NEW YORK, May 19, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albert A. "Al" Koch, vice chairman at global business-advisory firm AlixPartners and managing director in the firm's Turnaround & Restructuring Services group, is being congratulated today by his AlixPartners colleagues for an honorary doctorate of business administration degree he received Saturday from his alma mater, Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County, Penn.
Koch, who has been with AlixPartners 18 years (following 14 years at a major accounting firm), has led some of the highest-profile turnaround-and-restructuring engagements in the firm's history, including General Motors -- the largest industrial restructuring in U.S. history. In that engagement, he served as chief restructuring officer of GM and, later, as chief executive officer of Motors Liquidation Co., or "old GM," where in conjunction with federal, state and local regulators and other stakeholders he engineered a historic trust for the continuing environmental remediation of former GM plants and properties, for as long as 100 years in some cases. Recently, Koch was also part of the AlixPartners team at Eastman Kodak Co., which emerged from bankruptcy this past September with a new lease on life as a company focused on delivering imaging innovation for business.
Said Dr. Carl J. Strikwerda, president of Elizabethtown College, at Saturday's ceremony: "Al Koch is considered to be one of the country's foremost turnaround and restructuring experts, having served some of the largest corporations during financial realignment efforts. In recognition of his work in corporate renewal and for service to the college and the community, it is a great honor to present [him] for the degree of doctor of business administration, honoris causa."
Said Lisa Donahue, global leader of the Turnaround & Restructuring Services group at AlixPartners: "AlixPartners warmly congratulates Al Koch on this honor. His distinguished career is certainly an inspiration to all in the field of corporate renewal."
This was Elizabethtown College's 111th commencement, during which 501 new graduates walked the stage, earning various bachelor's and master's degrees. Mark Samels, executive director of the PBS flagship history series "American Experience," delivered the commencement address.
About Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Penn., is a private coed institution offering more than four-dozen liberal arts, fine- and performing-arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: http://www.etown.edu/about/
About AlixPartners
AlixPartners is a leading global business advisory firm of results-oriented professionals who specialize in creating value and restoring performance at every stage of the business lifecycle. We thrive on our ability to make a difference in high-impact situations and deliver sustainable, bottom-line results. The firm's expertise covers a wide range of businesses and industries whether they are healthy, challenged or distressed. Since 1981, we have taken a unique, small-team, action-oriented approach to helping corporate boards and management, law firms, investment banks and investors respond to critical business issues. For more information, visit alixpartners.com.