line national insurance companies and Partner of Big Four accounting firms Their Integrated team approach provides the highest quality work in a timely fashion.

Consulting Services:

Ronald T. (Rusty) Kuehn is a Consulting Actuary with Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc. and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the International Actuarial Association. In addition, Mr. Kuehn holds the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) designation, the Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.

Mr. Kuehn is professionally active; he has served as the chairman of the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS), which is jointly sponsored by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the American Academy of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. He has also served on the on the Casualty Practice Council of the American Academy of Actuaries, the CAS Examination Committee and Committee for Consultants’ Interests, and as past President, Education Chairman and Board Member of the Casualty Actuaries of the Mid-Atlantic Region (CAMAR).

In addition, Mr. Kuehn has served on the Insurance Services Office Private Passenger Automobile Subcommittee and the Homeowners Subcommittee. Mr. Kuehn has also served as a Member of the Conference Task Force on Public Policy Debate of the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice. He currently serves on the Board of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia (ISOP), and he is a member of the ORSA subgroup of the ERM Committee of the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council of the American Academy of Actuaries. His over 45 years in business have given him a thorough knowledge of the property-casualty business both from a company and consulting viewpoint. See Full Bio and Consulting Experience.

Grover M. Edie, MBA, FCAS, MAAA, CERA, CPCU, ARM, ARP, is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, a Certified Enterprise Risk Analyst, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, an Associate in Risk Management, and an Associate in Research and Planning. 

Prior to joining Huggins, Mr. Edie was Vice President and Chief Actuary at GMAC Insurance Company, where he oversaw all actuarial activities including pricing, loss reserving, and enterprise risk management in personal auto, commercial lines, auto extended service contracts, assumed reinsurance and other miscellaneous lines of insurance. He introduced Economic Capital Modeling to the organization during his tenure. His previous employers include Erie Insurance Group, John Deere Insurance, and the Insurance Services Offices.

Mr. Edie has over 25 years of actuarial experience. He started his insurance career as an underwriter. The primary services Mr. Edie provides to his clients includes Economic Capital Modeling, Enterprise Risk Management, profitability analysis, rate level reviews and filings, and loss reserve analysis. See Full Bio and Consulting Experience.

Kim E. Piersol, FCAS, MAAA, is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Prior to joining Huggins, he served as Senior Vice President & Chief Actuary for Crum & Forster Insurance Companies. Prior to that he served as Group Vice President & Chief Actuary for CNA Insurance Companies, and was a consulting actuary for KPMG LLP, Arthur Andersen LLP, and CFO of AIG Risk Management (AIGRM). 

Mr. Piersol is professionally active; he has served on the American Academy of Actuaries Environmental Liabilities Work Group, the NAIC Technical Advisory Committee on Catastrophe Reserves, the Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Bureau Actuarial Committee, and has been a Director and Treasurer of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS). He also served on the Professional Liability Actuarial Subcommittee of the Insurance Services Office (ISO). He has also served as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army Field Artillery. His over 40 years in the actuarial field have given him a thorough knowledge of the property-casualty business both from a company and consulting viewpoint. See Full Bio and Consulting Experienc.

View Huggins Actuarial Services, Inc.'s Expert Witness Profile.

Keegan Linscott & Associates, PC is a full-service Accounting Firm with more than 27 years of experience providing the highest quality of service to clients through a multi-dimensional team of dedicated and trusted professionals.

Leaders in their industry of practice, the professionals at KLA are Certified Public Accountants, Certified Fraud Examiners, Forensic Accountants, and Certified Insolvency, and Restructuring Advisors. They are committed to providing their clients and community with exceptional service, specializing in such matters as complex commercial litigation, FAR audits, all taxation matters, bankruptcy, reorganization, insolvency issues, and fraud detection, investigation, and prevention.

Consulting Services Include:

• Taxation-Related Services -Tax Problems, IRS Audit Support, Non-Files Returns, Offers in Compromise, Bankruptcy, Estate Planning
• Audit Services - Audits, Reviews, Compilations, Federal Acquisition Regulations
• Business Services - Quickbooks, Small Business, Payroll, Part-Time CFO, Cash Flow, Bank Financing, Strategic Business planning, Business Valuation, Succession in Planning, New Business Planning, Non-Profits, Internal Controls

Christopher G. Linscott, CPA, CFE, CIRA, is a Director of Keegan Linscott & Associates and is the Director of Litigation, Forensic Accounting, and Bankruptcy Support Services. He also manages corporate financial audits and tax clients. Mr. Linscott was previously employed with the international CPA firms of Coopers & Lybrand (now Price­water­houseCoopers), and Peat Marwick (now KPMG). He has more than 25 years of ex­perience in public accounting.

Mr. Linscott specializes in the areas of Litigation Support, Bankruptcy Reorganization, Fraud Investigations and Prevention, and Business Consulting. He has served clients in industries including construction, health care, home builders and developers, law firms, manufacturing and distribution, non-profit, professional services, real estate, restaurant franchises, retail service, and wholesale.

Mr. Linscott is a Member of the Arizona Society of CPA's, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and a Director of the Board of Directors at Bashas’.

View Keegan Linscott & Associates' Expert Witness Profile.

Steven D. Epcar, CPM an Expert in Real Estate and Property Management Issues with 35+ years of experience;including residential, commercial, retail, hotel, condominium and mixed-use properties. Experienced in litigation support including standard of care, partnership conflicts, brokerage issues,landlord/tenant, valuation, personal injury, habitability, environmental, life safety cases. 

Steven is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA).  He serves as a real estate consultant for institutional and private investors, providing an array of services: asset/property management related assignments, organizational assessments, financial feasibility, due diligence,and new development services. 

Previously, Mr. Epcar served as President, Residential Services for Carmel Partners a R/E investment/management firm in San Francisco, Principal/Founding Partner of Ventana Property Services, a West Coast third party management and consulting firm and President,Prometheus Management Group,a development/investment/management firm.

Areas of Expertise: