Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> January 24, 2005
ROBERT A. SCHMITZ, a Managing Director of Quest Turnaround Advisors, has
over 30 years' experience as a management consultant, CEO and private
equity investor. Prior to founding Quest, Mr. Schmitz led the turnaround
of media, manufacturing and consumer goods businesses as a management
consultant, investor and partner in a private equity fund. At the
present time, Mr. Schmitz is Chief Operating Officer of NTL Europe, Inc.
Upon exit from chapter 11 on January 10, 2003, NTL Europe, Inc.
(formerly NTL Incorporated) converted substantially all outstanding
unsecured debt into $350 million of preferred stock. The company is
completing its plan to maximize value for its stakeholders through
turning around key operating units and negotiating the sale of
investment positions in the UK, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Germany,
Spain and Southeast Asia. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Schmitz is
leading the effort to turn around several of the key operating units
through changes in management, renegotiation of important commercial
contracts and joint ventures. In addition, Mr. Schmitz served as a
director of Cablecom, NTL Europe's wholly owned subsidiary and the
largest cable television operator in Switzerland with a strong
subscriber base in broadband and telephone. From 1998 to early 2000, Mr.
Schmitz led the turnaround and eventual sale of Spectran Corporation.
The Board of Directors appointed Mr. Schmitz to the Board to work with
and advise a newly appointed Chief Executive Officer. At the time, the
company was in violation of its bank covenants and was facing
significant pressure from its lending group. Mr. Schmitz and John
Rogers, serving as interim Chief Financial Officer, turned around the
optical devices businesses and sold the company to Lucent for cash in
January 2000 at an attractive price, just prior to the collapse of
telecommunications sector equity values. During this period Mr. Schmitz
served as an advisor to several unsecured creditors of Optel a cable
television operator based in Dallas with a multi-market telephone
operation. Optel was re-organized in 2002 and operates today as TV MAX.
Mr. Schmitz was a Managing Director of Trust Company of the West ('TCW')
(1993 to 1997) and a Senior Partner of TCW Capital, the private equity
group at TCW. Mr. Schmitz joined TCW Capital with responsibility to turn
around and sell troubled investments in the portfolio. Mr. Schmitz was
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Richard D. Irwin, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Dow Jones and Company (1982 to 1989). Mr. Schmitz also
served as a Vice President of Dow Jones and was a member of its
Management Committee. Previously (1970 to 1982), as a principal at the
international management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, Mr.
Schmitz led strategy, organization and diversification assignments for
CEOs of large companies in the US, Europe, South America and Japan. Mr.
Schmitz also led McKinsey's firm-wide financial strategy practice. Mr.
Schmitz graduated from the University of Michigan (BA in Economics) and
from the MIT Sloan School of Management (MS in Management). Profile
overview of your expertise?
Mr. Schmitz: With each of us having over 15 years experience in turning
around troubled
