MEDFORD, Ore., June 12, 2025 — During its annual conference held in Newport Beach, CA, on June 5th, AIRA formally recognized and welcomed its 2025 class of Distinguished Fellows.
The Distinguished Fellows designation was created to give recognition to AIRA’s senior members’ remarkable contributions to the field of corporate restructuring and to the association itself. It is an academic and professional distinction awarded to AIRA members and program participants who demonstrate the highest standards of professional conduct and whose contributions have a lasting and beneficial impact on the profession and the association.
These individuals have supported AIRA and the profession through various avenues, including serving as educators, providing leadership to AIRA and other organizations like the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), dedicating years of service to the AIRA board, contributing to AIRA’s CIRA and CDBV certification programs, organizing and presenting at AIRA and other professional events, and publishing scholarly works.
The 2025 Distinguished Fellows are:
Andrew R. Barg, CIRA, Barg & Henson CPAs, PLLC, Fort Worth, TX
David R. Payne, CIRA, CDBV, D.R. Payne & Associates, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
Ira L. Herman, Esq., Blank Rome LLP, New York, NY
Karl Knechtel, CIRA, RK Consultants LLC, New York, NY
Kimberly J. Lam, CIRA, Bachecki Crom & Company LLP, San Francisco, CA
Jennifer Meyerowitz, Esq., SAK Healthcare, Riverwoods, IL
Keith J. Shapiro, Esq., Karlov Street Capital, Doral, FL
The Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) is a nonprofit professional association for financial advisors, accountants, crisis managers, business turnaround consultants, lenders, investment bankers, attorneys, trustees, and others involved in turnaround management, restructuring, bankruptcy, and insolvency. AIRA aims to (i) unite and support professionals in the business turnaround, restructuring, and bankruptcy fields, and (ii) develop, promote, and uphold professional standards, including certification through its CIRA and CDBV programs. Visit for more on AIRA. Visit for more information on conferences and programs.
SOURCE Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors
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