To mark International Women’s Day, the women of ION Analytics, including reporters and analysts at Debtwire, MergerMarket, Dealreporter, Cybersecurity Law Report, Hedge Fund Law Report, and Anti-Corruption Report have interviewed outstanding women in their respective jurisdictions and fields.

It is our honor to highlight these women and their accomplishments and contributions to their industries and share some of their insights and perspectives. These lawyers, advisors, and consultants from around the world specialize in private equity, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, hedge funds, anti-corruption, data privacy, and more. We hope these remarkable women inspire you as much as they do us.

In Part VIII of this series, Debtwire co-managing editor Madalina Iacob profiles notable women in the restructuring and distressed debt investing field, including (i) Lauren Krueger, Managing Director, KKR, (ii) Cristina Mihailescu, Managing Director, Head of Credit Restructuring Group, ING, (iii) Shanshan Cao, Senior Managing Director, Centerbridge, and (iv) Hend Chambers, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Guggenheim Securities.

Part I of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series 

Part II of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series 

Part III of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series 

Part IV of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series 

Part V of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series  

Part VI of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series  

Part VII of the ION Analytics’ Women to Watch series  

Lauren Krueger, Managing Director, Credit, KKR

Lauren Krueger joined KKR in 2018 and is a Managing Director in the firm’s Credit business, where she leads corporate governance and restructuring efforts. Ms. Krueger is a member of the Global Corporate Private Credit Investment Committee and co-chair of the KKR Private Credit Portfolio Monitoring Committee. She sits on the board of directors of several portfolio companies, including JW Aluminum Inc., PRG Worldwide Entertainment, Constellis, Kellermeyer Building Services and One Call. She currently sits on the board of directors of Her Justice, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal help to women living in poverty in New York City, and the Board of Trustees of Horace Mann School.

To what extent do you think that liability management exercises will play a role in reducing Capter 11 filings by large companies, and what other impacts have you seen, or do you expect to see, from the increase in these transactions?  

If you zoom out, LMEs are a form or derivative of an out of court restructuring, and that technology has always been available to companies in need of a balance sheet restructuring. While a company’s ability to engage in LME due to permissive debt documents or a general willingness to be more aggressive under the terms of their documents has shifted over time, the option to restructure out of court has always been available.  LMEs are going to be a permanent fixture of the restructuring landscape going forward, but they’re not going to stop or alternatively drive large bankruptcies.

The biggest factor that influences whether a company files for bankruptcy is availability of rescue financing at a price which that company can afford. If there is an ample supply of financing and willingness for investors to lend at a market clearing price, we will see a reduction of Chapter 11 filings. If the market for rescue financing dries up, we will see an increase in Chapter 11 filings.

In addition, there are other structural reasons why companies will continue to file for Chapter 11 which are liability driven such as large litigation claims or unprofitable retail leases.

According to a 2024 article “Women in the Legal Profession” published by the American Bar Association, women constitute roughly 50% of law students, federal government lawyers, and law firm associates, but men continue to dominate the upper levels of the legal profession. Similarly, in 2023, McKinsey & Co found that women comprise approximately 20% of managing director and partner roles in private equity. To what extent have you observed there to be a reduced number of women in senior positions and what advice would you give to women who aspire to these positions?

KKR provides a great environment for women to excel in senior leadership, and I’m seeing continued positive momentum. My advice has always been that if you work hard and focus on the job in front of you, the opportunities for advancement will come naturally. Beyond that, raise your hand for new opportunities and take risks to show what you can do if challenged. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, make sure people like and trust you and want to work with you.

Women have made tremendous strides in our industry over the past 20 years. What would you like to see more of for women, professionally? 

I’ve been very fortunate in getting leadership opportunities from being CRO of a company to taking seats on public boards early in my career and at a younger age than most. Those experiences were challenging. It has been said before by others, but it is also very true, that I learned much more from the difficult assignments than the easy ones. I’ve learned that focusing on the task at hand and maintaining humility and perspective increase the chances of long-term success. It’s also important to build strong relationships and be open to learning from people with different experiences.

Cristina Mihailescu, Managing Director, Head of Credit Restructuring Group, ING

Cristina Mihailescu is a Managing Director heading the Credit Restructuring Group for ING Capital in the Americas. She has extensive experience in credit restructurings both in the Americas and in Europe, having been involved in multiple complex, cross-border transactions across various industries like energy, infrastructure and technology.

To what extent do you think that liability management exercises will play a role in reducing Chapter 11 filings by large companies, and what other impacts have you seen, or do you expect to see, from the increase in these transactions?  

Indeed, liability management exercises have become more common in recent years, and they have been successful in reducing the number of increasingly cost-prohibitive bankruptcies for large companies. In that sense, I agree that they have been a useful tool as they have allowed for light-touch restructurings and have extended the financial runway. They do however remain a short-term fix and in my experience a number of companies that have gone through this type of exercise continue to have structural issues which will need to be addressed at some point. Without solid growth prospects, these businesses have just been delaying the inevitable and we will probably see that in the next couple of years. The other downside of LMEs has obviously been a certain erosion of trust in the credit market, as the lenders have less confidence in the predictability of how loan agreements are enforced. That will likely have some long-lasting consequences.

According to a 2024 article “Women in the Legal Profession” published by the American Bar Association, women constitute roughly 50% of law students, federal government lawyers, and law firm associates, but men continue to dominate the upper levels of the legal profession. Similarly, in 2023, McKinsey & Co found that women comprise approximately 20% of managing director and partner roles in private equity. To what extent have you observed there to be a reduced number of women in senior positions and what advice would you give to women who aspire to these positions?

It’s no secret that there is still a long way to go to achieve gender parity at the top, especially in these industries that have been historically male-dominated. But I think we should also recognize and celebrate that there has been a lot of progress over the past years, and the pace of transformational change is accelerating. I believe that we are no longer bound by the same stereotypes and mindset as even 15-20 years ago, and I certainly see a lot more women in top positions, women who inspire and implicitly become role models for the rest of us. Young women who are now at the start of their career already benefit from a different environment and mindset and have more opportunities to advance their careers than even when I started, and that’s great. Women feel more confident to ask, to showcase their talents, and prove they are just as competent in leading challenging projects, which is critical in my view. Sure, mentorship, sponsorship, diversity policies matter, but you also need to forge your own path, look for difficult assignments, speak up and own the room, and I think that’s where a lot of progress has been made lately.

Women have made tremendous strides in our industry over the past 20 years. What would you like to see more of for women, professionally? 

I’m not sure if it was the first big project or not, but one of the defining assignments that I took the lead on early in my career was a complex multi-lender, cross-jurisdictional restructuring in the steel industry. It involved difficult negotiations and a lot of strong personalities at the table, and I certainly didn’t feel fully prepared for it at the time. The restructuring took a long time and a lot of maneuvering, but we eventually achieved a successful result. It was also one of the best things that could have happened to me because I was thrown in the deep end and I was certainly uncomfortable. What you learn in these assignments is that confidence comes from practice and growth comes from discomfort.  I believe that women in general want to feel fully ready before they step into the fray and in doing so, we don’t realize how we are holding ourselves back. To me, that remains a simple but important lesson that I keep reminding myself.

Shanshan Cao, Senior Managing Director, Centerbridge 

Shanshan joined Centerbridge in 2007 and currently leads credit investments in the Healthcare sector.  Shanshan is also a member of the special credit Investment Committee.  Prior to joining Centerbridge, Shanshan was an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup Global Markets in the Financial Entrepreneurs Group.

Shanshan serves on the Board of Directors of Specialty1 Partners. Shanshan received a B.S., summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma.

To what extent do you think that liability management exercises will play a role in reducing Chapter 11 filings by large companies, and what other impacts have you seen, or do you expect to see, from the increase in these transactions?  

If we look at high yield bond and leveraged loan default activity in 2024, 48 companies completed a distressed debt exchange (LME) with a record-high of $57bn in bonds and loans.  This is 150% higher than 2023’s record distressed exchange volume and compares to 37 companies which had actual defaults with $27bn in bonds and loans in 2024.  The market data shows that public and private companies are exploring LME as a real alternative to traditional in-court restructurings. The heightened LME activity is a result of factors we’re all familiar with: high interest rate environment, over-levered balance sheets, flexible credit documents – the list goes on.  The question is what will happen in the next 2-3 years with the wave of companies who have undergone recent LME transactions.  There will be the select borrowers that fix their issues and de-lever to a more sustainable level, either through growing earnings or raising junior capital to pay down debt.   However, we expect a relatively high percentage of these companies will likely undergo a second round of restructuring – whether in or out of court.  That said, LME when designed properly, often accomplishes what companies need in the near-term: extend run-way by pushing out maturities, raising new money, capturing debt discount etc.

According to a 2024 article “Women in the Legal Profession” published by the American Bar Association, women constitute roughly 50% of law students, federal government lawyers, and law firm associates, but men continue to dominate the upper levels of the legal profession. Similarly, in 2023, McKinsey & Co found that women comprise approximately 20% of managing director and partner roles in private equity. To what extent have you observed there to be a reduced number of women in senior positions and what advice would you give to women who aspire to these positions?

I was very lucky early in my career to have found great mentors – both inside and outside my firm – to serve as role models and sounding boards for all my questions.  There are also many fantastic women-focused nonprofits or small ad-hoc groups which can serve as great resources.  Also make sure you are at a firm where you feel supported to achieve your goals, whatever they are.  If starting a family is a focus, make sure you understand your firm’s policies on maternity leave and flexible work arrangements.  Lastly, do not be shy about asking for clear guidelines and expectations on your career trajectory: how does your firm define top performer, where do you rank and what can you do to continue improving to make that next promotion.

Women have made tremendous strides in our industry over the past 20 years. What would you like to see more of for women, professionally? 

I worked on a large healthcare LME deal where we led a new money financing and helped facilitate a discounted debt exchange.  As you would expect, we spent an inordinate amount of time analyzing the business, risks in various scenarios, and how to structure our investment to protect against these risks.  While the company ultimately filed for Chapter 11, our investment was repaid at par plus make-whole.  We achieved this result because we understood the motivation of the junior lenders, who viewed themselves as long-term owners of the asset, and we also structured an air-tight intercreditor agreement to avoid the usual bankruptcy-related litigation risks challenging make-whole payments.  It’s critical to focus on exit options up-front, at the time of investment, so the deal is structured in a way to achieve that result.

Hend Chambers, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Guggenheim Securities

Hend Chambers is a Managing Director in Guggenheim Securities’ Capital Structure Advisory Group. Ms. Chambers’ experience includes advising companies, sponsors, municipalities, and creditor constituents on restructuring, liability management, M&A and financing transactions. Ms. Chambers has advised across a wide array of industries, including telecommunications and technology, media, retail, energy, transportation, hospitality and gaming, blockchain, and shipping. Prior to joining Guggenheim Securities, she was at Millstein & Co. (which was acquired by Guggenheim Securities in 2018). Prior to Millstein & Co, she was at the Royal Bank of Scotland as part of the Global Restructuring Group. Ms. Chambers holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in economics from Hamilton College.

To what extent do you think that liability management exercises will play a role in reducing Chapter 11 filings by large companies, and what other impacts have you seen, or do you expect to see, from the increase in these transactions?  

Liability management exercises have played a significant role in helping companies avoid or delay Chapter 11 filings. Given the increased cost of an in-court process, coupled with LME’s ability to preserve ownership value, stakeholder flexibility and runway, there is a real appeal in an out-of-court process. We’ll likely continue to see LMEs dominating the space in 2025, particularly off the back of a very eventful 2024, where we saw a continued rise in their popularity.

Although LMEs have been an effective tool in reducing Chapter 11 filings, their increasing use has introduced new legal, financial, and strategic complexities that will shape the restructuring landscape. Additionally, while LMEs can reduce the short-term need for a filing, their true effectiveness depends on a company’s broader strategic and operational performance. If fundamental problems persist, even the most skillful LME maneuvers may only delay bankruptcy rather than prevent it.

According to a 2024 article “Women in the Legal Profession” published by the American Bar Association, women constitute roughly 50% of law students, federal government lawyers, and law firm associates, but men continue to dominate the upper levels of the legal profession. Similarly, in 2023, McKinsey & Co found that women comprise approximately 20% of managing director and partner roles in private equity. To what extent have you observed there to be a reduced number of women in senior positions and what advice would you give to women who aspire to these positions?

From an investment banker’s perspective, reaching a senior position in banking is very difficult for anyone, regardless of gender. The job is incredibly demanding and requires sustained high performance over many years. For those who do make it to senior levels, it’s typically the result of discipline and relentless focus on execution, commercial impact, and developing a strong network. The reality is that many people – men and women alike – leave the industry before reaching that point. That said, women do face additional obstacles, whether it’s the challenge of finding the right sponsors or lingering biases – conscious or unconscious- that still exist in the industry.

For women who aspire to these roles, my advice would be the same as it is for anyone: develop deep technical expertise, build strong client relationships, and be known as someone who consistently delivers. Most importantly, be strategic about mentorship and sponsorship – having senior people who will advocate for you makes a real difference.

Women have made tremendous strides in our industry over the past 20 years. What would you like to see more of for women, professionally? 

I was fortunate early in my career to work with senior bankers who gave me the opportunity to take on leadership roles that challenged me and allowed me to grow professionally. Through those experiences, I learned that leadership is not about having all the answers – it’s about staying composed under pressure, making decisions with incomplete information, and guiding stakeholders toward the best possible outcome. Over time, I gained confidence in not just managing processes, but truly leading transactions – anticipating challenges, influencing outcomes, and ensuring execution stayed on track. I learned that while technical expertise is critical, the real differentiator is the ability to align diverse stakeholders, distill complexity into actionable solutions, and drive consensus in difficult situations. Those early opportunities set the foundation for how I operate as a banker now.