Genesis Business Humanity Member Aaron Hammer is an energetic and highly effective polymath, making contributions to improving lives through his work as a respected attorney, investor, entrepreneur, activist, author, and philanthropist. He devotes his time, treasure and talent to leadership organizations, professional associations, charitable causes, and more, blending his experience in business with a passion for the hospitality industry, and lifelong commitment to the betterment of society.
In addition to his membership in Genesis Club, Aaron is an active member in the Young President’s Organization (YPO), a premier leadership organization global platform for chief executives to engage, learn and grow. As Membership Officer for YPO’s Chicagoland Chapter and Illinois Area Chair for the YPO Mid-American Region, Aaron is committed to identifying and developing future leaders destined to impact organizations and the community they serve.
As Past President of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and TMA Global Executive Board Member, Aaron is dedicated to the corporate turnaround community both locally and globally. As a champion of the TMA Chicago/Midwest Chapter’s Executive Speaker Forum (ESF), Aaron has lead teams in bringing a dozen world leaders to Chicago over the last decade to engage TMA membership on political and economic issues. Past ESF honorees include President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
As Co-Director of Development and Board Member of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Midwest, Aaron is committed to fighting antisemitism, hate and bullying in every form. He is an active fundraiser for ADL causes and champion of ADL’s First Amendment Freedoms Art & Essay Contest, which offers students the opportunity to earn scholarships for submissions on how the First Amendment affects their daily lives and provides educators with the resources they need to facilitate that discussion.
Aaron devotes his legal practice to solving his client’s most challenging insolvency and creditors’ rights issues by emphasizing a practical, business-oriented, relationship-based approach in both distressed transactions and related litigation. Over twenty-five years, Aaron has led major engagements on behalf of corporate borrowers, lenders, and financiers and, most notably, bankruptcy committees in hundreds of significant bankruptcies and workouts across the country and in many foreign countries. He is a partner at HMB Legal Counsel, chairs the firm’s national Bankruptcy, Reorganization, and Creditors’ Rights practice group and has served on its Executive Committee, now board of directors.
Raised in an international family business, Aaron carries on his family’s tradition of entrepreneurship as a principal, partner and investor in special situations and healthy transactions, with a focus on hospitality, professional services, and real estate.
Aaron is the Managing Partner of Bisteca Hospitality Group. In this capacity, Aaron manages restaurant operations, business development, and strategy for Red South Beach and its future operations in Marbella Spain. Prior to this role, Aaron was (and remains) an active investor in multiple Chicago restaurants, including a fine dining concept with 2 Michelin stars, an iconic gastropub which boasts Bon Appétite‘s top cheeseburger in America, as well as TimeOut Chicago‘s top fast-casual ramen shop with multiple city-wide locations.
Aaron is a founder and principal of Calle Piedra LLC which owns and operates a dozen high-end luxury villas in Marbella Spain. He previously served as chairman of the board of NuCheck Advantage, a nationally recognized background checking and technology firm, as Chairman of the Executive Committee of Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Hammer LLP, and on the four-person Executive Committee of HMB Legal Counsel, now its board of directors.
Less than 12 months after graduating magna cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law at the top of his class, Aaron was appointed to the faculty as an adjunct professor of law where he revolutionized the insolvency curriculum by developing three new insolvency classes over almost ten years.
Aaron was the youngest professor ever appointed to the school’s faculty in its then 100+ year history at age 25. During this time, Aaron’s colleagues labeled him the “bankruptcy jock”, a term he accepted and espoused, and the distinction remains a significant part of his professional identity today.
Since then, Aaron has received nearly continuous recognition for his achievements in law for his clients and the larger corporate turnaround community. As an advocate, Aaron has been recognized for his creative solutions in the most challenging insolvency matters by leading publications such as Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Turnarounds & Workouts, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
On February 3, 2023, The M&A Advisor announced the winners of its 17th Annual Turnaround Awards. Aaron Hammer was named “Legal Advisor of the Year” for his extraordinary track record of client representations, including many notable recent transactions and disputes resolved, and lifelong contributions to the turnaround industry.
Aaron celebrates when his connections align to create lasting memories. Husband first, father to three fiercely independent daughters, and friend and mentor to many, Aaron enjoys his best life when connected to his family and community.
Genesis Business Humanity Club is honored to have Aaron as a Board Member, contributing his strategic mind, creative approach to problem solving, and legal expertise to our organization and to the entrepreneurs we support.
Learn more about Aaron here.
