Altamont was founded by Joe Wagda more than 15 years ago.  Mr. Wagda was previously a cofounder of the Price Waterhouse corporate finance practice, where he was a senior managing director responsible for a variety of M&A and financing transactions.

Most recently, Mr. Wagda was turnaround CEO of a distressed public IT professional services company.  He raised the structured equity funding that enabled the company to avoid bankruptcy and replace its expiring line of credit.  He
conceived of and executed three successive turnaround plans in response to the impact on the business of Y2K, the 2001 recession (and 9/11) and the Iraq war, respectively.  In the process, he resolved over $40 million of claims and
liabilities for less than 10 cents on the dollar and restructured the company's junior secured notes. Mr. Wagda led the sale of a control position in the company, which enabled the remaining public shareholders to enjoy a substantial premium on the
pre-transaction trading price of their shares.

Earlier, Mr. Wagda was turnaround CEO of a troubled consumer-product manufacturing company.  He designed and implemented new business processes and management information reporting, which provided a comprehensive view of
the business. Under his leadership, the company (1) increased manufacturing efficiency by improving scheduling and minimizing inventory, (2) drove sales by improving quality and on-time delivery, (3) achieved two years of positive cash
flow following a period of significant losses and (4) recapitalized its balance sheet to support growth.

Mr. Wagda has been involved as CEO, COO, CFO or a board member of, advisor to, investor in, or team member of companies in numerous industries, including manufacturing, oil & gas, IT professional services, power generation, business
services, home building, infrastructure construction, software development, aviation, food processing, apparel, international travel services and property-casualty insurance.

He has more than:
 

• 7 years of experience as a turnaround CEO of public and private companies.

• 10 years of experience structuring international business transactions i private law practice and with Ford and Chevron.

• 10 years of experience in the acquisition, sale, integration or financing of public and private companies.

• 17 board years of experience with public and investor-owned companies, including over 10 board years on public-company audit committees.

• 25 years of membership in the State Bar of California.

He also has played an important role in the restructuring of private and public companies, both inside and outside of bankruptcy, including companies in the airline, power generating, IT services, manufacturing and oil and gas industries.

Mr. Wagda holds a BS from Fordham and an MBA in finance and accounting with distinction from Cornell, where he graduated in the top 5% of his class.  He earned a JD with honors from Rutgers, where he focused on corporate, securities and tax law
and was a managing editor of the law review.  

Mr. Wagda also served as a regular army officer, including leadership positions with the 82d Airborne Division and the Army Corps of Engineers.  

He is an audit committee financial expert and a member of  the San Francisco Chapters of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Turnaround Management Association.

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