Adam Berman is all about making connections. “On a typical day, I’m connecting with a lot of people in the industry, like finance professionals and legal professionals that we look to work with. There are also internal connections because I’m new to the company, and there are a lot of people in different jurisdictions as well,” says Adam, who joined Delaware Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CSC, as managing director for trust and agency services in April 2020.
He’s also making connections in Europe and Asia. “We’re making these connections to figure out how to expand on our products and make them better.” During the pandemic, he’s making the connections by phone from his home office in Long Island, N.Y. “I tell my wife, I’m a professional talker now,” he says with a laugh.
Adam joined Delaware Trust because he liked the firm’s culture. “I always respected Delaware Trust. There’s a very collegial environment among peers in the industry.” He decided to join the company after meeting John Hebert, president of Global Financial Markets at CSC. “There’s a lot of potential here in the industry. The firm has a great history and the people are fantastic. The potential to do bigger and better things is here. And it just all made sense to me,” he says. “The other thing I like is the team environment here. Everybody shares that same vision and enthusiasm about the business and delivering those solutions. It’s refreshing when you come here and everybody is on the same page.”
Growing corporate trust services
Adam is responsible for expanding the corporate trust services of Delaware Trust Company while working with regional CSC teams across the United States, Europe, and APAC. He’s been in the corporate trust business for more than 25 years, with an interest in bankruptcy and restructuring services, high yield and cross-border bond issuances, loan agency services, escrows, and business development. Before joining Delaware Trust, he served as vice president at GLAS Americas LLC where he helped establish their U.S. business.
Adam enjoys learning new things. “You’re never too old to learn something. I’m a big proponent of that. I always try to get my hands onto something that I’m not necessarily comfortable with, so I get to learn and that motivates me. He also likes working with younger employees, “the junior version of myself from 10 or 15 years ago that I could help or mentor. Someone did that for me. So now I like to pay that forward. These are future leaders and they’re interested in learning new things and developing their skills.”
Managing through a crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial distress for countless businesses around the world. “They need a lot of help and our services can help them through that process. If they’re going to restructure, or maybe go through a bankruptcy, we can participate and be helpful.”
The pandemic has made corporate trust business more needed than ever. “When times are good in the corporate trust business, people are paying their debt and everybody’s happy. Now, when you have more companies that are distressed, the role of the trustee or the agent is even more pronounced and needed.”
When it’s time to unwind, Adam and his family head toward the ocean, just minutes from their Long Island home. “There’s a big boardwalk, and we take the kids to walk down there. We also like to cook. At family dinner time, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s relaxing, but it’s fun. And we have a good time. There’s always like a lot of commotion going on, but it hovers in the space of fun. It’s chaotic, but it’s fun.” Adam and his wife have two sons, an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old.
The pandemic-related travel restrictions will end eventually, and Adam is looking forward to going “anywhere that’s not my house or property. I love California, and we always have fun there. We like to do a lot of outside activities and California is perfect for that.”
CSC Global Financial Markets – Corporate Trust Services
CSC Global Financial Markets (GFM) is a leading provider of trust and corporate services for every stage of the corporate life cycle, including bankruptcy. CSC is recognized by rating agencies and lenders as one of the only approved providers of professional independent director services in the United States. CSC also offers liquidating or litigation trustee services as a fiduciary. Through our wholly owned affiliate and regulated trust company, Delaware Trust Company, which, as a nonlending institution, is truly free of conflicts of interests, we offer a full range of bankruptcy-related services, including successor indenture trustee, Delaware statutory trustee for liquidating or litigation trusts, administrative and collateral agent, escrow agent for subscription offerings and Section 363 asset sales, and disbursing agent for liquidations or litigation.