Peter S. Kaufman
Peter S. Kaufman | |
|---|---|
| Education | The Taft School (cum laude); Yale College (Honors, double major in art history and history); University of Virginia School of Law (top 25% of class) |
| Occupation(s) | Investment banker, private equity investor, adjunct professor |
| Years active | Not specified |
| Known for | President of Gordian Group LLC; Managing Partner at Bacchus Capital Management; author on distressed investment banking |
Peter S. Kaufman is a U.S.-based investment banker and private equity investor. He serves as President and leads the Restructuring and Distressed M&A division at Gordian Group LLC, an investment banking firm that specializes in handling intricate financial restructurings. Additionally, Kaufman holds the position of Managing Partner at Bacchus Capital Management, a firm dedicated to investments in the winery sector.
Early Life and Education
Kaufman completed his secondary education cum laude at The Taft School and graduated with Honors from Yale College, where he pursued a double major in art history and history. During his time at Yale, he contributed as an editor for the Yale Daily News. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, graduating within the top 25% of his class.
Career
Kaufman initiated his professional journey practicing law in New York City before transitioning to First Boston Corporation, where he held the role of Vice-President. Subsequently, he joined Gordian Group LLC, concentrating on distressed investment banking activities. Collaborating with CEO Henry Furlow Owsley III, Kaufman co-authored significant publications such as Distressed Investment Banking: To The Abyss and Back (Second Edition, 2015) and Equity Holders Under Siege (2014). For over ten years, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Virginia Law School, teaching courses on advising corporate boards facing crisis situations.
Widely recognized for his expertise on restructurings, distressed debt, and economic policy matters, Kaufman frequently appears on prominent media outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox Business, CNN, NBC, and Yahoo! Finance. Often referred to within the industry as the "Nastiest Man in Restructuring," he provides counsel to Boards of Directors, private equity investors, and parties involved in complex or distressed transactions. Gordian Group’s impartial approach toward creditors facilitates substantial equity recoveries during insolvency proceedings.
Kaufman’s media commentary has addressed notable restructuring cases involving companies such as General Motors, Chrysler, BP, American Airlines, Hostess Brands, along with municipal bankruptcy situations. His perspectives have been featured in major publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
In his role at Bacchus Capital Management, Kaufman actively manages a portfolio of winery investments amid ongoing consolidation trends within the U.S. wine industry. In 2013, he provided testimony before the ABI Commission on Bankruptcy Reform regarding valuation methodologies.
Professional recognition
Gordian Group LLC has been honored by the M&A Advisor organization with the Boutique Investment Bank of the Year award nine times over a fourteen-year span. The firm received accolades for Out-Of-Court Restructuring of the Year (Over $100MM) for its work on Trans Energy, Inc., and Cross-Border Restructuring Deal of the Year (Under $1B) for Alphatec’s international restructuring efforts. Additional recognitions include restructurings of Jobson Medical Holdings in Professional Services and Elyria Foundry within Industrial Manufacturing & Distribution sectors.
In 2014, Peter S. Kaufman was appointed Visiting Executive Lecturer at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. He was honored with the 2015 M&A Advisor Leadership Award at the 9th Annual Turnaround Awards Gala held in Palm Beach, Florida. Later that year, Kaufman was inducted into the M&A Advisor Hall of Fame during the 14th Annual M&A Advisor Awards Gala in New York City.
Publications
- Contributing author, "Ongoing Alerts for Corporate Directors Assessing LBO and Other Complex Transaction Structures" (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, July 21, 2021)
- Co-author, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back - Second Edition (Beard Books, 2015)
- Co-author, Equity Holders under Siege: Strategies and Tactics for Distressed Businesses (Beard Books, 2014)
- Co-author, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back (Beard Books LLC, 2005)
- Co-author, "The Role of the Investment Banker," featured in Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions (Lex Med Publishing, 1998)
- Co-author, "Trading in the Distressed Market," included in Investing in Bankruptcies and Turnarounds (HarperCollins Publishers, 1991)