In the blink of an eye, 2022 is just about behind us, and so much has occurred this year that speaks to the beacon of light that is TMA. Roaring back from the pandemic, we started our year of Innovation through Disruption with great grandeur at the 2022 Distressed Investing Conference, and things just took off from there. Despite a February pandemic scare, over 800 tried and true TMA members, with many first-time attendees and international representation, gathered in Las Vegas, determined to be part of the conversation that set the tone for the year.

It was a robust year, through and through, with TMA solidifying its place as the association of choice in the corporate renewal, restructuring, and corporate health space. As I have said, and it bears repeating, we are no longer an optional organization, we are essential, and the value our members garner from TMA validates that time and again, more so than ever before.

With a nearly 80% member retention rate, membership growth, and the addition of several international chapters, the power of the TMA brand is unsurpassed. Likewise, with a record year for Global sponsorship support, and 2023 looking even brighter, we continue to demonstrate how imperative it is to be part of TMA.

Of course, this positive trajectory and abounding energy could not have been possible without the committed engagement and support of our leaders and members worldwide. Starting at the top, this is exactly what Global President Jane Mitnick conveyed to members across the globe in her year at the helm of TMA. As the fifth woman president of the association, Janey set the bar high and took on an ambitious agenda to ensure both her legacy and a defining path forward for TMA, with two tremendous complementary efforts: a long overdue governance review and the creation of a new strategic plan.

Likewise, TMA Global Chair Matthew English, CTP, leaves his mark this year, with continued support of our growing international presence. Matthew worked closely on our international initiatives, participated at our European conferences and governance and thought leadership sessions, and offered warm support to our international community in our first full year back to in-person international programming.

Derek Meek, in his role as Immediate Past Chair, ran a nominations process and committee that shows that our future is strong. With the most eclectic and diverse group of leaders the organization has seen in some years ascending to TMA Global roles, the pipeline of executive leadership is sound.

We look forward to welcoming James “Jim” Van Horn as 2023 TMA Global President and to the vision and passion he brings to the role. Not only is Jim a well-respected practitioner, but as former president of two TMA chapters and having served in multiple global Executive Board roles, his experience as a leader, and friend to many in TMA, sets the stage for a defining 2023.

It continues to be a privilege to serve this organization, where I made many connections as a volunteer many years ago, connections which afforded me the privilege of serving in the role I have today. It is a role I cherish because each and every one of our worldwide members defines that one connection, many connections strong, that continues to empower our organization to be the very best it can be.

As our 2022 Annal Conference theme, It Starts With One Connection, conveys, that one connection may start with you, but it is now clear that those connections create far-reaching positivity that crosses the borders of states and countries. Those connections highlight the professional diversity of the people and presence of TMA, making us both what is the essence of your professional presence and what completes your professional conversation.

Thank you all for what you do to assure we soar and define, ignite, motivate, and raise each other up with fortitude and pride. That is who we are at TMA, and will continue to be. But most of all, enduring and always, thanks for showing the world what it means to be better together and TMA Proud.

Scott Y. Stuart, Esq.
TMA Global CEO
sstuart@turnaround.org
@TMA_CEO