About Bob Handler

Mr. Handler has over 35 years of professional experience in commercial financial transactions, with most of his involvement in managing turnaround situations and other financially and operationally distressed businesses. As the managing member of Commercial Recovery Associates, LLC (“CRA”), he has handled business reorganizations, acquisitions, mergers, and acted in several fiduciary capacities such as independent director, federal and state court-appointed receiver, Bankruptcy Trustee, Trustee/Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors and Chief Restructuring Officer across the country, in various parts of the world, and in a wide variety of industries.

CRA’s engagements have included: acting as receiver for an investment portfolio consisting of six commercial jet aircraft (an Airbus 319 leased to US Airways, a Boeing 737 leased to British Airways and four (4) Airbus 321s leased to Alitalia) in a federal securities case; managing a municipal water system as receiver; a registered investment advisory firm, where Mr. Handler served as the sole director; Trustee/Assignee for a commercial real estate management group which owned dozens of multi-family housing projects all over the country, including Ohio, Indiana, Texas and Illinois; Trustee/Assignee for three law firms; CEO of a wireless phone service provider; and financial advisor to a privately-owned portfolio of commercial real estate consisting of shopping centers, office buildings and nursing homes.
As a founding member and general counsel to the specialty commercial lending divisions of each of Bank of America and The CIT Group, Mr. Handler was responsible for the growth and success of each company’s commercial loan portfolio. In this role, he was charged with his company’s initiation, structuring, documentation and administration of all loans to financially distressed companies. Mr. Handler also practiced law in a commercial litigation firm where he was engaged in all aspects of bankruptcy litigation on behalf of secured creditors, creditors’ committees and debtor clients.

Mr. Handler obtained his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law and his BA from Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa. He is a bankruptcy trustee under Subchapter V of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and is also a Certified Turnaround Professional as designated by the Turnaround Management Association. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and the Chicago Bar Association. He actively participates in and/or chairs various panel discussions nationwide concerning current issues in receiverships, turnarounds, bankruptcy, and commercial financial transactions.