Gene Arenson

Gene is responsible for business development, operational support and developing synergies for turnaround and investment banking services at BerganKDV. He is focused on sourcing, structuring and executing assignments for healthy and distressed businesses nationwide. Gene has over 30 years of experience in the commercial and industrial lending industry. He most recently was a founding member and Senior Vice President of Business Development for a Midwest-based appraisal and auction firm, where clients included lending institutions, law firms, restructuring advisers, private equity funds, and corporations.

Prior to his business development role, he was an operational Vice President and director of the largest Machinery and Equipment Valuation practice dedicated to asset-based lending worldwide. He has directed hundreds of engagements across a wide range of industries for asset-based lenders and major corporations around the world. Gene has completed work in countries such as Mexico, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Gene started his career in the appraisal industry with American Appraisal Associates on the west coast. He was responsible for valuations in the public sector, including schools, cities, colleges and universities, and water and wastewater districts. In 1991 he moved back to the Midwest to lead the central region for a newly formed company, Valuation Resource Management, where he was named Vice President. His responsibilities included overall production, scheduling, and training. He joined AccuVal Associates in 1997 and was instrumental in their significant growth in his roles as an appraiser, operations executive and business development officer. Gene co-founded the appraisal and auction firm HYPERAMS in 2011 and was one of the main drivers of growth through his Midwest referral network.

Gene is qualified as an expert witness for the United States Bankruptcy Court System. Other professional affiliations include the American Society of Appraisers (ASA); Midwest Business Brokers and Intermediaries (MBBI); and the Wisconsin Professionals Network (WPN). Gene has been involved as Milwaukee Co-Chair and Committee member of the Turnaround Management Association’s (TMA), Chicago Midwest Chapter, where he is an instrumental member of the Milwaukee Programs Committee and is actively involved in planning networking and educational events for over 10 years. Gene is also active with the LaBelle Yacht Club in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where he is a Past Commodore, leading the club’s sailing regattas and involved in the club’s leadership. In his free time, you can find him on his pontoon boat with his wife and friends, cruising the shores of Lac Labelle.