Karen Ostad is an internationally recognized leader in structuring and implementing business reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, primarily involving financially distressed or emerging markets companies. Her experience is global (including Europe, China, Japan, India, and South America) and she has led transactions in many industries including insurance, banking and other financial institutions, telecommunications, energy, mining, automotive, aviation, healthcare, real estate, retail and other goods and services. Her global experience is enhanced by her proficiency in French, German and Persian and her understanding of the cultural, operational and legal aspects of global businesses. Ms. Ostad has 24 years of experience as a New York based partner of major international law firms, Morrison & Foerster LLP and Lovells LLP. Since 2011, Ms. Ostad is the founding Managing Director of GlobeAdvise LLC, a consulting firm that provides business-critical advice to public companies, private enterprises and government-owned entities.
Ms. Ostad currently serves as a director of Flight Design West (a privately-held U.S. distributor of the world’s best selling light sport aircraft), a director of Lake Tahoe SummerFest, an advisory board member of Ciné Institute (a high school teaching vocational skills to Haitian youths), and a benefits board member of InMotion (a New York charity providing free legal services to indigent women and children in domestic abuse, family law and related matters).
Recent notable engagements include representing the liquidators of the first Cayman Islands hedge funds to require financial restructuring (the SPhinX Funds), advising the Boards of the largest failed banks in Iceland following the 2008 global financial meltdown (Glitnir and Landsbanki), representing bidders for global assets of GM and Chrysler, representing financial institutions as lenders in the global Lehman insolvency proceedings, representing large sub-prime lenders in selling overseas operations and restructuring, representing the largest importer of metals into China in a series of global acquisitions (China Minmetals), representing global network providers to and purchasers of telecommunications companies, representing aircraft lenders in restructuring billions of dollars of loans to airlines, and advising the U.S. Department of Energy on financings to CleanTech companies.
As an active strategist in creating value, Ms. Ostad has financially restructured companies, renegotiated debt, arranged rescue financings, interfaced with auditors, government regulators, investment bankers and others, and implemented strategies to comply with federal and international laws including Sarbanes-Oxley, TARP and Dodd-Frank. She has advised boards of public and private companies, including committees of independent directors; served as a member of numerous official creditors’ committees, and advised bondholder committees and other governance boards. Ms. Ostad’s other leadership positions have included serving as the first female President of one of the largest minority bar associations in the U.S. and serving on the mentorship committee of New York Law School.
Ms. Ostad received her Bachelor’s of Arts from New York University in 1985 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1988. In 1990, Ms. Ostad studied in New York University School of Law’s Masters of Law in Taxation program.