AlixPartners brings in management consulting veteran David Ellis
Global management consultancy AlixPartners has signalled it means business following its recent launch in Australia by recruiting former IBM Consulting boss David Ellis as a partner & managing director.
Based out of Sydney, Ellis brings close to three decades worth of high-level advisory and industry experience to the leadership team of the firm’s fledgling Australian business, including most recently as IBM Consulting’s managing partner for the A/NZ region.
Established in 1981 with revenues today in the $4 billion range and a global headcount of more than 3,500 professionals, AlixPartners finally arrived downunder earlier this year, with Felicity Edwards soon after transferring as a director from London to support inaugural country boss Peter Saville.
“I am delighted to welcome David to AlixPartners as a partner & managing director,” Saville said. “David joins us at an exciting time as we continue to expand our presence in Australia and build a team of experienced specialists, and his combination of executive leadership and board advisory experience further strengthens our ability to help clients navigate increasing complexity.”
A University of Cambridge graduate in general and chemical engineering, Ellis kicked off his career with two stints at Roland Berger (incidentally, another recent arrival to Australia) between London and Frankfurt, with time spent at Morgan Stanley in between. From there, he entered the telecoms sector, including as general manager of technology & transformation at Telecom New Zealand.
Switching back to advisory in 2010, Ellis has since served as managing director and Asia Pacific telco industry lead for Accenture, and as a partner and A/NZ TMT practice lead at Bain & Company. In 2024 he was appointed IBM Consulting managing partner for a specific turnaround mission, since handing over to fellow Accenture alum and former boss Russell Smyth.
“As someone who has worked across transformations and turnarounds, I’ve known and admired AlixPartners and its work for many years,” Ellis said of his latest senior move. “The firm’s model is genuinely unique, serving clients in moments of truth with senior, operational specialists who are hands-on with sleeves rolled up, which is particularly well-suited to the AI age.”
Other hires at AlixPartners
Others to have joined the firm since its local inception include directors Max Albrecht and Maximilian Fischer-Muriyadan, and senior vice president Felix Katt, who all also bring international experience in Germany and other European locales, and backgrounds at Roland Berger, Bain & Company, L.E.K. Consulting, Boston Consulting Group, and Strategy&.
This approach to recruitment and lean delivery is a considered one, says Saville: “Since launching, we have made significant progress in building a highly experienced, specialist team focused on helping clients address their most critical challenges. Our proposition is deliberately different: small senior teams working alongside clients to deliver practical, measurable outcomes at pace.”
