About the Awards Process
Award submission can be a turnaround, a transaction, or a composite of the two. The turnaround or transaction must have closed between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024. Cases will be judged on both the turnaround and transactional elements. However, the deal does not need to have both components to be eligible.
For the turnaround aspect, please describe the improvements to a business by implementing effective operations, establishing solid management, generating positive cash flow, or effecting other operational enhancements leading to recovery of a struggling business. For the transactional aspect, please describe the orchestration of a non-operational restructuring, including merger and acquisition, sale, loan, liquidation, debt restructuring, or other capital reorganization, to preserve value in a struggling business.
Judging Criteria
The Awards Committee is carefully composed to represent the diversity of the TMA membership. Each application undergoes a rigorous and comprehensive review process including undertaking due diligence steps in which the individuals who are nominated may be interviewed to determine if that specific nomination is fulsome and inclusive. The decision of the Awards Committee is final once releases to the press are made. Press releases will not be amended to add any additional names.
Entries are judged on individual merit; not all award categories will derive a winner in a given year. As judges review all components of the entry, they look for well-defined, measurable outcomes. All submissions need to close between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
Part 1: Turnaround/Transaction Entry
Nominator Contact Information
Part 2: Key Contact(s)
Part 3: Narrative Descriptions
Part 4: Timeline
Part 5: Historical Financial Statement
Part 6: Information Release
Categories for Both Turnaround and Transaction Awards Include:
Small Company (company revenue at the time of turnaround was less than $50 million USD)
Mid-Size Company (company revenue at the time of turnaround was $50 million to $299 million USD)
Large Company (company revenue at the time of turnaround was $300 million to $1 billion USD)
Mega Company (company revenue at the time of turnaround was at least $1 billion USD)
International Company (a company with significant cross-border operations)
Pro Bono (no fees in exchange for services); entry must demonstrate financial stability
Non-Profit (a tax-exempt organization without shareholders that uses its surplus net assets to achieve its mission)
Notification
Confirmation of receipt of each entry will be emailed after each submission, with a follow-up email requesting payment in protech. All nominees will be notified of the judging outcome by July 20, 2025. Award recipients will be recognized at The 2025 TMA Annual, October 14-17 in New Orleans, Louisiana conference to accept the award is expected. If a nominee selected by the Awards Committee cannot attend, the nominee’s firm is expected to send an appropriate representative.
Publicity
TMA will distribute a national press release of the 2025 award recipients/firms in each award category. TMA requests that firms/award recipients refrain from distributing press releases before TMA’s national release. When the press release is finalized the nominator will receive a preliminary copy of the release, at which time they are encouraged to customize and distribute their release to local media outlets. TMA Members of the press are invited to attend The TMA Annual. The Awards Committee reserves the right to revoke the award winner status if controversy or negative news comes out after selecting an entry as a winner.