Though the summer usually forecasts slower times ahead in business, this year shows no signs of stagnation. While grappling with inflation, political instability, and chaotic financial markets, our industry keeps up pace as we see some extremely senior appointments and consequential moves across EMEA and APAC for our biggest players in professional services.
People Moves
Bridget Walsh will become the new EY Global Private Equity Leader as of July 1st. EY intends to invest approximately US$1b over 4 years into their Private Equity business capabilities, with hopes of bolstering existing transaction capabilities, and the areas of value creation and portfolio transformation.
John Hodges joins EY as a Partner in their Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice in the US. Verdantix places EY as the highest in their most recent ESG and Sustainability Consulting 2022 ranking.
KPMG welcomes James Holley as a Partner in their Deal Advisory team in the UK. James, backed by over 20 years of experience in sustainability and ESG, will be leading the ESG Transaction Services team and taking up a post as ESG Lead for Private Equity.
PA Consulting welcome Rasmus Lundsgaard Nielsen to their Energy and Utilities team in Denmark. Rasmus brings extensive experience in renewables, as well as the broader energy transition and decarbonisation agenda.
Mike Giacobbe is appointed Marsh Advisory Leader for the US and Canada. Mike will oversee US and Canada Consulting Solutions, Claims Solutions, and Analytics Solutions.
Paul Beresford joins KPMG as a Partner in Hong Kong. Paul intends to harness insights surrounding distribution, technology, eco-systems and data analytics to investigate how insurers will triumph in a post-IFRS 17/RBC and post-Covid World.
Vivian Jiang is appointed the Chair of Deloitte China, carrying out a four-year term. Vivian was named one of Fortune’s 2021 Most Impactful Business Women in China and is Vice President of the China Certified Tax Agents Association, an advisor to multiple government agencies, and a guest professor at leading universities.
Eight Advisory appoints Michael Horwat as Transactions Services Partner to its Zurich office. Michael brings significant experience in advising Private Equity clients, corporate clients, and public authorities across a variety of sectors.
Vadym Diablo joins A&M’s Global Transaction Advisory Group (TAG) as a Senior Director, based in Paris. Vadym will be responsible for clients in the TMT and real economy sectors, serving Private Equity and growth investors on transactions in France and abroad. Vadym’s appointment represents A&M’s commitment to growth across Europe.
Jessica Apotheker is nominated as BCG‘s Global Chief Marketing Officer. Jessica has been recognised, not only for her work within business transformation (specifically in areas related to digital marketing and new technologies), but for her strong commitment to female empowerment and equality at work.
Francois Bardi joins A&M’s US Energy practice as a Managing Director. Francois brings 20 years of experience turning around distressed private, public, and national oil and gas companies.
Barclays names Joel Fleck as Global Co-Head of the firm’s Financial Institutions group, working alongside Tim Mai. The appointment comes following Fleck’s time as Global Head of Fintech and Asset Management Coverage for the firm.
Boston Consulting Group appoints Pablo Martinez as Managing Partner within its Middle East Division, taking over the reins from Joerg Hildebrandt.
EY Africa welcomes Clémence McNulty as Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader.
John Corrigan joins A&M’s U.S Energy practice as Managing Director. John brings 20 years of consulting experience, with a specific focus on the energy industry.
Olivier Nicolle starts a new position as Director at AlixPartners in France.
Following 15 years at Oliver Wyman, Dimitris Psarris is starting a position at Bain & Company as a Senior Partner within the firm’s global Financial Services practice. Dimitris will be leading the company’s business in Greece and Cyprus as well as supporting the growth of the firm’s Financial Services practice across EMEA.
A&M hires Pablo Blanco Juarez as Managing Director in Spain, within their Chief Restructuring Officer practice. Pablo brings expertise in helping clients capitalise on recent legislation in Spain, allowing for more flexible pre-insolvency procedures.
A&M Tax welcomes Senior Directors Christopher Prout and Kathy Lloyd in London. Kathy brings 20 years of experience, and will focus on employment tax transformations, technical advice, and compliance procedures. Chris will support the design and implementation of UK and international management equity plans.
Dr. Christoph Steiger returns to AlixPartners in Germany, following serving in senior leadership roles at Hoffmann Group SE and SAP SE. He also spent the better part of three years with Roland Berger as a Senior Partner before rejoining AlixPartners.
Sandrine Gril-Prats starts a new position at Deloitte, as Managing Partner of the Deal, Transformation & Turnaround department and as Lead Partner of Restructuring Services in France.
Sylvain Gasquet joins Porsche Consulting as a Partner in the German Consumer Goods & Retail team. Sylvain brings knowledge on assortment performance, efficient organizational design, cost reduction and supply chain optimization to the firm.
Zeeshan Khwaja joins Kearney’s Financial Services practice as a Partner in the firm’s Middle East branch.
Lazard banker Jim Rossman will join Barclays as Global Head of Shareholder Advisory at the end of 2022. Jim will report to Barclays’ Co-Heads of Global M&A, Gary Posternack and Ihsan Essaid.
Louis Taylor is appointed CEO of British Business Bank, starting his role on October 1st.
Florian Schick is appointed Managing Director and General Manager of Merck (Schweiz) AG – the Healthcare Business of Merck in Switzerland and Country Speaker for Merck Group in Switzerland. Florian brings a demonstrable track record at Merck, McKinsey and Pfizer, operating within Commercial and Strategy leadership roles.
Three new Directors, James Todd, Graham Thomas and Catherine Collins, join KPMG’s UK Cyber Security capability.
Stuart Mackay is appointed as Head of Commercial Banking Origination (CMBO) for HSBC Global Banking and Markets. Stuart brings over 25 years of investment banking experience and will be responsible for driving investment banking opportunities among Commercial Banking clients.
Steve Hurt brings over 25 years of experience delivering operations, manufacturing and supply chain transformations to his new role as Managing Director for A&M’s US Automotive & Industrials Group.
Claudia Lotti joins the FTI Consulting team, alongside Partners Barbara Biassoni, Francesco Leone, and Raffaele Fiorella. The Partners will join the firm’s newly launched Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment in Italy, in a reflection of FTI’s further extension across Continental Europe.
Alexis Nasard is appointed as Swarovski’s first external CEO. Alexis, currently a Senior Business Advisor at McKinsey & Co, will join the company on the 4th of July, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the Consumer Goods & Retail sector.
Marilyn Adan joins A&M’s US Corporate Performance Improvement practice, as a Senior Director within its Corporate M&A Services group. Marilyn’s focus lies in M&A integration, program management and enterprise software.
Gregory Blokkeel is appointed Director within KEPLER’s Innovation practice. Gregory is based in Paris.
Arthur D. Little welcomes Arnaud Bodji and Oliver Golly as two new Partners within its European business.
Kim Chua joins OC&C’s Strategy Consultants global Partner team, within its Telecoms, Media and Technology practice.
Juergen Wetzstein, former leader of A&M’s European procurement practice, is made Managing Director of BCG’s procurement subsidiary, Inverto.
Michael Horwat joins Eight Advisory’s Swiss Partner team. Michael brings over 15 years of M&A experience at Big Fours to the firm.
Patience Marime-Ball, Esq joins Kroll’s ESG Advisory Services in New York as a Senior Advisor. Patience brings over 20 years of investment experience, encompassing debt and equity financing, large scale infrastructure, distressed assets and venture funding.
SparkOptimus promotes two serving members to Partner in the Netherlands: Rob Wiggelinkhuizen and Maurice van Heijningen.
Peter Ward becomes the new leader of L.E.K Consulting’s London Office, following 22 years of tenure with the firm.
Tunde Olanrewaju joins McKinsey & Company as Managing Partner for the UK, Ireland and Israel.
Rob Walker is appointed to lead Cognizant’s Global Growth Markets organisation. Rob was previously a Consulting Markets Leader for EY, equipping him with over 25 years of experience advising clients on how to drive profitable growth.
Azariah Nukajam, former Vice President in Kroll’s GRC practice, joins fscom as an Associate Director in the Investments practice. Azariah will advise on governance, risk and compliance topics, across the investment landscape.
EY Parthenon welcome Dr. Stephan Hentrich, Marvin Schroeder, Sergey Nasonov, Carolin Dziallas and Massood Qasimi into the Private Equity, Value Creation and Strategy practice in Germany.
Benoit Gougeon joins Bain & Company as a Partner in France, focusing on Strategic Operations in Personal Care, Food & Beverage and Consumer Health. Gougeon is passionate in transforming and modernising supply chains, following 17 years of tenure at Kearney.
A&M’s Global Transaction Advisory Group (TAG) welcomes Ines Berger as Managing Director. Ines joins alongside four other new hires, with A&M seeking to broaden the practice’s scope in Germany, and bolster their M&A delivery capabilities cross-border.
Jason Spencer, Naveen Tiwari, and Peter Renon join EY’s Private Equity partnership, based in London. Prior to joining EY UK, Jason was Managing Director (Private Equity Performance Improvement) at Alvarez and Marsal, Naveen was the founding Partner of TS&E in EY India and Peter worked as a Senior Director in A&M’s Private Equity Advisory team.
A&M welcomes Utsav Garg as Managing Director in Singapore, to lead a new business unit in Southeast Asia and Australia (SEAA). Utsav brings over 20 years of expertise in large scale transformation programs.
BCG welcomes Raoul Ruparel as Director of the Centre for Growth. Raoul previously worked at Deloitte and as Special Advisor to Prime Minister Theresa May. Raol will be driving the Centre’s agenda, looking to push sustainable and inclusive growth in the UK.
Francesca Lagerberg is appointed as Baker Tilly’s new CEO, based in London. Francesca is the first woman to lead the network.
PA Consulting appoints Faraaz Nakvi to its Financial Services practice, based in London. Faraaz leads the Financial Crime Advisory offering.
Capgemini Invent names Felizitas Graeber as the new leader of its German business. Felizitas, who has been with the company for 25 years, will assume responsibility for Capgemini’s German management and digital consulting wing.
PA Consulting announces Shaun Delaney as the Global Head of its Public Sector practice. Having joined PA Consulting 19 years ago, Shaun brings 10 years of experience working within the public sector.
A&M appoints Micah Friedman and Philip Rothaus as Managing Director’s in the firm’s Travel, Hospitality and Leisure group within its Corporate Performance Improvement (CPI) practice. Micah, with over 35 years of technology leadership, specialises in digital transformation and marketing, client relationship management, and cloud and technology modernisation. Philip brings over 15 years of experience in data, advanced analytics, and AI strategy. Micah and Philip are both based in Miami.
Rohit Garg joins EY’s Partner team in London, leading the cloud portfolio for Financial Services clients.
Anton Krawchenko leaves EY to join KPMG’s Debt Advisory practice, based in London.
Arthur D. Little announce that Arnaud Bodji has joined the Aerospace & Defense practice as a Partner, based in Paris. Arnaud has a broad knowledge of corporate strategy, governance and operating models and procurement strategy, and has consulted across a variety of sectors.
EY appoints Matthew Bell as Global Leader of the EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team. Matthew has more than 20 years’ experience helping businesses build their climate change and sustainability credentials.
John Abbott announces his retirement as an EY Global Partner after 24 years operating as a professional services Partner. John will remain an advisor to EY with regard to EMEIA Risk Consulting solutions, and intends to spend more time in his charity board roles.
Matt Austen joins Natwest, following over 20 years at Oliver Wyman, where he operates as the Head of the Financial Services Practice in Europe.
Stefan Gross-Selbeck steps down from his role as Global Managing Partner of BCG Digital Ventures, moving into a new role at BCG as of January 1st 2023.
Michael Kahlich, Michael Steiger and Ivana Zupa are elected as new Global Managing Directors and Partners of BCG, strengthening the firm’s capabilities in Financial Institutions as well as in Technology, Media, and Telecommunications.
Market Intelligence
KPMG announces that they have made a minority investment into ShardSecure, a cyber firm that offers a new method for securing data in the cloud. KPMG plans to bolster their cyber offerings through this investment.
Fintech OS announces it is an accredited fintech for PwC and Microsoft’s digital banking solution, aimed at helping financial clients to innovate and adapt.
A day after falling into administration, Missguided, a popular fast fashion firm, was purchased by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group for £20m.
Bain & Company acquires Proxima, a specialist Procurement & Supply Chain consultancy.
KPMG launches a new business, ‘KPMG Products’. This new specialist team will help companies who want to undergo digital transformation, through building products designed to help clients streamline their processes and best analyse data.
Leica and Panasonic announces they will be working closely together, following the signing of a deal to develop joint technology using the L2 brand.
GEP’s Smart Procurement platform is chosen to transform and automate ITA Airways’ source-to-contract process.
Kroll’s Cyber Risk Practice launches a strategic communications service, which will serve to protect clients’ brands and reputations before, pre and post-sensitive incidents.
Accenture announces a strategic collaboration with South Africa’s Imperial Logistics. The collaboration aims to drive customer-centric supply chain transformation across the African continent.
The Carlyle Group exits Euro Techno Com to Cinven. Whilst partnered with Carlyle, Euro Techno Com tripled its revenues and widened its geographical footprint.
Accenture purchases Advocate Networks. Advocate’s team will be joining Accenture’s Technology Strategy and Advisory team, helping to modernise businesses through digital and cloud transformations.
Fresenius Group, a German healthcare group, announce there has been no decision on selling its dialysis business, Fresenius Medical Care.
EDB, a leading global provider in accelerating Postgres® in the enterprise, announce a majority growth investment from Bain Capital Private Equity. Ed Boyajian, President and CEO of EDB, will continue to lead the company.
Various large tech companies, including Salesforce, Twitter and Meta decrease the amount of new hires amid rising inflation and market precariousness.
Baringa becomes a B Corporation, as certified by B Lab UK, the first consultancy with more than 1,000 staff to do so. The title ‘B Corporation’ recognises the business as having the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
US Private Equity Firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is to take over the Morrisons supermarket chain.
Strategy& releases a research piece exploring the expanding role of Chief Sustainability Officers, and how their knowledge is increasingly impacting compliance, HR, strategy and even finance.
Multiverse, an apprenticeship startup created by Euan Blair, becomes the UK’s first edtech unicorn start up, following a post-money valuation of $1.7bn (£1.36bn).
Energy Infrastructure Partners AG and Crédit Agricole Assurances acquire a 25% stake of Repsol Renovables, for $1.15bn.
King’s College London and Capgemini enter a partnership, with experts investigating the possible benefits of 6G for artificial intelligence technologies.
Martlink, an M&A advisory firm, hires Alex Wilson and Hari Griffith as part of their expansion into the UK market.
Bain & Company launches a team of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts, serving financial investors in Europe, alongside a ESG diagnostic assessment tool, powered by unique proprietary data sets.
Chinese tech company Alibaba Group looks to restructure. The move comes following the collapse of the firm’s growth strategy due to tougher competition and tighter government regulations on internet companies.
Capgemini Invent acquires the design and brand agency Rufus Leonard. The purchase aims to help Capgemini Invent to meet client demand for design services.
Lloyd’s Bank announces that it will give a £1,000 one-off payment to 64,000 members of staff to help with the rising cost of living in the UK. The announcement comes following a campaign by the Unite Union.
A&M partners with Relativity, in order to deploy the cloud-based eDiscovery solution RelativityOne. The use of such technology will allow A&M to offer amplified end-to-end technology solutions and help clients steer cross-border disputes.
Sheila Al Rowaily, ex-Aramco executive, is appointed as Saudi Central Bank’s first female board member.
Eight Advisory announces the opening of an Amsterdam Office, to be led by Vincent van Liere.
BlackRock seeks to establish a perpetual infrastructure strategy to help drive a global energy transition. The new strategy will pursue investments in the megatrends of energy transition and energy security. Kellas, a company owned by BlackRock, announces the development of, ‘H2NorthEast,’ a Low Carbon Blue Hydrogen Production Site.
A new platform named Platevo is launched, selling management consultant services.
Administrators from Teneo have sealed the next step in the sale process of Sungard Availability Services, as Redcentric Solutions purchases three data centers.
Interpath Advisory celebrates its first year as an independent business with the opening of its new headquarters in London.
BearingPoint acquires I Care, a strategic sustainability consultancy; this is BearingPoint’s second acquisition this month.
Kellogg will split into three separate public companies, carving out its North American cereal and plant-based food businesses.
A&M announces the launch of its new business unit in Southeast Asia and Australia (SEAA), led by Managing Director Utsav Garg.
PwC Partners sell their mobility services arm for £1.8bn to US Private Equity Firm, Clayton Dubilier & Rice. PwC’s 950 UK-based partners will be handed just over £100,000 each.
KPMG U.S. and Canada are opening a metaverse “collaboration hub” to connect employees, clients, and others with Web3.
Bain & Company announces a new 26-week paid leave for parents of newborns, in the hopes of driving gender equity forward.
Nicholas Apostolatos, Barclays Managing Director, is hired by Brookfield Asset Management to lead healthcare investing in its Private Equity business. Nicholas will report to Cyrus Madon, Brookfield CEO of Private Equity group.
Better UK and various NHS Trusts are partnering with CGI in order to build a customer-centric digital-prescription service.
Oliver Wyman is hired to investigate nickel trading prices spiking to 250% in March.
KPMG in Ireland acquires KMCS, a Dublin-based construction project and cost consultancy firm.
Accenture is to acquire XtremeEDA, an Ottawa, Canada-based silicon design services leader.
Bain & Company announces the opening of its office in Athens, in a reflection of the firm’s expanding Greek client base.