Alvarez & Marsal Continues Growth and Expansion in Europe, Middle East and India

Business Wire, Sept 2, 2008

New hires and key appointments bolster a growth strategy underpinned by significant demand for business performance improvement consulting services

NEW YORK -- Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a leading independent global professional services firm, has announced several new senior hires and key appointments as part of its continued growth and expansion in Europe, the Middle East and India, and is on track to double in size by 2009.

A&M, which has a distinguished track record in Europe and around the world for delivering specialist skills in turnaround management and restructuring advisory services, has now established significant credentials and a world-class talent base in the areas of Performance Improvement (PI) focused on operational business consulting, Transaction Advisory, Dispute Analysis & Forensic services and Financial Industry Advisory Services in Europe.

Since 2003, Alvarez & Marsal in North America has been steadily building on and broadening its portfolio of services, while maintaining its focus on the firm's core operational heritage, as a means of responding to demand from corporates, investors and stakeholders in need of improving business performance with skilled professionals who bring a bias toward action and results. Announcement of these senior appointments signals Alvarez & Marsal's intent to build on the firm's ability to deliver a sophisticated range of business advisory services and extend its capabilities by selectively hiring top-tier talent based in A&M locations throughout the UK and European continent.

A&M welcomes the following professionals: Ann Cairns, a Managing Director, who joins from ABN AMRO to lead the firm's Financial Industry Advisory practice in Europe; Ramon Tisaire, a former Managing Director with CapGemini, who joins A&M to lead the firm's newly launched Performance Improvement practice in Spain; Colin Leisk, formerly of IBM and Booz Allen Hamilton, who joins as a Managing Director in France; and Walter Bickel and Gerald Corbae, who join A&M as Managing Directors in Munich to head up Performance Improvement efforts in Germany. (Please see additional details on each of these new hires below.)

In addition to these key hires, A&M has announced that Stefaan Vansteenkiste and Scott Pinfield have been named co-heads of its UK Turnaround and Restructuring practice; Douglas Rosefsky has been named co-head of the firm's Turnaround and Restructuring practice in France; Max Frangulov serves as co-head of A&M's newly launched practice in Russia; Sankar Krishnan has been appointed to oversee A&M's practices in India and the Middle East; and Rakesh Chopra heads up the firm's practice in India. (Please see additional details on these appointments below.)

Antonio Alvarez III, Managing Director and Head of A&M Europe, said of the growth and expansion:

"We are amassing and developing a deep and impressive talent base, bound by A&M's distinct and unifying culture, with professionals who bring a relentless focus on accelerating and achieving results. A&M professionals excel at working with business leaders and investors who feel a sense of urgency to address complex, high value issues and to get things done.

"Over the past two years, we've experienced mounting demand not only for our specialist turnaround skills but also - and increasingly - for experienced A&M professionals who know how to collaborate with management, boards and investors to accelerate operating performance and be a catalyst for business transformation. While demand for our turnaround and restructuring services has grown substantially year over year, the demand for performance improvement has become just as strong.

"With the extraordinary talent and track records exemplified in Ann, Ramon, Colin, Walter and Gerald, A&M is well positioned to deliver significant performance improvement capabilities and specialized industry expertise to clients across Europe and around the world.

I am also delighted to announce the promotions of Stefaan, Scott, Douglas, Sankar, Max and Rakesh, who have been entrusted with key leadership roles in our practices across Europe, the Middle East and India. I am confident that under their senior leadership these practices will continue to thrive.

"Our firm's growth will continue to be organic - one person at a time. This is how we maintain our culture and core values. It's also why we believe so much in developing our people and promoting their advancement. As importantly, it is how we can consistently ensure and deliver the high level of quality service and results our clients expect from Alvarez & Marsal around the world."

New Senior Hires

* Ann Cairns, a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal, is Head of the firm's Financial Industry Advisory Services group in London. Ann brings more than 20 years of experience in leading and improving the performance of global retail and investment banking operations. Prior to joining A&M, Ann was CEO of the Transaction Banking unit of ABN AMRO, a EU5 billion revenue business covering the bank's retail, financial, commercial and institutional operations across 50 countries.