Introduction
April continued a strong wave of strategic leadership moves across professional services, with firms reinforcing their capabilities through senior hires, partner promotions, and targeted practice leadership appointments. The month was marked by sustained momentum in transaction advisory, tax, valuation, and debt advisory, alongside notable investment in digital transformation, AI-enabled consulting, and sector-specialist expertise in healthcare, real estate, and financial services. Several firms also strengthened their leadership benches in strategy and transformation, reflecting a continued focus on helping clients navigate complexity, drive growth, and execute large-scale change. Overall, these developments highlight an ongoing emphasis on deepening technical expertise, expanding industry coverage, and positioning firms for competitive advantage in an increasingly specialised and fast-evolving advisory landscape.
Key People Moves
Alvarez & Marsal has appointed Gabriel Arbadji, CFA as Senior Director within its Global Transaction Advisory Group in Paris. Arbadji brings more than 13 years of experience in financial due diligence, having advised private equity sponsors and corporate clients on mid-to-large-cap transactions across sectors including technology, FMCG, industrial manufacturing, and energy & utilities. He joins from a focus on international transaction advisory work supporting complex deals and critical situations in private equity and corporate M&A.
Williams Marston has appointed Greg Granlund as Director within its Healthcare Transaction Advisory Services practice in the United States. Granlund brings experience of more than 15 years in transaction advisory, financial due diligence, and business development across healthcare and wider sectors. Prior to joining WilliamsMarston, he held senior roles at Berkeley Research Group, GoHealth Urgent Care, and FTI Consulting, and began his career at PwC, where he worked within financial services advisory.
KPMG Lower Gulf has appointed Ankur Bhagat as Director within its Transfer Pricing practice. Bhagat has experience of more than 14 years in taxation and transfer pricing, having previously worked at PwC and EY across Europe and India. He specialises in transfer pricing advisory, including policy design, tax structuring, compliance, and dispute resolution for multinational clients. He also leads the Technology and AI initiative within the Transfer Pricing team, focusing on developing AI-enabled solutions to improve efficiency in tax processes.
Simon Kucher have appointed David Wilhelm as Partner in their Healthcare & Life Sciences division, based in Zurich. Wilhelm brings over 15 years of experience in digital consulting, with expertise in AI-driven product development, digital strategy, and operating model transformation for life sciences clients. He joins from BCG X, where he spent nearly nine years focused on building and scaling digital and AI businesses across the European healthcare sector. At Simon-Kucher, he will support clients in translating AI and digital innovation into commercial growth and scalable solutions.
RSM UK have appointed Ian Brotherton as Digital Strategy and Delivery Director. Brotherton joins from KPMG, where he spent over 20 years in senior technology and digital leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer for KPMG Beyond and Director of Technology Transformation Services. He brings extensive experience across digital transformation, product development, and cloud engineering, having led large-scale technology programmes across consulting and industry.
RSM UK have appointed George Fieldhouse as Partner in their Debt Advisory team. Fieldhouse brings over 20 years of experience in debt advisory and transactions across the UK, Europe, and the US, advising corporates, management teams, shareholders, and private equity investors on acquisition financing, refinancing, and recapitalisations. At RSM, he will lead the firm’s Private Equity and leverage debt advisory offering, supporting clients in securing and structuring funding solutions across the full business lifecycle.
Wolf & Company, P.C. has appointed Phillip Whitaker as Principal and Transaction Advisory Services Lead. In this role, he will focus on strengthening the firm’s TAS capabilities and supporting clients across the full transaction lifecycle, including financial due diligence, risk and value assessment, and decision-making support in M&A processes. He joins the firm after 13 years at RSM, where he built extensive experience in transaction advisory and developed long-standing client relationships.
Alvarez & Marsal has appointed Gabriel Arbadji, CFA as Senior Director in its Global Transaction Advisory Group, based in Paris. In this role, he will support private equity sponsors and corporate clients on complex mid- to large-cap transactions, with a focus on financial due diligence and value creation. He brings over 13 years of experience in transaction advisory across sectors including technology, FMCG, industrial manufacturing, and energy & utilities, further strengthening the firm’s international deal advisory capabilities.
WilliamsMarston has appointed Greg Granlund as Director in its Healthcare Transaction Advisory Services practice, based in Nashville. In his role, he will support healthcare clients across the transaction lifecycle, drawing on more than 15 years of experience in consulting, corporate development, and healthcare-focused advisory work. He joins the firm from BRG, where he held senior leadership roles and advised private equity and corporate clients on healthcare M&A, and earlier in his career worked at FTI Consulting, GoHealth Urgent Care, and PwC.
RSM has appointed Mike Cooper as a Partner in its UK Corporate Tax practice. In his new role, he will focus on strengthening the firm’s capabilities as an advisor to large and listed multinational clients, particularly on complex cross-border tax and international structuring matters. He brings over 25 years of experience in corporate tax, including 10 years as a Partner at PwC, where he advised FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies on international tax structuring, M&A, financing, intellectual property, and business model transformation. At RSM, he will work closely with audit, tax, and consulting teams to deliver integrated solutions for global clients and support the firm’s continued growth in the listed market.
Forvis Mazars has promoted Laura Salter to Partner within its financial planning practice, based in Birmingham. In her new role, she will lead the firm’s financial planning offering in the Midlands, supporting continued growth and strengthening client relationships across the region. Salter joined the firm in 2013 as a graduate trainee and has progressed through the ranks to lead the Birmingham financial planning team since 2018. Over this time, she has played a key role in expanding the practice and working closely with other service lines to support clients across the Midlands. As Partner, she will focus on developing the team’s capabilities and reinforcing the firm’s position in the Birmingham market as it continues to grow its national financial planning business.
BDO has appointed Shalom DeSouza as a Partner in its Transaction Services team in London. He joins from Deloitte, bringing over 20 years of experience in M&A and real estate transaction advisory. In his new role, DeSouza will focus on advising private equity and corporate clients on complex real estate transactions across asset classes including hospitality, healthcare, and data centres, as well as supporting cross-border deals. He has extensive experience working with private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, and strategic investors. At BDO, he will strengthen the firm’s real estate transaction capabilities and support continued growth in its deals advisory practice.
Bain & Company has appointed Hernan Saenz as Global Head of its Strategy and Transformation practice. A senior partner and former member of Bain’s board of directors, Saenz brings more than 25 years of experience at the firm and succeeds Dunigan O’Keeffe in the role. Previously, Saenz led Bain’s Performance Improvement practice, where he oversaw significant global growth and helped clients deliver large-scale business model transformations. He also served as managing partner of Bain’s Dallas, Houston, and Mexico offices, leading the expansion of the firm’s Southwest region. In his new role, Saenz will focus on helping clients drive growth, transformation, and industry leadership amid a rapidly evolving business environment.
Oliver Wyman has appointed Ted Moynihan as CEO of Marsh Management Consulting and Oliver Wyman, succeeding Nick Studer following his move to lead Marsh Risk. Based in London, Moynihan brings nearly 30 years of experience at Oliver Wyman, where he most recently served as global head of industries and previously led the financial services practice. In his new role, he will focus on driving growth, strengthening client advisory capabilities, and helping organisations navigate complexity and transformation across industries.
People Promotions
PwC Belgium has appointed Gilles Franssens, Sammy Hofmans, Ruth Melkebeke and Tom Vermeir as Partners with effect from 1 July 2026.
– Franssens is a Director in the Transfer Pricing practice within Tax, with more than 12 years of experience advising on international tax, transfer pricing and financial due diligence matters, having previously worked at PwC UK in London and PwC Belgium in Brussels.
– Hofmans is a Director within Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services, with experience of more than 15 years advising on IPOs, debt offerings and IFRS reporting matters for corporates and growth companies.
– Melkebeke is a Director within Deals Valuation and Business & Financial Modelling, with experience of more than 15 years in valuation, financial modelling and infrastructure and project finance advisory.
– Vermeir is a Director within Management Consulting Operations, with more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing, supply chain and operational transformation, supporting industrial clients on efficiency and performance improvement.