Grant Thornton taps Jim Peko to lead national advisory services practice

Accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton US has appointed company veteran Jim Peko as the head of its advisory arm. Peko brings nearly 30 years of experience in financial advisory services, with a focus on performance improvement and sustainable value creation.

Jim Peko replaces Srikant Sastry, who led the advisory services practice for the past five years. The advisory practice expanded its service capabilities and doubled in size and revenue during Sastry’s tenure.

Grant Thornton’s advisory service lines include business consulting, business risk services, event-led advisory, transaction services, resources for high-growth companies, enterprise technology strategy and innovation, and economic insights and analysis.

Peko, who joined Grant Thornton in 2006, most recently served as national managing principal of Grant Thornton’s transaction services practice, where he guided clients across M&A, integrations and separations, valuations, and restructurings. Under his leadership, the practice’s revenue grew at a CAGR of 17% over the past three years.

Peko has also served as a member of the of Grant Thornton’s partnership board for the past year-and-a-half.

“Jim has built a high-growth practice focused on creating value in a volatile market, and he has done so through innovative leadership and a people-first management style,” Brad Preber, interim CEO of Grant Thornton, said. “He takes over a well-positioned Advisory practice, and we know Jim will help our clients continue to grow and thrive.”

Before joining Grant Thornton, Peko was a director at Navigant Consulting, a senior manager at Deloitte, and a director at EY. Earlier in his career, Peko spent over a decade at Nikko Securities Co. International (now SMBC Nikko Securities).

He holds an MBA in finance from Fordham University and a BS in economics and accounting from St. Peter’s College. Peko is a chartered financial analyst, a certified insolvency and restructuring advisor, and is certified in distressed business valuation.