Thomas D. Hays, III

Certified Turnaround Professional

Principal

Mr. Hays is a Founding Principal of NHB Advisors, Inc. During his tenure, he has provided leadership as interim Chief Executive Officer, Chairman or Advisor to the Board in a wide variety of companies both private and public. He is an Honorary Inductee in the “Turnaround Management, Restructuring and Distressed Investing Industry” Hall of Fame. He has extensive experience in manufacturing, distribution, operations, accounting, restructuring, refinancing and litigation. His litigation and expert witness work includes The Penn Central Boston Perishable Litigation and as the Trustees expert in the Merry-Go-Round vs. Ernst and Young litigation. Mr. Hays is Principal in charge of NHB’s Auto Dealer Group.

Mr. Hays began his career in 1969 as a CPA with Arthur Andersen and advanced to 3M and Conrail. He began his independent consulting career as a special consultant and expert witness for Penn Central Company. His responsibilities with Penn Central involved developing theories and negotiating the eventual dismissal of over 7,500 lawsuits. In 1981, Mr. Hays founded a specialized printing company which he sold to a national multi-faceted competitor.

Mr. Hays then specialized in complex turnaround assignments. His early assignments included rationalization of a regional tile retailer and distributor, coordination of an accounting malpractice case (overstatement of inventory), investigation of bankruptcy fraud for the railroad industry and development of debt reduction strategies. His major assignments over the last several years include using Chapter 11 as a tool for corporate renewal, out of court workouts, use of a reverse merger as vehicle for a sale and acting as an Examiner in Bankruptcy.

Mr. Hays is actively involved in improving the turnaround process. He was Chairman of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), an international organization of over 8,000 professionals. He was also Chairman of the Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals as well as its Standards Committee for several years.

Mr. Hays was an early supporter of professionalism for turnaround managers and holds the distinction of becoming one of the first Certified Turnaround Professionals (CTP) in the country. He conducted CTP management and accounting review courses, including sessions at Northeastern University. He was instrumental in the development of a training course for loan officers and has conducted courses on dealing with troubled loans.

Mr. Hays is also involved in numerous other professional and community organizations such as the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association for Corporate Growth and the Rotary Club of Philadelphia-Paul Harris Fellow. He is currently serving as a Board and Executive Committee member as well as the Chair of the Audit Committee of the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter where he has been honored for his contributions to the organization. He is Co-Founder of the Men’s Garden Club of Philadelphia; a Founding Member of The Greenbrier Sporting Club; and a member of Overbrook Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club.

Mr. Hays received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Minnesota and went on to complete his MBA course work. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Minnesota and Pennsylvania (inactive licenses) and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), AICPA’s Consulting Division, and the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.