Alvarez & Marsal adds seven MDs, launches financial services practice
Alvarez & Marsal has hired seven managing directors and announced the launch of its financial services industry (FSI) practice in the United States.
The seven new managing director hires join an existing team of six in the US and follow significant growth of the practice in the EMEA region.
Alvarez & Marsal in 2023 added 20 managing directors in its FSI EMEA network, including talent in the UK, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.
The FSI practice helps financial services institutions and private investors unlock value across the transaction lifecycle. The practice’s offerings span revenue enhancement, customer experience, digital transformation, risk and compliance, performance improvement, and M&A services.
The new US FSI practice is led by Michael Spellacy, who brings more than 25 years of global experience as a CEO, board chair, executive management advisor, PE investor, and dealmaker. Before joining Alvarez & Marsal he was CEO and director of Atlas Crest Investment Corp., senior managing director and global industry leader for capital markets at Accenture, a senior partner at PwC, and a partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The six other managing directors are:
Michael Cheek (capital markets and banking) previously spent 18 years with Accenture. He most recently served as investment banking industry practice lead for North America, overseeing a $250 million portfolio.
Bruce Holley (banking, wealth and asset management, insurance, fintech, and AI) has over 30 years of financial services consulting experience. He previously spent five years as a senior managing director at Accenture. Before that, Holley spent 25 years at BCG, where he was a senior partner and helped launch the global wealth and asset management practice.
Michael Horvath (wealth and asset management) has over 20 years of consulting and industry experience focusing on transformation programs, including operating profit improvement and technology modernization. He previously was a principal at PwC’s Strategy& and Booz & Company.
Farrell Hudzik (banking and payments) has over 25 years of financial services experience, with expertise in customer experience, operating model design, strategy, and marketing and loyalty program development. She was previously on the executive team of Cardyltics and an SVP at Synchrony. Hudzik also previously was a managing director at Accenture Interactive (now Song).
Brian Kuelbs (financial and capital markets turnaround) has over 25 years of leadership experience, holding various C-suite roles at large financial organization. He was previously CIO at the Banc of California, CFO and CIO at GMAC Bank, and an executive management consultant to Fannie Mae.
Greg Parets (wealth and asset management, banking and fintech) has over 20 years of industry and consulting experience, with expertise in revenue growth, business model transformation, M&A, operations streamlining, and risk. He previously held roles at Bank of America, UBS, and BCG.
Alvarez & Marsal said in a press release that the FSI practice expansion complements its restructuring capabilities with an increased focus on value creation and transformation.
“Drawing on A&M’s rich operational heritage, we take a turnaround mindset to quickly deliver leadership, action and results to the executive agenda,” Spellacy said. “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.”
