Russell Belinsky
Financial Advisory, Restructuring and Private Equity AdvisorMr. Belinsky is an advisor to Capitol Pacific Group, focusing on financial services, capital raising and restructuring advisory. He is a Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Chanin Capital Partners. Mr. Belinsky has extensive experience in all phases of domestic and international financial restructurings and recapitalizations, including: mergers and acquisitions; corporate financings; and expert testimony. He has primary oversight for the firm’s advisory business. On October 31, 2006, Chanin Capital Partners was acquired by Duff and Phelps.
Recent clients include various representations in the reorganizations and/or restructurings of a broad range of companies including: Alliance Entertainment; Anacomp Inc.; Bally’s Grand Inc.; Carolco Pictures Corporation; Carter Hawley Hale Corporation; Cerplex Group; Doskocil Manufacturing Company, Inc.; Global Crossing; Great Bay Hotel and Casino; Harvard Industries; Leap Wireless, Loews Cineplex; Marvel Entertainment; McLeodUSA Inc.; Morris Materials; Sunterra Corporation; Regal Theaters; Trump Casinos and Hotel; United Artists; and Wherehouse Entertainment Inc.
Currently, Mr. Belinsky is a member of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; the American Bar Association; and the California Bar Association. Mr. Belinsky is an Advisory Board member of the K&A Restructuring Register, an industry register of the top 100 restructuring advisors in the United States. Mr. Belinsky is also a Director of Direct Ventures, a privately-held direct marketing company, and is an active member of the Santa Monica Chapter of the Young President’s Organization.
Russ is the co-author of "Beyond Bankruptcy," an article that discusses capital structure issues in bankruptcy and restructuring transactions. "Beyond Bankruptcy" was published by Business Law Today, an American Bar Association publication. Mr. Belinsky is a frequent speaker on reorganization and recapitalization topics.
Prior to co-founding the predecessor Chanin Capital Partners in 1990, Mr. Belinsky was associated with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializing in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring transactions. While at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, Mr. Belinsky worked on a variety of transactions, including bankruptcies, exchange offers, leveraged buyouts, proxy contests and negotiated acquisitions.
Mr. Belinsky earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center (and served as The Topics Editor to The Tax Lawyer). He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Wayne State University.
Shari Gibbons
Media and Entertainment AdvisorShari Gibbons advises Capitol Pacific Group on entertainment and education issues. Most recently, Ms. Gibbons was with the Washington Post Company, where she served as the Vice President of Medical Licensing for Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Ms. Gibbons was in charge of a $50 million business unit with a complex product line including a broad mix of live and online educational programs with multiple customer segments. She led a complete product overhaul that included generation of up to 200 hours of digital content and 200 live programs to 8,000 students per year.
After graduating with honors from Harvard Business School, Ms. Gibbons began learning the film business from the ground up, in the trenches of the independent film community. Quickly working her way up from an assistant position to serving as Vice President of Business Affairs and Production for EGM Film International, Ms. Gibbons served in various roles in the production and distribution of four science-fiction films with budgets ranging from $1.5 million to $4.5 million.
Ms. Gibbons then joined PM Entertainment as the Vice President of Production. PM Entertainment produced and distributed 12-14 action films ($1-3 million budget) per year. In addition to her production duties, Ms. Gibbons supervised development, business affairs, and acquisitions. Ms. Gibbons arranged the financing and served as Co–Producer for “Road Ends,” a feature film starring Dennis Hopper and Peter Coyote. She also served as the Supervising Producer and Showrunner (Season 2) of “L.A. Heat,” a one-hour drama that aired in a successful triple run on TNT.
Ms. Gibbons subsequently served for three years as Head of Development for Warner Bros. International Television Production. While at Warner Bros., Ms. Gibbons led six culturally diverse partners into a unified, creative team during multiple complex international co-productions.
In 2002, Ms. Gibbons started her own company entitled Front Row Films (FRF) to serve as an incubator for several film, television and entrepreneurial projects. She successfully launched two start-up media businesses including Comedy Express, Inc. (CETV) and National Lampoon Radio, LLC (NLR). As President/COO for each of these entities, she secured two rounds of angel funding, designed the business model, operating and content strategies and attracted National Lampoon, Inc., as a strategic partner/financier.
After selling CETV and NLR to National Lampoon in 2007, Ms. Gibbons moved over to the Washington Post Company’s Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions business.
The Honorable Ron Packard
U.S. House of Representatives (retired)The Honorable Ron Packard has recorded a very distinguished career in public service, extending back over more than three decades and culminating with 18 years as a Member of the United States House of Representatives. Due largely to his many years of experience in local government (both as a Mayor and City Council member and school board trustee) upon his election to Congress in 1982, he dedicated himself to public works and natural resources issues that would favorably impact the quality of life for his Southern California constituents. Those issues would include mass transit, highway, flood control and water conservation projects.
Mr. Packard spent his first decade in Congress as an influential member of the House Public Works & Transportation Committee (now known as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) which was responsible for authorizing national highway, mass transit, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. The pinnacle of his service on this committee was his leadership role in the design, drafting and ultimate passage of the original Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act which was signed into law in 1991. That historic legislation continues to shape national transportation policy today.
Following his tenure on the Public Works Committee, Mr. Packard was appointed to serve on the prestigious House Committee on Appropriations. Due to his reputation as an expert and leader on resource issues, he was two terms later selected to take over as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development while also continuing to serve as a member of the Transportation Subcommittee. The Energy and Water subcommittee is responsible for annual funding for the civilian public works side of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As one of only 13 senior subcommittee chairman (often colloquially know as the Cardinals), he was responsible for the approval of hundreds of billions of dollars in annual funding for various projects. Consequently, Mr. Packard has developed exceptional insight into the complex process to which local projects are subjected when federal funding or regulatory approvals are sought.
Today, Mr. Packard runs Packard Government Affairs (“PGA”), a Washington D.C. based government relations/issue advocacy firm that assists companies, state and municipal governments, trade associations and individuals in their dealings with the federal government. PGA solves problems in the areas of environmental permitting and regulatory compliance, water resources and other natural resources, economic development, energy, defense, infrastructure and government contracting.
Ron Pierce
Government and Public Sector AdvisorRon Pierce is a government relations expert for Capitol Pacific Group, focused on Florida federal, state and local municipal activities, where he has extensive experience and relationships. Ron Pierce began working in the Florida Legislature in 1998 as a District Legislative Assistant in the State House, moving to the Senate in the spring of 2000. From 2004-2006, Ron worked as the Policy Advisor to Senate President Tom Lee and helped advise the Senate on numerous issues during the two-year period. During his 1998-2006 tenure in the Florida Legislature, Ron helped guide thousands of pieces of legislation through both chambers and worked with hundreds of legislators, lobbyists, community activists and civic organizations to help improve Florida. His strong dedication to his local community and to the state of Florida is well recognized.
With so much experience dealing with the Legislature and the local community, Ron was hired by the Tampa Bay Lightning, a National Hockey League franchise, in 2006 to expand and enhance their Government and Community Relations Department.
Ron Pierce enjoys an extensive involvement with many community-related organizations throughout the Tampa Bay region. He is the Chair-Elect of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, a member of the Hillsborough County Transportation Task Force, Florida Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda Foundation Board of Directors Chair, Center Place of Brandon Board of Directors Vice-President, Mayor's Beautification Council Board of Trustees, 2009 Chair of Silverspoons and Sandcastles. He also sits on the Board of Directors for WEDU and Brandon Sports and Aquatic Center.
