    STEPHEN J. HOPKINS, Principal, is an executive with more than 40 years of unusually diversified financial and general management experience. Prior to the formation of Kestrel Consulting Steve was a Principal of Nightingale & Associates for over 20 years, including serving as President from 1994 to 2000. Steve’s early years included a wide range of finance and manufacturing related responsibilities with General Electric Company. He is co-author (with S. Douglas Hopkins) of Crafting Solutions for Troubled Businesses.

    Over the course of his 25 years in turnaround management consulting, Steve has either managed or played a major role in projects for over 150 different businesses. He has in-depth experience that encompasses acquisitions, divestitures, complex operational and debt restructurings, international operations, and managing companies during Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

    Steve’s interim management CEO responsibilities include: The Cerplex Group, Inc., a multinational computer hardware repair services provider; Application Systems, Inc., an information technology firm operating in seven European countries; Worlds of Wonder, Inc., a high tech toy manufacturer in Chapter 11 proceedings; and Evans Financial Company, which owned a substantial residential mortgage portfolio with high delinquency ratios and a nationwide inventory of REO homes. Other major assignments have included:

Principal

President and Managing Principal

T P ("Pat") Guerin

Managing Director

Thomas J Opladen

Managing Director

Stephen A. Vogel

Managing Director

Completing 25 sale transactions of business assets or product lines of business units operating under Chapter 11 proceedings.
While acting in various company management roles, completing 30 business unit sale transactions as part of operational restructurings of companies not in bankruptcy.
As an advisor to management, developing operational and/or financial restructuring plans for companies in medical products and services, material handling, discount retail, apparel, nonferrous tube and wire, waste management, consulting engineering, sporting goods, glass fabrication, wine and spirits distribution, textile, auto parts, metal buildings, firearms, shoes, paper products, fertilizer, consumer appliances and motion picture industries.
Acting as operational and financial restructuring advisor to creditors of companies with operations in the specialty retail, education, publishing, forest products, meatpacking, computer products, steel and time-share real estate industries.

    As CFO of West Chemical Products, Inc., Steve developed and implemented plans for a Chapter 11 reorganization that included a complete operational restructuring. Loss businesses were sold to seven separate strategic buyers with creditors receiving a 100% recovery.

   During his 18 years with GE, Steve had extensive experience in installation of new computerized factory control systems, international operations and on-site control of distributors in financial difficulty.

   Additional writing credits include two chapters in the Business Workout Manual published by West; “The Consultants Role in a Business Workout” and “Managing International Workouts” and a chapter on “Evaluating Management” in the book Workouts and Turnarounds published by Irwin.

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