James H. M. Sprayregen, a veteran of the restructuring, corporate reorganization and the M&A community, will join Hilco Global as a vice chairman of the privately held global financial services holding company.
As vice chairman, Sprayregen will serve as a partner and key strategic advisor to Jeffrey Hecktman, Hilco Global CEO and founder, working alongside another recent hire, David Kurtz, who joined the firm from Lazard in the fall of 2023 as vice chairman and chief strategic officer. Both leaders, along with John Chen, vice chairman and COO, will have oversight for the firm’s expanding financial services platform within the office of the chairman, a new executive leadership team at the Hilco Global holding company that reports to Hecktman.
“Jamie joins our global executive team as a key advisor and strategic partner alongside David Kurtz and John Chen to further align our organization to meet the aggressive commercial growth plans we have established for our company,” Hecktman said. “Not only does Jamie bring to Hilco Global his considerable credentials and outstanding reputation for decades as one of the top restructuring attorneys and dealmakers in the United States, but he also fits in well with Hilco’s indefatigable deal culture and passion to deliver innovative transaction solutions to all our clients.”
Sprayregen will have responsibility for continuing to help fuel the growth of the firm’s broad solutions platform by leveraging his restructuring and advisory experience in combination with Hilco Global’ s expanded merchant banking capabilities, including its range of advisory services coupled with capital solutions for private credit, special situations and principal investing.
“Having known Hilco Global my entire professional life, I’ve always been impressed by the breadth and depth of their solutions focused platform and their deep relationships with the top executives at third party advisors, including lawyers, lenders, private credit, investment banks, commercial banks and investors,” Sprayregen said. “These relationships provide an incredible foundation for me to contribute and to play a key role in taking Hilco to the next level of growth and expansion.
“Jeff Hecktman and his partners at Hilco Global have created a modern, solutions-focused firm that offers the most comprehensive range of financial services to deliver restructuring solutions and first-class advisory expertise in combination with capital solutions and principal investing. This is a powerful combination that results in a modern merchant banking approach that provides customized solutions to resolve complex and stressed situations and enhance long-term enterprise business value.”
Sprayregen is joining Hilco Global from Kirkland & Ellis, where he was the founder of the Kirkland Restructuring Group. He built the group from its inception in 1990 and served on Kirkland’s worldwide management committee from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2019. He was co-head of the restructuring group at Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2008 and returned to Kirkland at the end of 2008. Some of his clients have included Energy Future Holdings, Caesars, Avaya, Toys “R” Us, iHeartMedia, Seadrill, General Growth, Japan Airlines, United Airlines and Reader’s Digest.
“Jamie has been an exceptional lawyer and a tremendous partner and friend, and we’re grateful for his countless contributions to Kirkland – most importantly, his founding of our market-leading restructuring practice,” Jon Ballis, chairman of Kirkland’s executive committee, said. “We wish him great success with this exciting new opportunity at Hilco Global and we look forward to continuing our relationship with him, and Hilco, in the future.”
“My 32 years at Kirkland have been rewarding in so many ways. As I start a new chapter, it’s especially gratifying to see Kirkland’s restructuring practice stronger than ever, leading on all levels with an unmatched depth of talent and positioned to keep building on their incredible success,” Sprayregen said.
In 2010, Sprayregen was selected by The National Law Journal as one of “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers. He was named “Global Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyer of the Year” in 2013 by Who’s Who Legal Awards, receiving more votes from clients and peers than any other individual worldwide. In 2013, he was inducted into the Turnaround Management Association’s Hall of Fame.
From 2013 to 2015, Sprayrege served a two-year term as the president of INSOL International, an international insolvency association. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the 21, Sprayregen will receive the “Distinguished Service Award” from the American College of Bankruptcy Fellows.
Sprayregen also serves as an adjunct full professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, teaching a joint course on corporate restructuring with the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of the National Board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the American Jewish Committee Board of Governors. He also serves on the board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and World Business Chicago.
