James F. Martin is the Founder, and serves as a Managing Partner, for ACM Capital Partners. A leading turnaround expert, Martin has created or restored over $500 million in value to private companies. Martin has also raised a quarter billion dollars in capital, bought and sold companies in excess of $250 million, and delivers on a proven track record of rescue and recovery on every client engagement. For more than 17 years, Mr. Martin has consistently reorganized and restructured financially or managerially-stressed companies in the midst of some of the most devastating economic conditions on record.
In the mid-nineties, Martin served as President and Chief Financial Officer for a master U.S. fast food franchisee in Eastern Europe. During this time, he successfully raised $50 million which was invested directly into Eastern Europe over a seven-year period. This investment created 750 new jobs for the franchisee in a developing area of the world.
As Chief Financial Officer for a $260 million security and safe integrator in the Midwest, Martin tackled a corporate-wide Y2K-software failure and helped to reorganize the financially-stressed company that ultimately was sold to the industry leader.
In the early 2000s, Martin served as CFO and then CEO at Avborne, Inc., a Miami-based Aviation industry maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility that had $123 million of debt in default immediately following the 9/11 attacks and subsequent economic downturn. Over the six-year period, Martin led two divisions back from the brink of bankruptcy to sustained profitability, successfully returning $138 million of gross proceeds to three private equity firms who owned Avborne, and in the process, added 350 new jobs to the South Florida economy.
Today, Martin is serving several ACM clients simultaneously in various capacities - financial advisory, strategic renewal, mergers and acquisitions as well as synergistic opportunities. Included in this work, Martin recently completed a successful $38 million debt restructuring for a tier two automotive supplier with plants on three continents. Despite the worst downturn since WWII, this supplier is now generating positive cash flow and is positioned to participate in the rebound expected in the industry.
Besides unprecedented turnaround success, Martin’s expertise includes strategic renewal, organizational reform, debt restructuring and raising capital. Martin is also well versed in the world of bankruptcy as he has successfully guided companies through Chapter 11 filings and has sold companies through the process. Martin earned an MBA from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Florida State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
A South Florida native, Martin sits on the Finance Committee of the United Way of Miami-Dade. Additionally, as a Tocqueville member, Martin and his wife Victoria have hosted several fundraisers for the United Way. Martin has also served as co-chair for United Way’s Consumer Products division, where he helped raise more than $2 million annually for three years in a row. Martin is married with four children and resides in Miami.
