Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) announced the launch of its Financial Services Industry (FSI) practice in the US. The expansion – an addition of seven new Managing Director appointments to an existing team of six – marks the latest phase in the evolution of A&M’s global FSI network.

Led by Managing Director Michael Spellacy, the FSI practice partners with financial services institutions and private investors to unlock tangible value. The senior team advises across the transaction lifecycle, applying hands-on knowledge to drive revenue growth, efficiency, and balance sheet optimization. A&M’s expert practitioners support clients on revenue enhancement, elevating customer experiences, digital transformation, navigating risk and regulatory landscapes, performance improvement, and delivering comprehensive end-to-end transaction and M&A services.

The new Managing Directors bring together decades’ worth of experience in solving clients’ most critical challenges across sectors:

• Michael Cheek – capital markets and banking
• Bruce Holley – banking, wealth and asset management, insurance, fintech, and AI
• Michael Horvath – wealth and asset management
• Farrell Hudzik – banking and payments
• Brian Kuelbs – financial and capital markets turnaround
• Greg Parets – wealth and asset management, banking and fintech

Mr Spellacy said, “Executive clients face unprecedented challenges, and the incisively clear need for results. Drawing on A&M’s rich operational heritage, we take a turnaround mindset to quickly deliver leadership, action and results to the executive agenda. We’re not afraid to ask the tough questions and practically address core issues with rich industry perspective, so clients can focus on outcomes, profitability and sharpen their differentiated market edge.”

This expansion builds on the continued growth of A&M’s global practice. In 2023, it added 20 Managing Directors to its EMEA FSI network, led by David Edmonds and Fernando de la Mora. The firm took on new expertise in wealth and asset management and digital in the UK, as well as portfolio advisory in the UAE and M&A in Spain. It also made senior FSI hires to meet growing demand in Austria, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland.

As A&M’s largest investment in an industry vertical to date, the FSI expansion complements the firm’s restructuring capabilities with an increased focus on value-creation and transformation. A&M’s cross-border teams have already supported on a range of high-profile mandates over the past year – from advising the Swiss government on the integration of Credit Suisse by UBS, to consulting on Silicon Valley Bank, FTX and Celsius.

Antonio Alvarez III, a Managing Director and Head of A&M EMEA, added, “This is the natural next step in A&M’s integrated, global expansion strategy. We are not only continuing our long tradition of serving as a trusted partner of US clients. We’re also building on the FSI success story across EMEA, so that our internationally minded clients can tap into insights across the firm’s network. We’re delighted to have these senior colleagues onboard, and look forward to welcoming more in the near future.”