Max Holmes, Useful LLC

Max Holmes has over 40 years of experience as a portfolio manager, research analyst, board member, lawyer, NYU Professor and expert witness.

Since 1993, Max Holmes has been an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University, teaching "Bankruptcy and Reorganization."

Max Holmes has been the Chief Investment Officer / Lead Portfolio Manager for two large hedge funds ($2.7 billion and $5.4 billion of peak AUM) as well as an insurance company portfolio and a mutual fund portfolio. The funds invested in credit, capital structure arbitrage, distressed debt, rescue finance, direct lending, specialty finance, event stocks and special situations securities, including long and short positions. The funds invested across the capital structure: bank debt, DIP loans, second lien debt, secured and unsecured bonds, floating rate and fixed rate notes, trade claims, preferred stock, common stock, put and call options and credit default swaps (CDS). Investments were in a variety of businesses, public and private, including startups, venture capital, infrastructure, leveraged buyouts, private equity, turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies and liquidations. Direct lending was conducted through a Business Development Company (BDC) ($1 billion assets under management). Mr. Holmes has analyzing thousands of companies and investment opportunities over his career.

Mr. Holmes has been the Chair and CEO of a life, health and annuity insurer and reinsurer.

In February 2024, Mr. Holmes was appointed by the Creditors Committee of Celsius Network LLC, a large cryptocurrency platform, as an independent director of Ionic Digital Inc., a bitcoin mining company.

Mr. Holmes worked in investment banking, research, trading and capital markets at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Salomon Brothers, NatWest Markets and Royal Bank of Canada. Since 2015, Max Holmes has been a Senior Advisor to American Industrial Partners LLC, a private equity firm with $16 billion of AUM.

A.B. Harvard College
M.B.A. Columbia Business School
J.D. Columbia Law School
Texas Bar
New York Bar
S.E.C. Registered Investment Advisor
FINRA Series 3, 7, 9, 19, 16, 24, 56 and 63