What is a plan administrator or wind-down officer in bankruptcy?

What is a plan administrator or wind-down officer?

A plan administrator (also called a wind-down officer, liquidating trustee or similar) is the person or entity a confirmed chapter 11 plan names to carry out the plan after the company stops operating as before. Titles and powers come from the plan and the confirmation order, so the label alone tells you little. Read those documents to see what the role may actually do.

For records, the point is simple: whoever the plan empowers to deal with remaining assets is usually the party who can authorize a records license, subject to any court approval the plan or order requires.

How does the role differ from other post-filing roles?

Chapter 11 usually leaves the debtor in possession of its assets and proposes a plan, and a plan may be liquidating, according to the federal judiciary's chapter 11 basics. In chapter 7, a trustee sells nonexempt property and distributes proceeds, per the same source's chapter 7 companion page. Outside bankruptcy, an assignee in an assignment for the benefit of creditors holds the debtor's assets in trust, liquidates them and distributes proceeds, as the Saylor Academy open textbook explains; state law controls.

Why is this role the right contact for a records license?

Wind-down is when records are most at risk: servers are cancelled, SaaS subscriptions lapse and staff leave. The administrator controls budget and retention decisions, so they can preserve exports and approve a license if the plan allows. Employees who remain often lack that authority.

Three consequences for advisors:

• Approach the administrator or their counsel, not former executives, unless the documents say otherwise.
• Ask what the plan says about retaining records and selling or licensing non-cash assets.
• Expect court or creditor-committee involvement where the plan or order requires it.

The 4-question authority check

Before any conversation about a license, confirm four points.

1. Who holds the records now? Name the entity, trust or officer and the date control passed.
2. What does the plan say about records and miscellaneous assets? Look for retention periods and sale procedures.
3. Who must approve? Court, committee, oversight board or secured lender.
4. Do the systems still exist? Check that exports can still be made from live or archived systems.

What to say to a plan administrator

This is a conversation opener, not a promise. Companies in wind-down can qualify if the data still exists, but a court, trustee or assignee controlling the assets must be involved before anything proceeds. A related plan for early work is in the first-month referral plan for wind-down advisors.

What the partner does and does not do

• Makes the introduction and shares basic fit information only.
• Never exports, uploads or describes confidential records.
• Does not negotiate for the estate or give legal advice.

SourceX qualifies the company (size, history, data breadth, rights), the company completes a data inventory, price and terms are agreed, buyers review, and the deal closes with delivery and payment. Whether the estate's assets include records, and how privacy promises limit a sale, are legal questions; see whether company data is estate property. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

When not to bother

Skip it when the archives were deleted, nobody can run exports, the data was already licensed for AI training, the company had under 50 full-time employees at peak, or the records mainly belong to others without consent.

How rewards work for referral partners

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company, paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed. The success fee you may earn as an advisor is separate; check your engagement terms and any court-approval rules on fees and disclosure. See the program terms.

Next step

Identify the person with plan authority on your next wind-down matter, then use the company fit checker for a first screen. Register as a partner to make the introduction, and review who qualifies first.