Jon Donnell, Principal of The Monticello Group, LLC a real estate advisory firm recently served on a panel discussing the dynamics of distressed real estate assets and home builder bankruptcy at the 2009 Credit Suisse Home Builder Conference. The conference held January 13 and 14 in New York City was attended by nearly 400 real estate investors from around the country. “This was an opportunity to hear the concerns of investors and and share our observations from our work on distressed real estate assets. Hopefully we provided some insight regarding the protection of values and positioning for the recovery. Our company with our alliance with Loughlin Meghji and Co. is well-positioned to serve the interests of stakeholders during this difficult period. We were pleased that Credit Suisse asked us to share our experiences at such a highly regarded conference” stated Jon Donnell.
The conference also included presentations by many of the national homebuilders. Clearly the consensus was that 2009 could be another tough year for the homebuilding industry. “This conference served to reinforce our projections for the industry in 2009. We believe that stakeholders will need the help from experienced real estate professionals to nativigate through these troubled waters” said Karl Billisits, Principal The Monticello Group, LLC.
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Karl Billisits is a homebuilding and real estate development industry leader with nearly 20 years of experience. Mr. Billisits has a proven track record of exceptional leadership.
As Executive Vice President of Operations for Dominion Homes, Mr. Billisits’ leadership was evident during a period in which the company doubled in size while also improving upon every key financial metric. The operational team built by Mr. Billisits produced industry leading customer satisfaction which greatly contributed to the company’s growth platform. Additionally, Mr. Billisits led the company’s “on the ground” greenfield growth initiative as the company was transforming from a single-market builder to a builder with a multiple state presence. Mr. Billisits ability to navigate the regulatory environment enabled the company to maximize profitability in each and every community.
Prior to joining Dominion Homes, Mr. Billisits was general manager for Price Bothers Company (currently part of Hanson, llp) responsible for design, manufacturing, sales, marketing and operations for a concrete precast manufacturing facility.
Since leaving Dominion Homes, Mr. Billisits worked with Beazer Homes as a senior executive responsible for operations in the company’s Midwest region. In this capacity Mr. Billisits developed the company’s strategic plan in which each operation was triaged to determine which would be disposed and which would remain operational. Subsequently, in January 2008, Mr. Billisits and his business partner Jon Donnell founded The Monticello Group, LLC. With decades of turnaround and growth experience, the principals of The Monticello Group, LLC have been assisting financial stakeholders with the preservation of value and development of strategic alternatives of large real estate developments throughout the United States and the Bahamas.
Mr. Billisits is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky who began his career with Bauer, Davidson and Merchant as a design engineer. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil, Structural and Hydrologic Engineering from The Ohio State University.
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Jon Donnell is an industry leader with over 20 years of homebuilding experience and has an established track record of leading companies in achieving stellar results. During Mr. Donnell’s tenure as Dominion Homes President, the company doubled its revenue to $563 million, increased earnings 4x, experienced an industry leading 52% cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) and improved its market share from 20% to 32%. Mr. Donnell also led the company’s transformation from a single-market builder to a builder with a multiple state platform. Additionally, under Mr. Donnell’s leadership Dominion Homes was twice named to Forbes Magazine’s list of 200 Best Small Companies. Mr. Donnell left Dominion Homes in 2004.
Prior to joining Dominion Homes, Mr. Donnell was a senior executive with Del Webb Corporation (currently part of Pulte Homes) responsible for the design, development, marketing, sales and construction of active adult communities. Del Webb is nationally recognized as the leading builder of active adult communities. The lifestyle created by a Del Webb active adult community typically includes multiple golf courses and a myriad of recreational options located within a multi-million dollar recreational and fitness facility. During Mr. Donnell’s 11 year tenure at Del Webb, his accomplishments include Sun City Las Vegas and Sun City Hilton Head.
Since leaving Dominion Homes, Mr. Donnell has helped homebuilders and developers around the country with the implementation of a scaleable operating platform reflecting the financial necessities of the current industry downturn. In January 2008, Mr. Donnell and his business partner Karl Billisits founded The Monticello Group, LLC. With decades of turnaround and growth experience, the principals of The Monticello Group, LLC have since been advising financial stakeholders regarding the preservation of value and development of strategic alternatives of large real estate developments throughout the United States and the Bahamas.
Mr. Donnell is a Certified Public Accountant who began his career with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Mr. Donnell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of Dominion Homes, Mr. Donnell served on the Board of Directors of Vistacare, a publicly traded hospice company which was sold to Odyssey Healthcare in 2008 and on the Board of Directors of Healthstar Corporation, a publicly traded PPO.
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Loughlin Meghji + Company, a leading restructuring advisory firm, today announced a consulting alliance with The Monticello Group, LLC, a real estate/homebuilding advisory firm. Jon M. Donnell, former president of Dominion Homes, Inc. and Karl Billisits, a former senior executive with Dominion, are Monticello’s principals.
“The integration of LM+Co’s restructuring and distressed company advisory expertise with the homebuilding industry experience and ‘hands-on’ approach of Jon Donnell and Karl Billisits – two of the strongest operating executives in the business – provides a unique set of resources for troubled companies throughout the sector,” said Mohsin Y. Meghji, managing director and founding principal of Loughlin Meghji + Company.
“Jon and Karl have 40+ years of homebuilding experience. Adding their senior-level expertise to Loughlin Meghji creates a comprehensive roster of consulting, crisis and interim executive management services, and restructuring advisory services for distressed companies in all sectors of the homebuilding industry.”
The homebuilding industry has experienced unprecedented growth during the last decade. However, most of the managers within the industry haven’t experienced a downturn in the market as deep as the current cycle. Clearly, there is a need for seasoned homebuilding professionals who can work with distressed companies,” said Jon M. Donnell, principal, The Monticello Group, LLC.
“We have a proven track record of identifying problem areas, developing and executing a range of business plans. We have assembled industry professionals with a strong pedigree and complementary skill sets. The alliance with LM+Co – with their well-known abilities working with distressed companies in a variety of industries – creates an integrated team with the urgent needs of the homebuilding industry as its sole focus.”
Mr. Meghji said that LM+Co’s expanded services are targeted specifically to lenders and stakeholders of distressed residential real-estate companies; public builders; and private builders that fall within the top 100 builders by volume. “We are already collaborating with The Monticello Group on assignments in the homebuilding industry,” said Mr. Meghji.
Mr. Meghji noted that, since it has been some years since the last down cycle in real estate and homebuilding, “Critical skills are in short supply. Our firm’s principals worked extensively in the industry during the last major down cycle in the 1990s. With the added expertise of The Monticello Group, LM+Co now has a diversity and depth of industry experience in this sector that is unequalled in the restructuring business.”
About Loughlin Meghji + Company
Loughlin Meghji + Company, one of the top restructuring advisory firms in the United States, provides an array of consulting and interim management services, focused on underperforming and distressed companies facing complex financial and operational challenges. LM+Co was founded in 2002 by two former Arthur Andersen restructuring partners, each with more than 20 years of broad restructuring experience. The firm’s mix of operational and financial skills and experience is called on for a variety of assignments, representing the various stakeholders in distressed situations – including lending institutions, corporations and private equity sponsors – on operational and financial restructuring matters. The firm’s recent engagements include large, complex matters such as: Dan River, Delphi, HealthSouth, Interim HealthCare, Kmart, Krispy Kreme, USGen New England, and Werner Ladder.
For more information, visit www.lmco-ny.com.
About the Principals
Mohsin Y. Meghji, principal and founder of Loughlin Meghji + Company, has more than 20 years of business and restructuring experience, including major advisory and interim management roles with real estate and homebuilding clients in the last industry downturn. Prior to founding LM+Co, Mr. Meghji was a partner in the Restructuring Group of Arthur Andersen LLP based in New York. Much of his experience has involved running the day-to-day operations (as CRO/Trustee/Interim CEO) and advising management, creditors and investors in relation to companies experiencing financial distress.
Jon M. Donnell, principal and founder, The Monticello Group, LLC is an industry leader with more than 20 years of homebuilding experience. During the period Mr. Donnell served as president, Dominion Homes, Inc. doubled its revenue to $563 million, quadrupled earnings, experienced an industry-leading 52% cumulative average growth rate and improved its market share from 20% to 32%. Under Mr. Donnell’s leadership Dominion Homes was twice named to Forbes magazine’s list of “200 Best Small Companies.”
Prior to joining Dominion Homes, Mr. Donnell was a senior executive with Del Webb Corporation, responsible for the design, development, sales and construction of master-planned active adult communities consisting of amenities ranging from golf courses to large scale recreation centers. Mr. Donnell’s accomplishments include Sun City Las Vegas and Sun City Hilton Head. Mr. Donnell is a certified public accountant.
James J. Loughlin, Jr, principal and founder of Loughlin Meghji + Company, is a nationally recognized, award-winning restructuring professional with more than 25 years of experience. He advised General Homes Corp, one of the largest homebuilders in the US, through its restructuring. Mr. Loughlin has been involved in all aspects of financial restructuring as an advisor to financially underperforming and distressed companies, lenders and other creditors, corporate boards and equity sponsors. He has advised more than 100 companies and has successfully restructured more than $50 billion of debt.
Karl E. Billisits, principal and founder, The Monticello Group, LLC is a seasoned homebuilding executive with more than 18 years experience. Most recently, Mr. Billisits served as regional advisor and division president with Beazer Homes, Inc. Mr. Billisits was responsible for evaluating and restructuring Beazer’s acquisition of Crossman Communities. As a senior executive with Dominion Homes, Inc., Mr. Billisits was responsible for all land development and construction operations during the period in which the company experienced an industry leading growth rate. Additionally, Mr. Billisits led the company’s greenfield expansion efforts into Kentucky and Indiana. Mr. Billisits is a registered professional engineer.
SOURCE:
Loughlin Meghji + Company
Owen Blicksilver PR Carol Makovich, 203-622-4781
or Owen Blicksilver PR Caroline Luz, 203-656-2829
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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