Introduction
The consulting and professional services landscape continues to evolve, driven by strategic leadership appointments, regional expansions, and targeted acquisitions. This month’s key people moves and promotions highlight how firms are strengthening sector expertise and leadership across core markets, while transactions such as HSO’s acquisition by Bain Capital and Azets’ entry into Sweden reflect growing investor confidence and ambition in technology, M&A, and advisory services. Collectively, these developments underscore the ongoing momentum toward international growth, digital transformation, and sector-focused innovation.
Key People Moves
Teneo has announced the appointments of Simon Hemsley and Mike Callow as Managing Directors within its Management Consulting business in London.
– Hemsley brings significant experience in commercial due diligence and value creation, having advised private equity and management teams across sectors including financial services, technology and professional services.
– Callow also has extensive expertise in commercial due diligence and value creation, with a focus on supporting private equity clients and portfolio companies.
Both join Teneo’s Technology & Business Services practices, further strengthening the firm’s offering in the private equity space.
West Monroe has appointed Harin Shetty as President and Board Member. Shetty joins from Accenture, where he led the Americas Supply Chain & Industry X consulting business. He brings over two decades of leadership experience from Accenture, IBM and BearingPoint (KPMG), with a focus on digital, supply chain and operations across private equity, healthcare, energy and utilities, consumer and industrial products, and financial services.
Alvarez & Marsal has appointed Uthman Albasri as Partner to lead the Financial Institutions Group Transactions Advisory Group (FIG TAG) for the Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi. Albasri joins from KPMG in Abu Dhabi, where he advised on more than 100 financial services M&A transactions, including the majority of banking and insurance deals in the GCC over the past ten years. His experience spans landmark transactions such as the FAB (NBAD / FGB), ADCB (ADCB / Union / Al Hilal), SNB (NCB / Samba) and SABB (SABB / Alawwal) mergers, as well as ENBD’s acquisition of DenizBank in Turkey. He also has extensive experience across insurance, fintech, sovereign wealth funds and asset management, and is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) with the ICAEW.
Clearpoint Recycling has appointed Jason Crooks as Group Finance Director and member of the Board. Crooks brings 15 years of experience in professional services and industry. He began his career at BDO, before moving to KPMG, and later held senior financial leadership roles at Redcentric and IDHL Group. At IDHL, he supported multi-divisional operations generating around £13 million in annual revenue and led the integration of three acquisitions. His appointment supports Clearpoint Recycling’s strategic growth plans as the Harrogate-based company continues to expand its international client base and work towards a projected turnover of £20 million by 2026.
Strategy& has appointed Albert Kolb as Partner in its Düsseldorf office.
Kolb joins the Financial Services practice, focusing on clients in the insurance sector, with expertise in IT strategy, large-scale digital transformations, legacy system modernisation, enterprise architecture, and digital-driven performance improvement. He joins from Boston Consulting Group, where he was a Partner for over seven years, having previously spent more than a decade at Microsoft in senior roles.
PwC has welcomed 62 new partners across its Middle East offices at the start of its 2025–26 financial year. The new partners join across the firm’s Assurance, Consulting, Deals, Tax and Legal practices, strengthening leadership across most of its 30 offices in the region. Over a quarter of the new partners are women, reflecting PwC’s focus on diversity and inclusion.
PwC’s partners collectively own the firm and lead a workforce of more than 12,000 people across 12 countries, making it the largest of the Big Four firms in the Middle East.
In addition, Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business, has seen a leadership change, with Jad Hajj appointed Middle East Leader, succeeding George Sarraf, who now serves as Global Leader.
Roland Berger has appointed six new partners across its European and Middle Eastern offices.
Alexander Fey – Frankfurt: Partner in the Advanced Technology practice, specialising in the electronics industry, including electronics manufacturing services, manufacturing equipment, and printed circuit boards. Fey advises on strategy development, commercial due diligence, and operational performance improvement.
– Verena Koch – Munich: Partner in the Automotive and Industrial practices, with expertise in strategy development, large-scale transformation, and digital transformation. Koch has been with the firm for over a decade.
– Louis Gendry – Paris: Partner with experience in corporate strategy and M&A advisory for mid-size companies and investment funds. He has worked across sectors including tourism & leisure, real estate, retail, culture, sports, energy, food, manufacturing, and industrials.
– Adam Healy – London: Partner advising corporate clients and investors on M&A and strategic topics across energy, mobility, electronics, and defence. Healy is a scientist by training and has expertise in fuels and electric vehicle charging.
– Richard Stolz – Dubai: Partner with expertise in corporate strategy, growth, market entry, business transformation, and organisational effectiveness. Stolz advises clients across tourism, transport, leisure, hospitality, entertainment, education, and healthcare sectors.
– Feras Abul – Manama: Partner supporting public sector clients in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, focusing on National Transformation Plans, national competitiveness, and investment strategy.Roland Berger has also promoted Oliver Holtkemper (Singapore) and Daniel Kubis and Erin Sowerby (US) to its global partnership. The firm has approximately 3,000 employees across 50 offices worldwide.
EY-Parthenon has expanded its Automotive practice in Germany with the appointments of Nikolaus Helbig, David Heider, and Melina Weidenbach as partners in Munich and Düsseldorf.
– Helbig brings over 20 years of experience advising international automotive manufacturers and suppliers, focusing on transforming and optimising value chains. He was previously a partner at Deloitte and has held roles at McKinsey & Company and Siemens.
– Heider is an expert in supply chains, distribution models, operations, and circular economy strategies, having previously been a partner at Deloitte and worked at BMW Group.
– Weidenbach specialises in sales strategies for new vehicle and aftersales segments, sustainable business models, circular economy initiatives, and new mobility concepts. She spent around 15 years at Accenture before joining Deloitte.
Market Intelligence
MHA has completed the acquisition of Baker Tilly South-East Europe (BTSEE) for €24 million, formally expanding its presence across Continental Europe.
The deal brings more than 400 professionals and 12 partners across seven offices in Cyprus, Greece and the wider South-East Europe region into MHA’s network. BTSEE provides audit, tax, advisory, legal and corporate services, and reported revenues of €19.4 million.
Rakesh Shaunak, CEO of MHA, said the acquisition aligns with the firm’s strategy to expand its international footprint and welcomes BTSEE’s professionals into the MHA network. Marios A. Klitou, Chair of BTSEE, highlighted the opportunity to further grow services and presence in the region, particularly in financial services and public interest entities.
German management consultancy zeb is moving to a dual leadership model, with Thorsten Helbig and Sven Krämer set to succeed Markus Thiesmeyer as Managing Directors by the end of 2025.
Helbig, a partner since 2016, brings nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, specialising in banking strategy, mergers & acquisitions, organisation, and restructuring. Krämer, a partner since 2013, focuses on IT advisory, digitalisation, data management and artificial intelligence, and is one of the initiators of zeb’s RegulatoryHub and FinTech platform.
Thiesmeyer, who has led zeb since 2019, will conclude his two-term tenure, during which the firm grew to €250 million in revenue and expanded its presence across Europe.
HSO, a global Microsoft partner, has been acquired by Bain Capital in a deal valuing the Dutch firm at around €1 billion.
Founded in 1987, HSO provides end-to-end services across the Microsoft product suite, including Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure, Data, and AI, and is recognised as one of Microsoft’s top ‘Inner Circle’ partners. Under Carlyle’s ownership, the firm’s revenues nearly tripled to €430 million in 2024.
Peter ter Maaten, HSO’s founder, has invested alongside Bain Capital and will remain a significant shareholder and board member. With Bain Capital’s backing, HSO plans to expand internationally, build new service lines particularly in AI and accelerate growth through acquisitions.
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC has announced plans to acquire Stax, a Boston-based consulting firm specialising in M&A strategy.
tax, founded in 1994, has around 300 professionals across the US, UK and Sri Lanka and brings expertise in commercial due diligence, value creation and exit planning. The firm serves leading players in private equity, alternative investments and investment banking.
The acquisition will expand Grant Thornton Advisors’ commercial diligence capabilities and further strengthen its platform, which already maintains over 600 private equity relationships, including six of the world’s top ten firms by equity size.
Cooper Parry has acquired Fellwood Advisory, taking its annual turnover to over £235 million.
Fellwood Advisory, founded in 2023, is a mid-market debt advisory firm supporting UK-based companies with debt facilities typically ranging from £2 million to £50 million. Its senior team brings more than three decades of experience in corporate lending and advisory.
The acquisition is Cooper Parry’s 16th deal in two years and its fourth since partnering with New York-based Lee Equity Partners in December 2024. The move further strengthens Cooper Parry’s integrated Deals team and expands its professional services offering.
Azets has expanded into Sweden with the acquisition of key parts of KPMG’s Swedish operations.
The deal brings 300 professionals, including 14 partners, into Azets and generates SEK 1 billion in Swedish revenues. It covers services for small and mid-sized enterprises, municipalities, and regional authorities, spanning audit, advisory, and tax.
Backed by private equity firms PAI Partners and Hg, Azets plans to build a £1 billion Nordic business by 2027, using Sweden as its strategic launchpad.