AlixPartners, the global business advisory firm, announced 24 promotions to Managing Director.
Simon Freakley, Chief Executive Officer at AlixPartners, said: "I am delighted to announce the promotion of 24 of our high performing Directors to Managing Directors of the firm. They personify our core values through their professionalism, dedication and leadership in their work, both with clients and with colleagues. As a group, they exemplify our firm's unique ability to deliver and implement high impact solutions for our clients quickly, across geographies, industries and service offerings."
All promotions are listed below, by city:
Boston
Apratim Sarkar has more than 20 years of consulting and industry experience, with a particular focus on procurement transformation, strategic sourcing, product design and value engineering, and operational cost improvement in the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors across North America. Prior to AlixPartners, he was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company, where he coordinated the North American consumer packaged goods procurement practice. Apratim's hands-on experience includes serving in a virtual chief procurement officer role at a retail client under bankruptcy/restructuring and in product design and development at Oracle. Apratim has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Greg Sward helps large companies drive profitability and go to market, primarily in the technology and related services industries. He has directly led growth and broad cost transformations, both directly at companies and in private-equity portfolio environments. With almost 25 years of experience, Greg brings a balance of consulting and operating knowledge to benefit his clients. In addition to many years in consulting roles, Greg has held operating roles in sales, product marketing, product management, strategy, and as general manager. His revenue and profit-and-loss-ownership experience has been in higher-growth environments starting from zero, and in businesses with annual revenues of more than $500 million. Greg has an MBA in general management from Harvard Business School.
Chicago
Andrew Csicsila has over 22 years of consulting and industry experience, and works at the top level of organizations to help executives to create a competitive advantage through world-class operations. Since joining AlixPartners in 2009, Andrew has worked extensively with global consumer products and private equity clients on a variety of strategic and operational topics. He has also worked with automotive and diversified manufacturing companies and has expertise in manufacturing strategy, supply chain management, strategic due-diligence, and profit improvement. Andrew has an MBA with distinction from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
David Willetts works with manufacturers in consumer products industries, particularly packaging and food & beverage manufacturers, to rapidly drive EBITDA growth. His 15 years of executive experience in industry and private equity help him provide pragmatic solutions for clients who want to quickly achieve sustainable change. David specializes in driving cost efficiencies, improving customer and product profitability, optimizing factory networks, and building digital information solutions for clients. Prior to AlixPartners, David has held progressive senior executive roles, including CFO, CRO, GM, and CEO in both Fortune 100 and private equity settings.
Houston
Robert Albergotti is an experienced finance executive with more than 15 years of experience working with senior management teams, attorneys, creditors, and private-equity sponsors at all levels to identify process improvements, spot business trends, assist in complex financial restructurings, and take advantage of financial opportunities. In addition to his core focus on North America-based companies, he has extensive operating experience in Europe, Latin America and Asia negotiating the complexities of cross-border restructurings and developing and implementing complex restructuring solutions to maximize value through internal reorganizations, asset dispositions, divisional shutdowns, and Chapter 11 restructurings. Robert has served as a chief restructuring officer and as a restructuring advisor to both debtors and creditors. Prior to AlixPartners, Robert was in Amsterdam with Akzo Nobel, where he was controller of a global product and manufacturing business delivering specialty chemicals to semiconductor producers.
Michael Chiock brings close to 20 years of experience in consulting and industry to his clients, and primarily serves companies in energy and energy-related equipment, service, and process industries. His strategic and practical solutions help companies achieve new levels of efficiency and profitability. Michael focuses on total company improvement including operations (field/service), manufacturing, pricing, sales, supply chain, sourcing, and general and administrative expenses. Before his consulting career, Michael managed various functions in supply chain and power generation operations with one of the largest electric utility companies in the world. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and education leadership from the University of San Diego and is a member of the international economics honor society Omicron Delta Epsilon.
London
Mark Hawken supports companies to successfully navigate through significant change events. He has more than 20 years of experience in complex turnarounds, cost rationalization exercises, debt capital raising and renegotiation, and M&A. He has been engaged by public- and private-sector clients, companies, owners, and individuals, both as an advisor and as an interim executive. Mark has significant expertise in the financial services, telecommunications, media, and technology sectors. He has a Master of Arts in chemistry from the Queen's College of the University of Oxford and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Matt Hunt has more than 15 years' experience in the telecommunications and media sectors, specialising in the application of economics in the areas of competition/anti-trust, litigation, regulation and strategy. Matt has represented many telecommunication clients in Europe on regulatory, commercial, and competition issues as well as related litigation, and regularly submits expert reports to courts, regulatory authorities, and competition authorities. Matt has a Master of Science in economics with distinction from the London School of Economics and a Master of Physics in physics (1st Class) from the University of Oxford.
Paul Kelly works with private equity and corporate organizations across different industries, guiding companies through digital and technology transformations. He has nearly 25 years of experience that he primarily gained leading large strategic, digitally-enabled transformation projects, as both an advisor and as a senior industry practitioner or an interim executive. Paul's most recent experience has been exclusively within the fintech (payments) sector, where he has engaged with a number of private-equity-owned organizations, which benefit from his use of technology as a means to protect and enhance enterprise value in challenging conditions.
Serge Lupas has 25 years' hands-on experience in CEO, interim CEO, and operational roles, as well as advisory assignments. He has extensive expertise in improving, building, and transforming businesses to deliver results, with particular experience in technology, media, and telecommunications and digital-heavy businesses. Serge previously held top management positions, e.g., with Tiscali A/S as CEO leading a critical turnaround, with Abraaj Capital as operating partner and with McKinsey & Company as senior engagement manager/associate principal. Serge has a master's degree in economics and finance from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and a master's degree in industrial engineering from the École Centrale de Paris.
Mark Veldon works extensively in private equity, guiding companies through M&A transactions and operational transformations. He has 20 years' experience in advising both private-equity and corporate clients in due diligence; postmerger integration and carve-out; restructuring and operational performance improvement in manufacturing; procurement; selling, general, and administrative expenses; along with undertaking interim management roles. He has a particular focus on large cross-border companies across a range of sectors such as pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, consumer goods, and industrial products. Mark holds a Master of Arts from Princeton University and degrees in business studies and operations management from Aberdeen University.
Los Angeles
Andy He helps clients resolve complex challenges and deliver financial and operational results. He specializes in large-scale holistic performance improvement programs, typically in urgent and high-impact situations. His clients range from healthy to underperforming to distressed companies. Andy has more than 10 years of consulting experience across many industries, with a strong focus on high-tech. His functional expertise lies in the areas of holistic value creation programs, workforce management, cost optimization, strategic sourcing, outsourcing, postmerger integration, and innovative analytics. He has a PhD in electrical engineering with a minor in social science from the California Institute of Technology.
Milan
Dario Duse supports industrial and high-tech companies and shareholders in achieving tangible and breakthrough operational improvements after complex and turnaround situations. He has 20 years of experience as an advisor, business leader, and shareholder. Dario takes a pragmatic approach to drive quick and tangible results in complex situations. He has led a number of critical mergers and acquisitions, postmerger integrations, and profitability improvement projects at multinational and midcap companies, acting in CEO and chief operating officer, and advisory roles. Dario focuses mainly on the automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and luxury goods industries.
Munich
Kai Schumacher uses the facts and financial analysis to quantify damages in international arbitrations and litigations, perform forensic investigations, evaluate assets and businesses, facilitate M&A transactions, and conduct monitorships. With more than 20 years' experience, Kai has led more than 150 complex engagements involving entities from 53 different countries. He has been recognized as a leading expert in commercial arbitration in the International Who's Who of Commercial Arbitration, and has won awards for his work in this field. Kai has an MBA from HEC Paris School of Management, a CPA designation, and CFA certification.
New York
Giuseppe Gasparro has experience in full-scale business transformation, sales and marketing, IT and cloud migration, organizational design, and postmerger integration with a focus on hardware and software companies. He combines leadership skills with his deep technical knowledge in advanced data analytics, financial modeling, and capital budgeting. Has worked and studied in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Before AlixPartners, he was with Opera Solutions.
Tarek Ghalayini prepares and guides clients in large, cross-border matters involving data mining, document review, and other electronic discovery issues. A licensed attorney with a strong background in accounting and finance, Tarek also works closely with counsel, corporate clients, and financial advisors to quickly and efficiently tackle complex electronic data problems in far-reaching litigation, financial investigations, and restructuring cases. Based on his experience in complex, global cases spanning North America, Europe, and across the Asia Pacific region, develops and executes effective and straightforward solutions that bring clarity and consistency to cross-border and local matters alike.
Murali Gokki has more than 15 years of experience in delivering high-impact strategic and business transformational solutions for global retail and consumer product companies. His expertise in global sourcing, and selling, general, and administrative expenses optimization has been used by retail and wholesale clients to achieve sustainable reductions in cost of goods sold and corporate overheads. Murali also has significant experience in helping clients improve their innovation pipeline and product life-cycle management. Prior to AlixPartners, Murali managed consulting engagements at Dassault Systèmes and Kurt Salmon Associates. Murali has an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a master's in textile technology management from North Carolina State University.
Matthew Kelly identifies and drives cost optimization in complex and large-scale transformations. With a particular focus on software portfolio analysis and R&D optimization, his data-driven approach helps clients to make better strategic decisions and drive operational improvements to the bottom line. Joining AlixPartners in 2005 from a business intelligence consultancy, Matt's background in big-data analytics has translated to a deep command of detail, providing the foundation for his expertise across a number of technologies, media, and telecom industry and functional areas.
Sonia Lapinsky applies nearly two decades of global operational experience to guide retail and fashion clients in achieving margin enhancements, cost reductions, operational streamlining, and enablement of speed and flexibility. She applies experience in global sourcing, product development, merchandising, and organizational design to assist clients in achieving operational goals. Sonia works across apparel, accessories, footwear, and hardlines, with both wholesalers and retailers. Prior to AlixPartners, she was in Asia, South Asia, and Europe, directing sourcing, manufacturing, and product development, including as an expatriate in Shenzhen, China. Sonia has a mechanical engineering degree from Queen's University in Canada.
Meaghan Schmidt brings close to 15 years of experience as a forensic accountant, specializing in corporate accounting and financial reporting investigations. She has conducted independent internal investigations into some of the most complex and high-profile corporate accounting, financial reporting, and anticorruption matters for global companies in the United States as well as in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Meaghan assists clients with restatements, internal control, and compliance assessments and reports to the SEC, DOJ, FBI, corporate executives, audit committees, boards of directors, internal and external counsel, and auditors. Prior to AlixPartners, Meaghan was in the forensic services practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a degree in finance from Villanova University and a Master of Accountancy from Baruch College. Meaghan is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner.
Steven Spitzer is a results-driven executive with more than 20 years of operational and consulting experience. His operational experience includes acting as the senior financial executive for a division of a multibillion dollar media company, interim treasurer for a publicly traded manufacturing company, and CFO of a private-equity backed magazine publishing company. Steven has spent the last 12 years as a consultant providing restructuring leadership and investment banking services for companies in the media, direct marketing, entertainment, manufacturing, and telecommunications industries. He has experience navigating both debtors and creditors through the challenges of an operational and financial restructuring process.
Sven Stumbauer serves financial institutions globally in the areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions. Sven's industry experience includes helping US and international banks, broker/dealers, insurance companies, gaming companies, trust companies, hedge funds, and multinational corporations. He focuses on regulatory compliance, fraud issues, AML, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, anti-bribery and anti-corruption (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act), and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Sven has experience in leading complex, high-profile global projects, and advising clients and regulatory bodies in more than 40 countries globally. He has provided reports for various government agencies such as the DOJ, the SEC, FINRA, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, and the FDIC.
Clifton Wessels-Yen has nearly 20 years of experience in accelerated cost transformations. He creates strategies that deliver significant performance improvement and leads implementation programs that achieve rapid, tangible results. His functional expertise includes driving measurable cost structure transformation by achieving procurement excellence and cost reduction through organizational restructuring. He works in people-centric and service-centric companies in business and consumer services, and education and development. Clifton also brings deep experience in financial services, with a particular focus on asset management and investment banking.
Paris
Pascal Fabre has almost 20 years of experience in performance improvement and operational restructuring, particularly in operations ranging from product development and program management to manufacturing, customer support and services, and digital transformation. He has strong expertise in the aerospace and defense, automotive, high-tech, and airline sectors. Prior to AlixPartners, Pascal worked in industry as a line manager in automotive manufacturing at Sagem, and in product development in the high-tech sector at Schlumberger. Pascal has a Master of Science in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of California, Berkeley.