Mercy Medical Center fundraiser to honor longtime Rockville Centre resident

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The Friends of Mercy Medical Center will hold its 52nd annual Gentlemen’s St. Patrick’s Dinner on March 15 at the Hempstead Golf and Country Club, and will honor Rockville Centre resident Christopher J. Kearns.

More than 50 years ago, the Friends of Mercy gathered together to support the mission of Mercy Medical Center. As a result, the first St. Patrick’s Dinner was formed. A half-century later, this mission is still going strong and has provided millions of dollars in philanthropic support. Traditionally, the funds raised from the previous year’s events have been presented in a check at the Gentlemen’s dinner.

Kearns has been a member of the Friends of Mercy Medical Center for many years. He is a past president and also has co-chaired the Mercy Ball and the St. Patrick’s Dinner.  He has also been involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for more than 20 years and is a past chairman of the New York City Chapter and a member of the National Board of Representatives. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Long Island Chapter. 

He is also a past recipient of the Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee. He and Mary Beth were the parent honorees for the inaugural ball for Holy Trinity High School and recently were honored by the Rockville Centre Lions Club. The two bought their first house in Rockville Centre in 1985 and have raised four daughters: Meghan, Catie, Emily, and Bridget.

 Kearns currently leads the corporate finance practice group at Berkley Research Group, a multinational strategic advisory and expert consulting firm. He is recognized nationally as an expert in corporate restructuring, and has been the primary financial adviser to parties in interest in numerous complex, multinational matters. He has been a testifying expert, advisor or responsible officer in many well-known corporate distressed situations, including Energy Future Holdings, Lyondell Chemical, Peabody Energy, MF Global, Nortel, Gleacher and Enron.

He graduated with honors from Iona College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting and started his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP, where he met his wife, Mary Beth. After serving as a corporate officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, he joined FTI Consulting and later was a founder and managing partner of Capstone Advisory Group. The Capstone practice joined Berkley Research Group in 2015.