the questionWho managed Lehman Brothers Holdings after its bankruptcy, and who has controlled it since the plan took effect?
1Alvarez & Marsal
analysisEffective September 15, 2008 LBHI engaged Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC (A&M) under an engagement letter approved by its board the next day, with Bryan P. Marsal as chief restructuring officer to review LBHI's finances, assist with sales and restructuring plans and act as principal contact with creditors. LBHI agreed to pay $850 an hour for Marsal, $175 to $850 for other staff, a $2.5 million retainer and an incentive fee; Marsal signed for A&M and Steven Berkenfeld, as vice president, for LBHI, whom a 2024 trade-press report describes as Lehman's former chief investment officer. LBHI's report described Marsal as co-chief executive of A&M, which he co-founded in 1983, and A&M's own materials say he served for three years as chief executive of Lehman Brothers during its bankruptcy. 1 2 3 4 5
analysisA&M describes itself as founded in 1983 by Tony Alvarez II and Bryan Marsal, privately held, with more than 10,000 staff in over 80 offices, and states that it was selected in 2008 to lead the global wind-down of Lehman Brothers; this is A&M's own description of its work. 6
analysisOn February 26, 2009 the board's Executive Committee elected William J. Fox, an A&M managing director since April 2008, as controller and treasurer and, once Office of Thrift Supervision requirements were met, chief financial officer, in succession to David Coles, who had resigned on February 23; Fox remained employed by A&M, which LBHI paid for his services. A&M's profile describes Coles as a managing director who served as LBHI's chief financial officer during the initial crisis management. Its profile of John Suckow describes him as an A&M managing director from 2002 to 2022 whose positions included chief executive of LBHI. 7 8 9
sources in this section
- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Form 8-K (event date September 16, 2008) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Sep 2008
- Engagement letter between Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC and LBHI, Exhibit 10.6 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 15 Sep 2008
- Company statement source · src-016 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-066 identified by category only · Company statement
- Media source · src-081 identified by category only · Media
- Company statement source · src-065 identified by category only · Company statement
- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Form 8-K of February 2009 (event date February 23, 2009) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Feb 2009
- Company statement source · src-044 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-011 identified by category only · Company statement
2The Plan Trust and its trustees
analysisUnder the plan the members of the Director Selection Committee, set up by a court order of December 2, 2011 to choose LBHI's first board, became the Plan Trust's trustees, each in a representative capacity: Rutger Schimmelpenninck for Lehman Brothers Treasury Co.; Dr. Michael C. Frege for Lehman Brothers Bankhaus; John Suckow for LBHI; Julie Becker of Wilmington Trust, N.A. and Noel P. Purcell of Mizuho Corporate Bank as co-chairs of the creditors' committee; C.F. "Terry" Wolfe for an ad hoc creditor group; Justin Slatky for the Opco plan proponents; and Joseph Izhakoff and Myron Kaplan for certain plan-support creditors. A form of the trust agreement filed in December 2011 named the same first five trustees but four different creditor designees. 1 2 3
analysisTheir employers describe Kaplan as a founding partner of the law firm Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen and Slatky as president and chief investment officer of Shenkman Capital after co-heading Goldman Sachs' distressed bond business, and a 2015 interview describes Purcell as head of real estate and specialized finance at Mizuho Bank. A June 2012 trustee notice names Becker of Wilmington Trust Company as contact for the indenture trustee of LBHI's senior notes. LBHI acts as plan administrator for the trust; the trust's Form 8-K of September 6, 2024 was signed on its behalf by Jeffry Ciongoli, LBHI's senior vice president and co-treasurer. 4 5 6 7 8
sources in this section
- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Form 8-K (event date March 6, 2012; filed March 12, 2012) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 12 Mar 2012
- Court record source · src-021 identified by category only · Court record
- Form of Plan Trust Agreement, Exhibit 10.1 to LBHI Form 8-K (December 2011) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Dec 2011
- Company statement source · src-109 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-116 identified by category only · Company statement
- Media source · src-117 identified by category only · Media
- Company statement source · src-118 identified by category only · Company statement
- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Plan Trust Form 8-K of September 6, 2024 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 6 Sep 2024
3The board appointed in 2012
analysisOn March 6, 2012 Michael L. Ainslie, John F. Akers, Roger S. Berlind, Thomas H. Cruikshank, Marsha Johnson Evans, Sir Christopher Gent, Roland A. Hernandez and John D. Macomber ceased to be directors and Frederick Arnold, Robert G. Gifford, Thomas A. Knott, Sean O. Mahoney, David Pauker, Ronald K. Tanemura and Owen D. Thomas were appointed under the plan. The new board set up eight committees, among them Derivatives, Real Estate, Claims and Litigation and Non-Controlled Affiliates. Marsal resigned as chief executive and chief restructuring officer that day and became a senior advisor; on March 8 Suckow, president and chief operating officer since April 2009, was elected chief executive, and the board approved a form of indemnification agreement for the directors of LBHI, LCPI and LBSF. Fox signed LBHI's March 12, 2012 report as chief financial officer. 1
analysisLater company statements show several plan-appointed directors still serving. BXP describes Owen Thomas as LBHI's first chairman, in 2012-2013, who oversaw the $15 billion sale of Archstone before becoming BXP's chief executive in April 2013. A 2019 SEC filing by an investor describes Tanemura as a director since March 2012; a 2016 release describes Pauker as a board member appointed under the plan; a later employer's board biography states that Mahoney has served on the board since 2012 and has been its chair; and CBL & Associates Properties lists Gifford as serving on it and reported that he joined its own board in November 2021. A financial-data aggregator lists Knott as a director of LBHI and a managing director of Advent Global Opportunities Management; the profile is undated, and no primary record confirms that Knott still holds these roles. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
sources in this section
- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Form 8-K (event date March 6, 2012; filed March 12, 2012) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 12 Mar 2012
- Boston Properties press release on its new chief executive, Exhibit 99.1 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 11 Mar 2013
- Company statement source · src-027 identified by category only · Company statement
- Schedule 14A soliciting material by a HomeStreet, Inc. shareholder (2019) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · May 2019
- Company statement source · src-103 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-104 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-060 identified by category only · Company statement
- CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. Form 8-K of November 1, 2021 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 1 Nov 2021
- Research source · src-105 identified by category only · Research
4Officers in a state registry
analysisWest Virginia's registry record for LBHI, which shows annual reports up to 2019 and a termination on August 20, 2021, lists directors Clifford Feibus and Jeffry Ciongoli, president Christopher O'Meara, secretary Matthew Canter, treasurer Anton Kolev and vice-president Linda A. Klang, all listed at LBHI's principal office address in New York. The registry gives no appointment dates and does not show whether the president listed is the former chief financial officer of the same name; the board appointed in 2012 does not appear in it. 1
sources in this section
- West Virginia Secretary of State: business record of LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS, INC. West Virginia Secretary of State · 14 Oct 2026
timeline · 2008–2012
- Alvarez & Marsal engaged; Bryan Marsal becomes chief restructuring officer
- Plan becomes effective; the Plan Trust receives the single LBHI share; new board appointed