Fred Caruso, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Development Specialists, Inc., is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor.
Mr. Caruso has 30 years of insolvency, restructuring and valuation experience. Prior to rejoining DSI in July, 2005, Mr. Caruso was the president for Hilco Appraisal Services, LLP (“Hilco”), which is the largest valuation firm in North America for inventory, equipment and business valuations used by the asset based lending community. During his tenure at Hilco, Mr. Caruso personally was involved in hundreds of engagements for manufacturers, forest products companies, distributors and retailers, including such notables as Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Mitsubishi Motors, Georgia Pacific, GM Locomotive, Meridian Automotive, Parmalat Dairy and Bakery, Citation Corporation, Revlon and US Steel. While at Hilco, Mr. Caruso was also involved in Hilco’s distressed disposition practice, involving the sale of inventory, equipment and real estate for many of its clients.
Mr. Caruso originally joined DSI in 1982 as Chief Financial Officer. He has assumed day-to-day management control for 12 different companies where operations included sub-prime financial services, metal fabrication, injection molding, blow molding, residential construction, real estate management, government contracting, hospitality and food service, wholesale and retail oil distribution, and computer software. Mr. Caruso has also provided consulting services to both debtors and creditors for a variety of other businesses involving banking, OEM automotive supply, wholesale distributorships, aftermarket automotive supply, mortgage servicing, general contracting and retailing.
Mr. Caruso has testified as an expert witness in various bankruptcy, state, and federal court trials relating to business valuation and plan feasibility. Due to his skills in forensic accounting and fraud detection, Mr. Caruso was appointed both a Chapter 11 and a Chapter 7 Trustee for cases involving "Ponzi schemes" and misappropriation of funds.
Prior to joining DSI, Mr. Caruso worked for a "Big 8" accounting firm and was an audit manager for a smaller firm for five years. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1977 with degrees in accounting and finance. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association of Insolvency Accountants, and the American and Illinois Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.
