Deloitte partner Vaughan Strawbridge joins FTI Consulting

17 December 2020 Consultancy.com.au

Two-decade Deloitte veteran Vaughan Strawbridge has been poached by FTI Consulting in Australia, where he has been appointed a Senior Managing Director.

Strawbridge is a chartered accountant by background and has been at Deloitte Australia since 1998, interluded with a five-year spell at the firm’s UK office. A restructuring expert, Strawbridge has provided business turnaround services for clients across Australia, the UK, and Southeast Asia.

In his own words on LinkedIn, Strawbridge’s specialty lies in “advising stakeholders of underperforming businesses to provide a solution or roadmap to maximise value.” News of his departure from Deloitte was broken by the Australian Financial Review (AFR), which described Strawbridge as one of Australia’s “highest profile corporate administrators.”

Vaughan Strawbridge, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting

The publication referred to his involvement in the recent high profile sale of Virgin Australia, which hired Deloitte for voluntary administration back in April. Tasked with restructuring the struggling airline, Strawbridge developed a business plan and swiftly found a buyer in US private equity company Bain Capital.

The creditor-approved move has seen Bain Capital financing Virgin Australia since July this year. Strawbridge’s prominent success is reportedly among the factors that enticed FTI Consulting, which is looking to put its stamp on Australia’s restructuring market – currently dominated by Big Four accounting and advisory firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, as well as a number of specialist firms.

With its strong reputation for turnaround services worldwide, FTI Consulting is looking to challenge this local dominance, and Strawbridge’s appointment is FTI’s third this year in Australia. Restructuring specialist Ben Shrimpton and investigations expert Mark Pulvirenti joined the firm’s 200-strong Australia team back in May.

Last week, Deloitte elevated Ellen Derrick to Head of Deloitte Consulting in Australia, following the departure earlier in the year of incumbent Kaylene O’Brien.