Bio

Michael Jacoby is a Senior Managing Director and Shareholder at Phoenix. He is a skilled executive with extensive operating, turnaround, restructuring and M&A experience.  Michael has served in advisory capacities as well as independent director and interim manager for more than 325 Phoenix clients in a variety of industries. 

He has also been instrumental in assisting numerous clients with their financing and divestiture needs. Specific areas of expertise for Michael include: crisis management; business strategy; cash flow management, control and forecasting; workflow and project management; business wind downs; customer service improvement; inventory management; business and collateral valuations; and sales/marketing reinvigoration. He has also been instrumental in assisting numerous clients with their financing and divestiture needs.

Michael has extensive experience in family-held, venture-backed, and publicly traded companies. As the head of Phoenix Governmental Services division, he successfully brought the discipline of private sector practices to dozens of governmental and quasi-governmental entities.

Life Before Phoenix

Before joining Phoenix in 1992, Michael worked for PNC Bank in Philadelphia, where he managed a $500 million commercial loan portfolio. He was recruited by senior management to spearhead a newly created unit responsible for restructuring complex transactions with substandard risk classifications.

Education & Affiliations

Michael earned a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of Finance, a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. in Finance from Temple University. Michael holds the Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) designation from the Turnaround Management Association, the Certified Cash Manager (CCM) designation from the Association for Financial Professionals and the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designation from the Institute of Management Consultants.

In addition, Mr. Jacoby is registered with FINRA and holds his Series 79 license and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.  Mr. Jacoby is President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and a Board Member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Secured Finance Network and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project and is active with a number of other professional and charitable organizations.  He is a former Board member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, and a former Steering Committee Member of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference.

Featured Transactions

Advisor, Manufacturer of Tailored Men’s Clothing: Developed the orderly wind down and sale of the $70 million manufacturer, maximizing the value of the Company’s finished goods inventory and downsizing the Company.

Advisor, Computer and Technology Integrator and Consulting Firm: Developed the orderly wind down of a $40 million firm, ultimately avoiding a bankruptcy filing though the sale of various business segments to three separate purchasers.

CFO, Aggregator, Reseller and Transaction Processor of Physical and Email Gift Certificates: Led the Company to positive cash flow as he introduced and maintained financial discipline and controls at all levels within the organization.

CFO, Designer, Developer, and Marketer of Desktop Solutions: Migrated to a new contract manufacturer that reduced costs while improving quality, restructured several licensing agreements, and revamped the incentive compensation program.

CEO, Provider of Durable Medical Equipment and Health and Beauty Products: Led company through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.

Advisor, Publicly-Traded Manufacturer of Fire Safety Sprinklers: Led the resolution of litigation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and 7 Class Action litigants surrounding a recall of sprinklers that allowed the Company to return to profitability.

Interim Management Roles, Philadelphia Gas Works: Managed more than 300 employees in the Meter Reading, Customer Accounting, and Customer Support Departments and revitalized the credit and collection functions.

Financial Advisor and Manager, Clinical Phase Pharmaceutical Company: Led the §363 sales process for a company that resulted in a final sale—seven weeks after filing for bankruptcy—that was 3x the original “stalking horse” bid.

Interim CFO, E-commerce Client: Raised $13 million of convertible debt, a $7.5 million line of credit facility from a commercial bank, and more than $14 million of new equity.

Interim CFO, Early Stage Technology Company: Spun off certain technology into a separate corporation that raised $12 million of new capital, sold off the remaining operating assets to a publicly traded company, and wound down the business outside of bankruptcy.

Interim CEO, Healthcare Company: Structured, negotiated, and closed the sale of assets in more than a dozen transactions under §363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Advisor, Developer of Web-Based Video Scan Technology: Orchestrated the sale of the majority of its operating assets to a publicly traded company.

Advisor, Apparel Company: Raised $6.5 million of debt for an apparel company.