Ask The Expert
Ask the Expert
The place where you can access information from financial and credit professionals who have extensive expertise in their field. Each expert will answer your questions to the best of their ability.
Our team of experts can help with questions ranging from Collections, Liens, Credit Insurance, Bankruptcy, Credit Card Processing and much, much more!
To learn more about each professional, see the names and topics listed below. Click the Ask the Expert button!
Wanda Borges, Esq.
Wanda Borges, Esq., is the principal member of Borges & Associates, LLC, a law firm based in Syosset, New York. For more than thirty years, Ms. Borges has concentrated her practice on commercial litigation and creditors rights in bankruptcy matters, representing corporate clients and creditors’ committees throughout the United States in Chapter 11 proceedings, out of court settlements, commercial transactions and preference litigation.
She is a nationally recognized lecturer and author on various legal topics including Bankruptcy Issues such as 503(b)(9) claims and preferences, the Uniform Commercial Code, ECOA, FCRA, antitrust law, and current legal issues such as the Credit Card Surcharge litigation and proposed legislation such as the Marketplace Fairness Act. She has co-authored The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 – An Overhaul of U.S. Bankruptcy Law, also published by the NACM. In November, 2010, Ms. Borges received the “Robert E. Caine Award for Leadership” from the Commercial Law League of America.
John C. Barone
John C. Barone is an Executive Director of JP Morgan’s Credit Trading Desk. He was hired in 2005, to gain leverage from his extensive experience in developing Vendor Protection solutions, which includes writing Trade Receivable Put Options and monetizing illiquid assets such as Trade Claims on defaulted companies. Prior to joining JP Morgan, J.C. spent six years building First Commercial Credit Corporation, the Trade Receivable Put Option and Distressed Receivable unit of Resurgence Asset Management LLC. J.C. has over 14 years experience in the financial services industry. He is a frequent speaker at national and global trade association meetings and seminars on credit and trade risk management. He earned his B.S. degee in finance from Manhattan College and his M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Maggie Moosbrugger
Maggie Moosbrugger is a Vice President on J.P. Morgan’s Credit Liquidity Solutions team within global Credit Trading. She is responsible for developing innovative credit hedging solutions for corporate clients in order to help manage illiquid and/or distressed assets, such as trade receivables, trade claims, leases, derivative counterparty risks, and LCs. Maggie joined J.P. Morgan in 2007 after she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University.
Todd Fierstein
Todd Fierstein has spent the last 28 years in the credit industry. His work experience spans from 10 years as Vice-President of NACM Buffalo to being the Assistant Vice President of Alliance Partnerships for a large International Accounts Receivable company. He has presented educational sessions on Collecting Debt in Difficult Economic Times. For the past 15 years most of Todd’s speaking experience has been for NACM’s throughout the country as well as Industry Credit Trade Groups. Todd is currently one of the most sought after speakers on Credit Applications and Credit Application Law.
With 28 years as a Credit Professional Todd brings innovative insight to all of his presentations and seminars. He uses an interactive approach with his audience to get complete participation in an effort to maximize the benefit of any seminar our presentation he is involved in. He always makes himself available by phone and email after the seminar is over for participants to reach out to ask him questions specific to their needs or industry. Todd currently serves as the Regional Manager of NACM Upstate New York.
Jeffrey L. Cohen
Jeffrey L. Cohen is a partner in the New York office of Cooley LLP. He concentrates his practice in the area of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and related litigation. He frequently represents unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees and debtors in Chapter 11 cases. Mr. Cohen has handled numerous bankruptcy disputes including, but not limited to, executive compensation (KEIP), asset dispositions, professional fees and retentions, disclosure statement approvals and plan confirmations, contested DIP financing and cash collateral arrangements, claims litigation, equitable subordination, recharacterization and constructive fraud actions and related investigations and discovery through Bankruptcy Rule 2004. Mr. Cohen received his B. A. from SUNY Albany in 1997 and his J.D. in 2000 from St. John’s University. He is admitted to practice before all New York state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of New York, Second and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bruce S. Nathan
Bruce S. Nathan is currently a partner in the Bankruptcy, Financial Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights Department of the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler PC. Mr. Nathan concentrates on all aspects of creditors’ rights and workouts in bankruptcy, out of court matters and other types of insolvency matters and in developing and documenting various types of credit enhancement arrangements . Mr. Nathan holds combined J.D./M.B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Management. He is also an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”) and its Unsecured Trade Creditor Committee, is a contributing editor of ABI Journal’s “Last In Line Column”, and ABI’s “Second Circuit Cases Update”, and is the author of ABI’s Manual On Trade Creditors’ Rights of Reclamation And Stoppage of Delivery of Goods . Mr. Nathan is also an active member of, and regular lecturer for, the National Association of Credit Management (“NACM”), is a member of NACM’s Editorial Advisory Board, is a frequent contributor to NACM’s Business Credit, and is a contributing editor of NACM’s Manual of Credit and Commercial Laws.
Michael Williams
United TranzActions and its President, Dean Middleton, welcomed Michael Williams to its leadership in 1996 as Senior Vice President. Michael has been personally responsible for negotiations with credit and treasury professionals from major nationwide corporations. UTA has greatly benefited from Michael’s diversified sales background in that even though he has the ability to deal with the largest corporations within the NACM, he also has the ability to personally advise and offer guidance to a small startup company. Michael is always ready to speak to the NACM membership and share his expertise in check and credit card fraud as well as discussing the use of technology to improve cash flow. Whether in an individual industry group meeting, or at an annual meeting, Michael is right at home sharing his enthusiasm for the credit industry, as well as his expertise in the credit arena.
Carl E. Metz, Esq.
Carl is the firm’s chief financial officer. His practice areas include construction law, mechanics/construction liens, bond claims, commercial litigation and catastrophic loss litigation including subrogation, OSHA disputes, will and trust disputes, trade secrets, insurance law and insurance defense. Carl has significant litigation experience. He has taken several cases to verdict and negotiated innumerable settlements. Carl’s clients include individuals, families, developers, engineering firms, subcontractors, material suppliers and large insurers. Carl prides himself on building long-term relationships with clients and makes himself available to answer even their smallest legal questions. When the need arises, Carl effectively and efficiently pursues his clients’ causes through trial and appeal. Carl works with his clients to develop internal processes to manage their risks and protect their rights. He has developed unique procedures for his clients to protect their lien rights in an efficient and economical way. Carl is a frequent lecturer and has presented before the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA), the Property Loss and Research Bureau (PLRB), the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM), the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) and numerous clients.
Matt Fluegge
Matt Fluegge is an Assistant Vice President with Fifth Third Processing Solutions (FTPS). He currently works in the FTPS Commercial Merchant New Sales division, where he specializes in credit card acceptance and payment processing in the Business-to-Business market segment. His success in this market segment has earned him entrance into Fifth Third’s President’s Circle, which is awarded to the company’s top performers. During his years with FTPS, Matt has been a regular presenter at the NACM-National Credit Congress and multiple NACM Regional Credit Conferences. Matt has a BBA degree in Finance. Prior to joining FTPS in 2002, he was a Manager and Manager Trainer for eight years with national sporting goods retailer, Champs Sports. During his time with Champs Sports, Matt was a two-time Manager of the Year.
Lee Fahrenz
Lee Fahrenz has 20 years of Sales and Sales Management Experience in insurance, banking and finance. The last 3.5 years he has been with Euler Hermes ACI. His professional affiliations are with the American Management Association, International Business Center, Association of Steel Distributors, Turnaround Management Association, and National Association of Credit Management (NACM). Lee has also given Institutional Experiences/Speeches to the Fox Valley Chapter of the Illinois CPA Society, the REBEX Conference (Risk & Employee Benefits Exposition) 2007, and many financial institutions in the Chicago metro area.
Thomas Fawkes, Esq. & Brian Jackiw, Esq.
Thomas Fawkes, Esq.
Thomas Fawkes is with the law firm of Tucker Ellis LLP in its Chicago office. Tom focuses his practice on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and financial restructuring matters, representing official committees, unsecured and secured creditors, debtors, financial institutions, post-confirmation trustees and asset purchasers in Chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings, and liquidation proceedings throughout the United States. Tom also assists his clients in structuring commercial transactions with a view towards mitigating risk of future bankruptcy and insolvency losses. Since 2015, Tom has been recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of the leading bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys in the state of Illinois.
Brian Jackiw, Esq.
Brian Jackiw is with the law firm of Tucker Ellis LLP in its Chicago office. Brian is experienced in bankruptcy and commercial litigation, having represented plaintiffs and defendants in avoidance actions, complex bankruptcy claim disputes, breach of fiduciary duty actions and bankruptcy fraud litigation. Beyond litigation in the bankruptcy courts, Brian has experience in general collection and commercial law litigation. Brian has also spent significant time advocating on behalf of general unsecured creditors through his representation of official committees of unsecured creditors. Before becoming an attorney, Brian served as an Officer in the U.S. Army.
Craig Smith
Craig joined NACM Connect in 2013 and brings over 20 years of credit report sales experience while at Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. Positions held at D&B included six years in sales management where he was responsible for $7 to $15 Million in annual revenue and he was also an outside sales representative. During this time, Craig won the “Best of the Best” national award, Regional Gold Elite Club awards and many other sales awards. As a sales manager, Craig won the National Sales Contest 5 out of 6 years. While at Thomson Reuters Corporation, Craig worked as a Business Development Executive in outside sales providing business solutions in the areas of Market Research, competitive intelligence, news research and broker reports. Craig also worked as an account executive at Wolters Kluwer, Financial Services Division in a B2B outside sales role providing solutions to clients by working in collaboration with financial institutions to meet compliance and regulatory requirements while improving efficiencies. Prior to Joining NACM, Craig worked as a sales consultant at Experian. Craig graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and Minor degrees in Mathematics and in General Sciences.
Peggy Artz, Vice President-Operations, IAB LLC
Since joining IAB in 1995, Peggy Artz has held a wide range of field and corporate management positions. She was promoted to her current position of Corporate Vice President in 2002. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management at Lakeland College, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Along with her extensive background in accounts receivable and deductions, Peggy augments her experience with strong analytical and technical skills that result in maximum efficiency and positive results on behalf of clients throughout the Midwest and Western region. Along with her education, Peggy brings extensive experience in the consumer and commercial products, as well as the transportation and healthcare industries. Peggy regularly attends conferences throughout the United States networking and sharing best practices with the credit community. She is committed to creating, supporting and sustaining long term relationships with present and future clients.
David Anderson
David Anderson is a member relations associate for FCIB based in Columbia, MD. David is an avid follower of international news and events which supports his contributions to FCIB’s newsletter, the Week in Review. He researches international credit issues for its members through the FCIB discussion board, manages FCIB’s signature Global Credit & Collections survey, and conducts member outreach initiatives. Prior to joining FCIB in 2015, David worked in financial publishing as a compliance editor and for the Maryland Department of the Environment as a Research Associate. He earned a Masters degree from the University of Southern California, and a BA from Point Park University.
Norm Cowie
Norm Cowie, CCE is Director of Credit at Paramont – EO Inc. Norm regularly writes and speaks on construction collections and the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, and his regular column about the lien law won NACM’s best article award in 2006. Norm is a previous Board member of NACM Midwest and was Credit Executive of the Year in 2004/05. He tries not to let all of this get to his head because it makes his hair fall out. He also has two published humor books, the second of which won Preditors and Editors Readers Choice in January 2008. Visit Norm at www.normcowie.com.
Chris Ring
Chris Ring is the National Sales Representative for NACM’s Secure Transaction Services and he specializes in assisting credit professionals secure their receivables using Mechanic’s Lien Laws and Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Chris consults with companies on a daily basis leading them to find the best way to use these credit tools to assure that they are in the best possible position to get paid. Since 2002, Chris has completed seminars on both Mechanic’s Liens and UCC Filings for companies, NACM Affiliate Credit Conferences, NACM Industry Credit Groups, CFDD Meetings, and NACM’s Secured Transaction Services seminars. During Chris’ presentations, he demonstrates how to overcome objections from customers, sales reps and management to using these credit tools. Chris also actively solicits questions from attendees so all attendees can learn from the successes and struggles others have had while using these tools. In the end, Chris’ goal is to help you be the best credit professional you can be and have a little fun along the way.
Joe Carr
With over 16 years of combined experience in state and local taxation, financial statement auditing, and operational auditing, Joe has worked with a broad range of the Firms’ largest clients including manufacturing, retail, distribution, financial institutions, investment companies, and business services. He specializes in state and local tax issues with an emphasis unclaimed property compliance and consulting. Joe heads up the firms National Unclaimed Property practice and has had success in mitigating client escheat exposures in VDA and audit settlements before many state escheat divisions. He has successfully represented over 50 multi-state and multinational organizations in the Delaware Secretary of State VDA program and many others in other state VDA programs. Joe has significant experience in defending clients in Delaware and multistate audits with 3rd party auditing firms. This success is largely attributable to his deep understanding of accounting principles, transaction flow and escheat law.
If you can’t find an expert for the topic you are interested in, please feel free to email Lillian Novak directly at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org and she will tap into the Association’s resources for you.
