Las Vegas — The rise and fall of US Fidelis will take center stage at the first annual P&A Leadership Summit, as attendees will hear from the firm that presided over the wind down of the direct-to-consumer marketer of vehicle service contracts.
The discussion, “US Fidelis: Lessons Learned from the Inside,” will feature Amherst Partners’ Scott Eisenberg, who served as the chief restructuring officer of US Fidelis. He will be joined by colleague Terry Keating, managing director of the investment banking, corporate restructuring and management advisory firm.
“Three years ago, we had hoped to bring out Scott and Terry to speak about US Fidelis,” said Gregory Arroyo, editorial director of F&I and Showroom and Auto Dealer Monthly magazines. “Unfortunately, settlements related to the company’s bankruptcy were still being negotiated, and they were unable to deliver their address. At that time, Scott and Terry promised they’d make it up to us when they were free to speak on the now-defunct marketer of vehicle service contracts. Well, that time has come, and they have agreed to deliver the untold story of US Fidelis. This is a can’t-miss session.”
Eisenberg, founder and managing partner of Amherst Partners, is a turnaround expert with more than 20 years of experience providing investment banking and restructuring services to a wide variety of companies. He was part of the independent team assigned to manage US Fidelis after it filed for bankruptcy on March 1, 2010. Under Eisenberg, the former Wentzville, Mo.-based company filed suit against its former owners, Darain and Cory Atkinson, for operating a doomed-to-fail enterprise that ignored at least $100 million in liabilities.
Darain and Cory were sentenced by a Missouri court late last year to prison terms of eight and four years, respectively, for stealing consumers’ refunds, insurance fraud and consumer fraud. They originally came under investigation in 2008 by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office for violating federal Do-Not-Call rules, among other violations. The firm also faced a slew of lawsuits filed by competitors, automakers, including BMW of North America, other state regulators and consumers.
Keating, who has spent more than 20 years serving financial services and related companies in a variety of capacities, including multiple assignments involving service contract servicers, providers and financiers, and Eisenberg will use the US Fidelis story to advise product providers and administrators on the considerations they need to make before expanding into new markets through partnerships and acquisitions.
“US Fidelis was a dark chapter in our industry, and we didn’t invite Scott and Terry to dredge up bad memories,” said David Gesualdo, show chair and publisher of F&I and Showroom and Auto Dealer Monthly. “Our goal is to confront that company’s bad practices and learn how we, as an industry, can make sure they remain in the past.”
The P&A Leadership Summit is a joint production between P&A and F&I and Showroom magazines. The event will be held on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 16, at Paris Las Vegas, concluding shortly before the evening keynote and welcome reception for the annual Industry Summit. Industry Summit attendees can add the P&A Leadership Summit to their registration for an additional fee of $395.
For more information or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact David Gesualdo via email or call 727-947-4027.
