David J. Distel, CPA, CTP, CFF, ABV | Partner and Sr. Managing Director
Email – ddistel@amicusmanagement.com
With over 30 years of experience, Dave is an expert in Receiverships, Bankruptcies, Turnaround/Restructuring, Liquidations, and Buying/Selling Businesses. Over his career, he has served in the roles of CEO, CFO, COO, CRO, Receiver, and Financial Advisor in private industry and consulting. From 2014 to 2019 he served as Chief Executive Officer, successfully leading two money losing companies and grew both top and bottom lines. He is skilled at quickly assessing situations and finding the most impactful levers to positively change profitability, cash flows, and culture.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Distel was a Partner and Senior Managing Director with another strategic advisory firm for 10 years, where he led strategic projects, receiverships, and turnarounds serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer, Receiver, Chief Liquidation Officer, Expert Witness, and Financial Advisor for clientele both inside and outside of bankruptcy. Prior to that, Mr. Distel served spent 15 years with Deloitte’s audit and mergers & acquisitions consulting practices serving as CFO and COO of both private and publicly traded operating companies.
Mr. Distel has won professional industry awards and holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant, and Certifications in Financial Forensics, Business Valuation, and Turnaround/Restructurings. He is the original founding President of the Turnaround Management Association in West Michigan and has been published numerous times.
Timothy J. Emmitt, MBA, PMP | Partner and Sr. Managing Director
Email – temmitt@amicusmanagement.com
Tim is a Partner and Sr. Managing Director of Amicus Management. With over 30 years of experience, Tim is an expert in Turnaround & Restructuring, Transformational Change Management, Bankruptcies, Operations, Strategic Planning, Managing Liquidity, Refinancing, and Accounting/Finance. Tim has led and advised dozens of companies through crisis, negative cashflow, and major liquidity issues to successful outcomes for stakeholders.
He has advisory and corporate experience at executive levels including CEO, COO, and VP in operations, finance, strategy, pricing, product development, mergers & acquisitions, and business development. His experience includes private equity, public, non-profit organizations, and family-owned businesses in a variety of sectors. Tim has turned around multiple companies both as an Advisor and President/CEO.
Tim specializes in Performance Improvement, Transaction Support, Corporate Transformation Management and Turnaround & Restructuring. He has led three (3) separate middle market companies to organically quadruple bottom-line in under four years while putting each on a double-digit growth path. He can quickly identify and then lead teams to rapidly execute strategies to harvest the best opportunities.
Mr. Emmitt holds an MBA in finance from The University of Chicago, a BS with Honors in engineering from Michigan State University and maintains an active certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP). He is a candidate for Certification in Private Company Governance (Private Director’s Association).
He currently sits on a variety of nonprofit boards and one audit committee. He has also served as a board-advisor for several middle-market companies.
Starrla McDonald | Project Coordinator
Email – smcdonald@amicusmanagement.com
Starrla McDonald has more than 20 years of experience in real estate transactions and court documentation. Starrla joined Amicus in 2007 as a project coordinator and employed her attention to detail to know the exact status of Amicus projects and communicate that information clearly to all stakeholders including courts, attorneys, creditors, plaintiffs, and defendants.
Starrla’s involvement goes far beyond that of a reporting function. She takes a hands-on approach to preserving and improving value during disposition by working with on-site managers to make sure they have support and adequate resources to effectively manage the assets. Furthermore, she makes sure that there is a smooth transition of ownership of assets, such as Class C and SDD/SDM liquor licenses, from an Amicus receivership to a buyer.
At one point in her career, Starrla managed a portfolio of more than 2,000 real estate owned (REO) properties spanning seven states. Her involvement in thousands of commercial/residential real estate closings has given her significant expertise in REO property management. That experience has served her well as project coordinator for Amicus.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University.
Lou Betten | Project Director
Lou Betten has developed a unique skill set over the past 40 years derived from manufacturing management and sales, licensed debt collection, law enforcement, and private investigation. Lou is effective at uncovering the most pertinent facts in business litigation and acts quickly to maintain the underlying value of the asset.
Lou will interview and gain the cooperation of key employees to determine the true status of the business and the location of business assets. Lou coordinates with auction companies, equipment brokers, and purchasers to supervise the orderly sale or liquidation of assets. Lou’s experience and investigative work has translated into increased recoveries. In one case, he tracked down and secured $250,000 of heavy equipment and intercepted a $90,000 rent check to the benefit of the receivership estate.
Lou is a licensed private investigator with training and real-world experience in defusing and settling the most contentious situations.
Jody Sprite | Project Accountant
Email – jsprite@amicusmanagement.com
Jody Sprite joined Amicus as project accountant in 2012. With more than 20 years of experience in private and public accounting, Jody is well-versed in maintaining current and accurate financial data and financial statements.
Jody has extensive experience in the hospitality industry where she was employed as controller, human resource manager, and general manager at a full-service hotel with 120 rooms, bar and restaurant, and large event center. In addition to her hospitality experience, Jody has managed the accounting for numerous retail, property management, multi-family, and distribution businesses.
Jody holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in human resources from Wayne State University.
Hagen Voelkers CHA, CFBE | Director of Hospitality Management
As director of hospitality management, Hagen Voelkers has acted as consultant and general manager on properties in receiverships, workouts, and bankruptcies. With his intimate knowledge and training acquired over the past 35 years, Hagen is able to provide exceptional advice in the operation and management of hospitality properties, including full and limited-service.
Hagen provided wide-ranging leadership during a workout of a Michigan resort hotel and marina that involved Chapter 11 reporting requirements, including cash flow projections, budgets, and asset disclosure. Hagen reviewed all internal systems, organized sales teams, and coached staff to reduce the property’s operating expenses and preserve the asset value during its sale.
Prior to his relationship with Amicus, Hagen served as general manager, regional director of operations, and director of marketing and sales for hospitality industry companies operating Sheraton, Marriott, Holiday Inn, and Choice Hotel brands.
Hagen has been a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and a Certified Food & Beverage Executive (CFBE) since 1980. He received his undergraduate degree in hotel and restaurant management in Hannover, Germany, and pursued graduate studies in economics and finance at St. John’s University in Queens, New York.
Bernard Klukowski | Project Director/Project Accountant
A seasoned accounting and finance professional, Bernard has over 25 years of experience across industries including real estate development, financial services, retail, and nonprofit sectors. He excels in project management, problem solving, and communication.
Bernard’s background as a controller includes managing larger teams and working with financial institutions and equity partners on finance-related issues. His specialties as part of the Amicus team include shareholder disputes, business valuations, complex accounting system analysis, and financial auditing.
Bernard holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Davenport University in Michigan.