SCHNELLING--Anthony (Tony) H. N., Founder and CEO of Bridge Associates LLC, a Noted Turnaround and Restructuring Firm, dies at 62. Tony Schnelling spent his life crossing and then creating bridges. He rode through the Khyber Pass at 12 and when he was 42, he spent three months riding horseback in Mongolia, ultimately convincing the herders that American men could not only ride but also wrestle. He spoke six languages fluently. His facility with languages, including multiple dialects of German, allowed him to bring a bit of home to a German woman who found herself waiting tables in Boise, Idaho. While at college, he bridged the chasm between athletics and academia by graduating from Swarthmore College while being recognized as an All American soccer player. After earning an MBA from Harvard University in 1972, he built a bridge to renewed profitability for the faltering family printing business. Tony then realized he needed a new challenge and went to Fordham Law School at the age of 41, graduating cum laude. After law school, Tony joined the New York law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where his practice encompassed both general corporate and insolvency law. He represented corporate debtors, secured lenders and creditors in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings in a variety of jurisdictions and industries in the United States and Europe. But again he saw another path. In 1997, he founded a boutique financial consulting firm aptly enough named Bridge Associates LLC specializing in advising businesses in all aspects of financial restructuring. Over the next decade, he built the firm into a leading professional services organization focused on providing advisory, crisis and interim management and litigation support. He also acted as a trustee in a number of cases, leading the recovery of tens of millions of dollars for creditors. Tony's engagements as a turnaround and restructuring specialist included such high profile cases as Refco, Heilig-Meyers and Conseco Finance - to name just a few. But even as a re-structuring professional, Tony continued to build bridges, including one in Calpine, Inc., where he was retained as a Court appointed expert by the Honorable Burton Lifland and eventually bridged the seemingly insurmountable gap between the numerous constituencies leading to a consensual resolution. At the time of his death, the firm had seven partners and 40 professionals in offices located in New York, NY; Tulsa, OK; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN and Tampa, FL. Tony never stopped tapping out messages and making calls on his omnipresent Blackberry. From his beloved home in Amenia, New York, he worked on client and firm matters until the time of his death, taking conference calls from his bedroom, and continuing to provide sage counsel and strategy to clients and colleagues until the end. When long time friend and partner, Carl Young, asked Tony to take it easy, Tony's answer was, "Carl, I am going to be asleep for a long time - this is more fun." David N. Phelps, another of Tony's partners, stated, "Not only in business, but in every aspect of his life, he was loved by a wide range of people and admired by an even bigger circle. I know I speak for all of his partners, colleagues, clients and friends when I say we will miss him dearly." Tony was described by those who were close to him as a visionary who warned about the current economic crisis, but who also had a gift to see novel and innovative solutions, where others saw problems and roadblocks. "He could look at an abandoned paper mill sitting on top of a toxic waste site and could see a recreational marina," said Louis Robichaux, a partner of Tony's. Even after leaving the practice of law, Tony continued to strengthen the connection between law and business, becoming an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, as well as a member of the School's Board of Directors. Additionally, he founded the Anthony Schnelling Scholarship Fund, awarded to students entering law school after being in the workforce for several years. He also taught at Columbia University's School of Business in New York and at the Jones Graduate School at Rice University in Houston. He served as the Vice President of Development for the American Bankruptcy Institute and was a member of the organization's Board of Directors. He was recently elected by his peers as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Tony is a past member of the Board of Directors of The Pomfret School and was also a long-term supporter of Canine Companions for Independence, which honored him with their Hearts and Heroes Award for his fund raising efforts. There are many words to describe Tony - but his wife, Bettina Whyte put it best. "Tony was amazing. In his life, in his work, in his intellectual abilities, in his compassion, in his commitment to friends and family - he was simply amazing." He is survived by his wife, Bettina M. Whyte, and his mother, Emily Leeser. He also leaves behind his half-sister, Eva Claire Schnelling of Houndstooth, England. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to The Anthony Schnelling Lectureship Series in Commercial Bankruptcy at Fordham University School of Law.
Tony, we will miss your boundless energy, your larger than life presence at our 50th. I'm sad that you won't be there. There will be a big empty space.
Tony and I roomed together in Wharton during our sophomore year. Tom Hodous, Jorge Sarmiento, Tony and I had one of those two bedroom suites with a common living and studying area with a bay window looking out over the woods descending to the Crum. Tony and I became good friends over our years at Swarthmore as roommates for a year and as members of the Swarthmore varsity soccer squad for three years.
In addition to visiting Tony in New York City on several occasions, there are two memories of summers we spent together that are particularly dear to me that I'd like to share. They involved Tony introducing me in an up close and personal way to his life in Europe. The other was my being able to introduce him to a new experience both culturally and linguistically in Colombia, South America. Of course, Tony was all in for this! His energy and interest in learning about and being immersed in new things was boundless as described in the obituary posted by Chris King, my senior year roomie. Thanks Chris, for posting Tony's obituary.
In the summer of 1966, Tony visited me in Cali, Colombia, where my parents were living from 1965-1967. During Tony's stay, we toured the beautiful countryside in the Department of Valle del Cauca, where Cali is the Capital. The region is known for its sugar plantations and processing plants.The Cauca River flows south to north and is located between the western and central ranges of the Andes Mountains at an altitude of about 3,500 ft. We took several short trips with Tony to mountain towns in the Western Range several thousand feet above the valley, where the views are exquisite and the climate is about 15 degrees cooler than in Cali. One memorable day visit with Tony was to the 19th century Hacienda El Paraiso on the western lower slopes of the Central Range about an hour from Cali. It is a fine example of 19th century hacienda architecture and is famous for being the setting and inspiration for the romantic novel "María" by the Colombian writer and poet, Jorge Isaacs. I remember particularly well our week long trip by car from Cali to Popayán, an important political and economic center over four centuries from Spanish Colonial times to the present. From Popayán, we crossed the high Andes of the Central Range climbing from a semi-tropical climate to a very high and cold ecosystem called a páramo at about 10 - 13,000 ft. above sea level, and then down again to the town of San Agustín, known for its rich 20th century archeological finds of the San Agustín culture in southern Colombia. We then returned to Cali through the city of Neiva on the banks of the Magdalena River, Colombia´s principal south/north waterway. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, as twenty year old guys in Cali, we had a fabulous time experiencing the Latino night life, the discotecas, the traditional Colombian music and dance steps, and going out with friends in Cali to great Colombian parties.
The next year, in the summer of 1967, it was my turn to visit Tony in his European environment at his father's residences on the Rue de l'Université near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Orange, a lovely small village in the south of France near Avignon, and in London at Wildcroft Manor in London SW 1.
I met Tony in Paris and from there we went to London a few days later. I remember very distinctly driving Tony´s father´s Jaguar Mark X to London taking the channel ferry from Oostende to Dover and then on to London. British customs didn't quite know what to make of these two young lads driving this very nice car with a lovely silver tea service and other items in the boot to be delivered to the Schnelling flat in London on Tony's father's instructions. After some time and phone calls (before the ease of cell phones, remember),Tony was able to take care of any questions the customs people had and we were on our way. From London, we drove Tony's new Ford Cortina GT, a snazzy little car, north to Newcastle where Tony spent some time working at the family company's business there. While Tony did that, he lent me the car to tour around my ancestral land of Scotland.
Tony and I returned to France in the Cortina and continued our travels from Paris to Munich. We returned to Paris through Holland and visited Tony's step-uncle who was a former Dutch poet laureate, as I recall. HIs home had been a safe house for Jews fleeing the Nazis during WW II. We stayed a few days in Paris, then drove with Tony's father to their lovely stone house in the village of Orange in the dry hills near Avignon in the south of France. From our base in Orange, we spent a couple of days touring around Marseille and San Tropez.
Alas, the summer of 1967 was coming to a close. Tony drove me to Nice, where I took the train back to Luxembourg through Milan. I boarded my Icelandic Airlines flight back to New York through Reykjavik where I spend two days with an Icelandic family that I had met on the flight to Europe.
Writing this has brought back a flood of recollections that I had only thought about superficially over the years. I greatly appreciate Tony's friendship and the experiences we shared and hope that people who knew Tony, and, perhaps, even Tony, in some way, himself, will enjoy these memories with me.
Christopher L. King
SCHNELLING--Anthony (Tony) H. N., Founder and CEO of Bridge Associates LLC, a Noted Turnaround and Restructuring Firm, dies at 62. Tony Schnelling spent his life crossing and then creating bridges. He rode through the Khyber Pass at 12 and when he was 42, he spent three months riding horseback in Mongolia, ultimately convincing the herders that American men could not only ride but also wrestle. He spoke six languages fluently. His facility with languages, including multiple dialects of German, allowed him to bring a bit of home to a German woman who found herself waiting tables in Boise, Idaho. While at college, he bridged the chasm between athletics and academia by graduating from Swarthmore College while being recognized as an All American soccer player. After earning an MBA from Harvard University in 1972, he built a bridge to renewed profitability for the faltering family printing business. Tony then realized he needed a new challenge and went to Fordham Law School at the age of 41, graduating cum laude. After law school, Tony joined the New York law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where his practice encompassed both general corporate and insolvency law. He represented corporate debtors, secured lenders and creditors in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings in a variety of jurisdictions and industries in the United States and Europe. But again he saw another path. In 1997, he founded a boutique financial consulting firm aptly enough named Bridge Associates LLC specializing in advising businesses in all aspects of financial restructuring. Over the next decade, he built the firm into a leading professional services organization focused on providing advisory, crisis and interim management and litigation support. He also acted as a trustee in a number of cases, leading the recovery of tens of millions of dollars for creditors. Tony's engagements as a turnaround and restructuring specialist included such high profile cases as Refco, Heilig-Meyers and Conseco Finance - to name just a few. But even as a re-structuring professional, Tony continued to build bridges, including one in Calpine, Inc., where he was retained as a Court appointed expert by the Honorable Burton Lifland and eventually bridged the seemingly insurmountable gap between the numerous constituencies leading to a consensual resolution. At the time of his death, the firm had seven partners and 40 professionals in offices located in New York, NY; Tulsa, OK; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN and Tampa, FL. Tony never stopped tapping out messages and making calls on his omnipresent Blackberry. From his beloved home in Amenia, New York, he worked on client and firm matters until the time of his death, taking conference calls from his bedroom, and continuing to provide sage counsel and strategy to clients and colleagues until the end. When long time friend and partner, Carl Young, asked Tony to take it easy, Tony's answer was, "Carl, I am going to be asleep for a long time - this is more fun." David N. Phelps, another of Tony's partners, stated, "Not only in business, but in every aspect of his life, he was loved by a wide range of people and admired by an even bigger circle. I know I speak for all of his partners, colleagues, clients and friends when I say we will miss him dearly." Tony was described by those who were close to him as a visionary who warned about the current economic crisis, but who also had a gift to see novel and innovative solutions, where others saw problems and roadblocks. "He could look at an abandoned paper mill sitting on top of a toxic waste site and could see a recreational marina," said Louis Robichaux, a partner of Tony's. Even after leaving the practice of law, Tony continued to strengthen the connection between law and business, becoming an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, as well as a member of the School's Board of Directors. Additionally, he founded the Anthony Schnelling Scholarship Fund, awarded to students entering law school after being in the workforce for several years. He also taught at Columbia University's School of Business in New York and at the Jones Graduate School at Rice University in Houston. He served as the Vice President of Development for the American Bankruptcy Institute and was a member of the organization's Board of Directors. He was recently elected by his peers as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Tony is a past member of the Board of Directors of The Pomfret School and was also a long-term supporter of Canine Companions for Independence, which honored him with their Hearts and Heroes Award for his fund raising efforts. There are many words to describe Tony - but his wife, Bettina Whyte put it best. "Tony was amazing. In his life, in his work, in his intellectual abilities, in his compassion, in his commitment to friends and family - he was simply amazing." He is survived by his wife, Bettina M. Whyte, and his mother, Emily Leeser. He also leaves behind his half-sister, Eva Claire Schnelling of Houndstooth, England. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to The Anthony Schnelling Lectureship Series in Commercial Bankruptcy at Fordham University School of Law.
Nancy Bennett
Thank you, Chris. I am very glad to see this posting and to learn more about Tony's life after Swarthmore.
Susan Gibson (Sharpe)
I second that. Thank you, Chris, and of course I had no idea, remembering him so clearly as a ball of energy.
Sandra Miller (Sanchez)
Cher ami, dynamique, contestataire, fidèle et généreux - tu me manqueras toujours.
Nancy Bennett
Tony, we will miss your boundless energy, your larger than life presence at our 50th. I'm sad that you won't be there. There will be a big empty space.
Peter Fraser
Tony and I roomed together in Wharton during our sophomore year. Tom Hodous, Jorge Sarmiento, Tony and I had one of those two bedroom suites with a common living and studying area with a bay window looking out over the woods descending to the Crum. Tony and I became good friends over our years at Swarthmore as roommates for a year and as members of the Swarthmore varsity soccer squad for three years.
In addition to visiting Tony in New York City on several occasions, there are two memories of summers we spent together that are particularly dear to me that I'd like to share. They involved Tony introducing me in an up close and personal way to his life in Europe. The other was my being able to introduce him to a new experience both culturally and linguistically in Colombia, South America. Of course, Tony was all in for this! His energy and interest in learning about and being immersed in new things was boundless as described in the obituary posted by Chris King, my senior year roomie. Thanks Chris, for posting Tony's obituary.
In the summer of 1966, Tony visited me in Cali, Colombia, where my parents were living from 1965-1967. During Tony's stay, we toured the beautiful countryside in the Department of Valle del Cauca, where Cali is the Capital. The region is known for its sugar plantations and processing plants.The Cauca River flows south to north and is located between the western and central ranges of the Andes Mountains at an altitude of about 3,500 ft. We took several short trips with Tony to mountain towns in the Western Range several thousand feet above the valley, where the views are exquisite and the climate is about 15 degrees cooler than in Cali. One memorable day visit with Tony was to the 19th century Hacienda El Paraiso on the western lower slopes of the Central Range about an hour from Cali. It is a fine example of 19th century hacienda architecture and is famous for being the setting and inspiration for the romantic novel "María" by the Colombian writer and poet, Jorge Isaacs. I remember particularly well our week long trip by car from Cali to Popayán, an important political and economic center over four centuries from Spanish Colonial times to the present. From Popayán, we crossed the high Andes of the Central Range climbing from a semi-tropical climate to a very high and cold ecosystem called a páramo at about 10 - 13,000 ft. above sea level, and then down again to the town of San Agustín, known for its rich 20th century archeological finds of the San Agustín culture in southern Colombia. We then returned to Cali through the city of Neiva on the banks of the Magdalena River, Colombia´s principal south/north waterway. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, as twenty year old guys in Cali, we had a fabulous time experiencing the Latino night life, the discotecas, the traditional Colombian music and dance steps, and going out with friends in Cali to great Colombian parties.
The next year, in the summer of 1967, it was my turn to visit Tony in his European environment at his father's residences on the Rue de l'Université near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Orange, a lovely small village in the south of France near Avignon, and in London at Wildcroft Manor in London SW 1.
I met Tony in Paris and from there we went to London a few days later. I remember very distinctly driving Tony´s father´s Jaguar Mark X to London taking the channel ferry from Oostende to Dover and then on to London. British customs didn't quite know what to make of these two young lads driving this very nice car with a lovely silver tea service and other items in the boot to be delivered to the Schnelling flat in London on Tony's father's instructions. After some time and phone calls (before the ease of cell phones, remember),Tony was able to take care of any questions the customs people had and we were on our way. From London, we drove Tony's new Ford Cortina GT, a snazzy little car, north to Newcastle where Tony spent some time working at the family company's business there. While Tony did that, he lent me the car to tour around my ancestral land of Scotland.
Tony and I returned to France in the Cortina and continued our travels from Paris to Munich. We returned to Paris through Holland and visited Tony's step-uncle who was a former Dutch poet laureate, as I recall. HIs home had been a safe house for Jews fleeing the Nazis during WW II. We stayed a few days in Paris, then drove with Tony's father to their lovely stone house in the village of Orange in the dry hills near Avignon in the south of France. From our base in Orange, we spent a couple of days touring around Marseille and San Tropez.
Alas, the summer of 1967 was coming to a close. Tony drove me to Nice, where I took the train back to Luxembourg through Milan. I boarded my Icelandic Airlines flight back to New York through Reykjavik where I spend two days with an Icelandic family that I had met on the flight to Europe.
Writing this has brought back a flood of recollections that I had only thought about superficially over the years. I greatly appreciate Tony's friendship and the experiences we shared and hope that people who knew Tony, and, perhaps, even Tony, in some way, himself, will enjoy these memories with me.