The Industry of Getting High Continues to See New Lows: The current state of cannabis

Bryan M. Gaston | Ankura

Bryan M. Gaston is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura. A restructuring expert, Bryan’s 29 years of professional experience includes 18 years advising distressed companies and their creditors both in and out of court. He has served in interim management and financial roles and as a testifying expert in restructuring matters across various industries. Bryan is based in Houston.

Before joining Ankura, Bryan was most recently a managing director at a Houston based advisory firm specializing in energy, responsible for practice leadership and client service delivery. Bryan previously held senior roles at other national and boutique restructuring firms, where he focused on clients in the manufacturing, energy, forest products and automotive industries. Early in his career, he worked in commercial lending and business valuation at Merrill Lynch and in auditing and litigation consulting at KPMG.

John Frehse | Ankura

John Frehse is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura, based in the New York office. He has more than 25 years of experience focused specifically on labor and operations strategy.

John has developed and implemented strategies for more than 150 companies, and he delivers to corporate leaders innovative labor solutions that incorporate employee needs. His work has spanned a wide range of industries, including retail, food and beverage, agricultural, pharmaceuticals, banking/insurance, distribution, telecommunications, government and healthcare.

Before joining Ankura, John was a founding partner of Core Practice LLC, an international labor strategies firm. Prior to that, he was head of Global Strategic Services Sales for Blue Pumpkin Software, now known as Verint. His clients included leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, global supply chain and 3PL companies, and a multinational food manufacturing conglomerate.

John sits on the board of The Workforce Institute at UKG and is a thought leader for its think tank. He is also a member of the advisory board for HR.corn’s Workforce Management practice, where he educates management teams on union negotiation strategies and employee engagement methodologies.

I. Capital Cost Structure | 2:00pm – 2:20pm

II. Labor | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

III. Supply chain | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

IV. Competition/Differentiation | 3:10pm – 3:25pm

V. Restructuring Alternatives | 3:25pm – 3:40pm