Director
Melissa S. Kibler is a Senior Managing Director in the Chicago office of Mackinac Partners, an Accordion company, and has approximately 30 years of experience providing financial advisory, restructuring and turnaround management services to Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies and their stakeholders. She also has extensive investigative, litigation and valuation experience, including insolvency-related litigation, avoidance actions, fraud investigations, merger and acquisition disputes, director and officer claims, and other commercial litigation support. Melissa recently served as Chief Restructuring Officer in the bankruptcies of Rubio’s Restaurants, a Mexican coastal grill, and Juno USA, previously the third-largest ride-hailing company in New York, and as the Chief Financial Officer of Edmentum, a leading provider of online learning solutions.
Melissa was previously a senior managing director in the Chicago office and an executive committee member of Mesirow Financial Consulting following its 2004 acquisition of the corporate recovery practice of KPMG LLP, where she had served as partner-in-charge of the Midwest Region Corporate Recovery practice and the Pacific Northwest Corporate Recovery and Forensic & Litigation Services practices since 1999. Melissa spent the first nine years of her career in the Financial Advisory Services practice at Price Waterhouse.
Melissa is a Fellow and currently serves as president of the American College of Bankruptcy. Prior roles in professional associations include president of the American Bankruptcy Institute, director of INSOL International, and chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Bankruptcy Task Force. She holds the Certified Public Accountant, Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA), Certified Turnaround Professional, Certified in Financial Forensics and Certification in Distressed Business Valuation credentials. Melissa has received recognitions including the Global M&A Network 2021 “Women’s Leadership Award;” the Consulting Magazine 2013 “Leadership Award for Women Leaders in Consulting;” the AICPA/Illinois CPA Society 2011 “Women to Watch” award for experienced leaders; the IWIRC 2010 “Woman of the Year in Restructuring;” Crain’s Chicago Business 2004 “40 Under 40;” and the AIRA 2003 “CIRA Gold Medal Winner.” She earned her B.B.A. in accounting summa cum laude from Texas A&M University and her M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University, graduating first in her class.
Melissa lives in Hinsdale and has three sons, Alex, Cody, and Bailey. Her significant other, Vince Lazar, is a bankruptcy attorney with Jenner & Block. Her interests and hobbies include music, tennis, skiing, biking, hiking, and generally spending time in the outdoors. Melissa is a long-time member of the Chicago Children’s Choir board whose tenure began in 2004 and included a term as Chair from 2008 through 2010.