Alvarez & Marsal boosts Tax and Valuations practices with senior hires
Continuing its trend of Big Four recruits, Alvarez & Marsal has added new senior leaders to its Tax and Valuations services lines.
Paul Gallagher, Jayde Thompson, and Shahzeb Panhwar have all joined as managing directors in the Tax line. Gallagher joins Alvarez & Marsal in Sydney after three decades at Ernst & Young, while Thompson and Panhwar both cross from PwC in Melbourne, with the latter having also spent close to a decade at Deloitte and tapped to lead transfer pricing.
Additionally, Alvarez & Marsal recently welcomed Richard Feenaghty and Alexandra Williams from EY to help establish its local valuations offering, while the AFR reports a senior raid on Deloitte ahead of the launch of an Australian restructuring practice.
As to its Tax line, which exploded onto the scene at the start of the year with more than five dozen recruits, global practice leader Ernesto Perez stated; “Australia is a significant growth market and key jurisdiction in the Asia Pacific landscape. We have strategically invested in top tier talent for over a year, and Paul, Jayde, and Shahzeb are welcome additions to this impressive, growing team.”
A specialist in expansion between the UK and Australia, Gallagher joins after three decades at Ernst & Young. Thompson, an expert in international corporate taxation, crosses after 14 years at PwC, with earlier time spent at EY between Australia and the US, while Panhwar adds over a decade of transfer pricing experience between PwC and Deloitte, with eight years also spent at the ATO.
Alvarez & Marsal’s local tax leader Sean Keegan, also ex-EY, said the firm was delighted to add the new trio: “Their cross-border expertise and transfer pricing knowledge will be important to help our clients effectively navigate Australia’s direct and indirect tax laws. Our senior talent investments bolster our ability to meet the market’s evolving needs amid regulatory changes and economic uncertainty.”
Valuation services
Alongside its tax expansion, Alvarez & Marsal has also recently lured a pair of two-decade EY veterans to set up its local valuations practice. Richard Feenaghty and Alexandra Williams both joined the Big Four firm in the early 2000’s, and as newly-recruited A&M managing directors now have a mandate to expand the capability across Australia, with several specialist jobs currently being advertised.
Restructuring launch
Considering the consultancy built its international reputation in the restructuring & turnaround segment, it’s strange to think Alvarez & Marsal is only just now getting set to unleash its speciality downunder, following a series of practice launches in areas such as transactions advisory and private equity performance improvement since stepping up its local ambitions barely twenty-four months ago.
But according to the Australian Financial Review, Alvarez has successfully poached prominent Deloitte restructuring partner Jason Tracy to lead the charge, alongside fellow industry veteran and partner Glen Kanevsky. The business publication also suggested a number of other senior leaders were set to cross, as fellow Big Four firm PwC considers selling off its adjacent business to Teneo.
