Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal announced the addition of Russell Kellner to its growing Private Equity Services Group as a managing director based in Boston.

Kellner brings 15 years of experience in performance improvement and due diligence across industries such as financial services, business services, healthcare, retail, consumer products, technology, media, and industrial goods and services. He has also worked on a variety of business unit and corporate strategy projects for clients, including portfolio strategy, technology strategy, product-line profitability, customer segmentation, marketing strategy, M&A and post-merger integration. Prior to joining A&M, Kellner was a principal at Bain & Company and a leader in the firm’s Private Equity Group where he oversaw 80+ commercial due diligence projects on prospective investments with analyses including market sizing and growth, competitive positioning, and performance improvement opportunities. In his new role, he will focus on pre-acquisition diligence support and operational improvement.

“The private equity deal environment is increasingly competitive,” said Nick Alvarez, national practice leader of A&M’s Private Equity Services Operations Group. “We believe that A&M’s depth of industry and operational experience as well as our long history of rolling up our sleeves and actually running companies will help our clients achieve a unique edge in transactions. Russell brings proven commercial due diligence expertise and will help to harness A&M’s experience.”

Prior to Bain, Kellner worked at First Manhattan Consulting Group, a strategy consulting firm specializing in financial services in New York. He was a cofounder of Novantas, a consultancy focusing on providing customer-centric business strategies to financial services companies. He also worked as an investment banker in Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions Group.