Federation Men's and Women's Philanthropy present

From No Bucks to NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks: A Journey from Hall High School to Avenue Capital Group

A conversation with Marc Lasry and Mayor Shari Cantor

Thursday, December 2 | 5:30 to 6:30 pm | Zoom

Join us for a special evening as we light the Hanukkah candles and get to know Marc Lasry, the chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team – and a Hall High School graduate!

In a conversation with West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor, Marc will share his personal story, take us behind the scenes of his family’s 32-year-old business, and tell us about his philanthropic work. A Hanukkah treat will be shipped to the address of your choice.

$18 couvert (not tax deductible).

Registration will close at noon on December 1. Register by November 29 to receive your treat before the event!

Questions? Contact Simi Benita at sbenita@jewishhartford.org or Laurie Mandell at lmandell@jewishhartford.org.

About Our Guest Speaker

Marc Lasry is the chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group – one of the world’s largest global alternative investment management firms, with assets of approximately $11.7 billion. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in distressed investing. After receiving a J.D. from New York Law School, Marc clerked for the Honorable Edward Ryan, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York, and then practiced law at Angel & Frankel, which focused on bankruptcies. Subsequently, he directed the private debt department at R.D. Smith, where he first became involved in “trade claims,” the market in purchasing and selling to investors the unsecured claims of vendors and other creditors against a debtor. In 1987, he joined Cowen & Company, where he co-directed the bankruptcy and corporate reorganization department. He went on to manage over $100 million for the Robert Bass Group. In 1990, Marc and his sister, Sonia Gardner, co-founded a boutique distressed brokerage firm, and in 1995 they formed Avenue Capital Group with less than $10 million in capital from friends and family. Marc is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on various other nonprofit and for-profit boards. He also co-owns the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team.

About Our Interviewer

Shari Cantor is the mayor of West Hartford, a position she has held since 2016. She joined the town council in 2004 and served as deputy mayor from late 2011 to mid-2016. Shari is a registered CPA who has worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at Cigna. Shari has served as a University of Connecticut Trustee (her alma mater) since 2013. She is a West Hartford Rotarian and Chair of the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Foundation Board and was appointed by the Governor to the board of the American School for the Deaf. In addition, she serves on several other nonprofit boards. Shari was inducted into the UCONN Hall of Fame in 2018 and won top national honors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 14th Annual Climate Protection Awards.