PastIn Person

Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference 2026

Name: Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference 2026
Start: 2026-02-20
End: 2026-02-20
Location: The Plaza Hotel

by Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Club

The Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference is the largest student-run event in the United States focusing on restructuring and distressed investing. Organized by the Wharton School, this annual conference serves as a pivotal forum for industry practitioners, academics, and students to exchange ideas and insights.

The 2026 conference, themed "Restructuring in the Age of Private Credit," will delve into the evolving dynamics of private credit and its growing influence on the restructuring landscape. Key discussions will cover innovative restructuring strategies, the shifting balance between traditional and private credit lenders, and forward-looking approaches to distressed investing in the current economic environment.

Attendees can look forward to keynote addresses from Michael Patterson, Co-President and Founding Partner at HPS Investment Partners, and Vikas Keswani, Partner at HPS Investment Partners. The agenda also includes panels on topics such as crypto restructurings, the relationship between banks and private credit, and trends in private credit workouts. Additionally, the conference offers ample networking opportunities for professionals to connect and share ideas.

This conference is ideal for professionals in restructuring, distressed investing, private credit, and related fields who seek to stay abreast of industry trends and network with peers.

Speakers(40)

Benjamin Beller

Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Benjamin S. Arfa

Partner, Restructuring and Finance Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Brian Bolin

Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Brian Resnick

Partner, Restructuring Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Chris Koenig

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Christian L. Oberbeck

Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer & President at Saratoga Investment Corp.

Christopher Greco

Partner, Restructuring Group at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP

Christopher Greco is a partner in the Restructuring Group of Kirkland & Ellis and serves as the global co-chair of the Firm’s Recruiting Committee. He represents companies, sponsors, and investors in complex liability management, financings, recapitalizations, restructurings, and other special situation transactions. Mr. Greco earned a BS from Villanova University and a JD from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Dan Kelsall

Partner at AlixPartners

David F.W. Cohen

Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Eli Vonnegut

Partner, Restructuring Group at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Evan Maass

Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners

Fran Blair

Managing Director, Credit Investments at PSP Investments

Fred Sosnick

Global Co-Head, Restructuring at A&O Shearman

Igor Fuks

Managing Director at Golub Capital

James Doak

Managing Director and Head, Capital Structure Advisory Group at Stifel

Jane VanLare

Partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Joe Zujkowski

Partner at Latham & Watkins LLP

Joseph Goldschmid

Portfolio Manager & Partner at Oak Hill Advisors

Justin Lee

Co-Head, Banking & Finance at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Kate Thompson

Partner at Joele Frank

Kumanan Ramanathan

Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal

Laurent Lantonnois

Executive Director at HPS Investment Partners

Laurent Lantonnois is an Executive Director at HPS Investment Partners in their New York office, where he manages all workouts and restructurings for the middle market private credit strategy. Prior to this role, he was a member of BlackRock’s global restructuring group, providing legal advice across the firm with a focus on public LME transactions and other distressed situations. Before joining BlackRock, Laurent was an Associate at White & Case LLP. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Stanford Law School, a Master of Laws from the College of Europe, a Master's degree from the Université Catholique de Louvain, and a Bachelor's degree from the Université de Namur.

Leon Caine

Managing Director at Brightwood Capital Management

Matt Barr

Co-Chair, Restructuring Department at Weil, Gotshal, & Manges LLP

Michael Leitner

Senior Managing Director at Stonepeak

Michael Patterson

Co-President and Founding Partner at HPS Investment Partners

Michael Patterson is Co-President and a Founding Partner of HPS Investment Partners, where he serves as the Portfolio Manager for the HPS Specialty Loan Funds and the Core Senior Lending Funds. He is also the Chairman and CEO of the HPS Corporate Lending Fund and the HPS Corporate Capital Solutions Fund. Prior to HPS, he held positions at Silver Point Capital and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Patterson holds an AB in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Nate Simon

Principal, Special Situations Group at Ares Management

Ned Schodek

Partner at A&O Shearman

Peter Sluka

Partner at Latham & Watkins LLP

Rachel Murray

Managing Director at Moelis & Company

Richard Eddison

Managing Director at Third Point

Ross M. Kwasteniet

Partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Russell Mason

Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey

Sandeep Parihar

Managing Director at JPMorgan

Sheel Patel

Partner at Mayer Brown

Shubham Saharan

Deputy Editor, US Private Credit Team at 9fin

Swapna Deshpande

Partner & Managing Director at AlixPartners

Vikas Keswani

Partner at HPS Investment Partners

William H. Hardie III