Riveron names former Navigant head Julie Howard as CEO
Riveron, a Dallas-headquartered business advisory firm, has appointed Julie Howard, the former chief executive of Navigant, as its CEO.
Howard brings more than 30 years of professional services experience to Riveron, including 21 years at global consulting firm Navigant. She served as chairman and CEO of Navigant from 2012 until 2019, when the firm was merged with Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital. Navigant, which had more than 5,000 employees at the time of its sale, offered advisory, outsourcing, and technology services to highly regulated industries – primarily healthcare, financial services, and energy.
Prior to her tenure as CEO, Howard held the roles of COO and human capital officer. She joined Navigant in 1999 as a managing director of human resources.
Howard joined Riveron’s board of directors in fall 2020. She is also on the boards of Manpower Group, Sleep Number, and Treliant.
“I am honored to lead Riveron, a true powerhouse that is in the business of generating remarkable outcomes for its people and clients alike,” said Howard. “Riveron, like many companies today, stands at an inflection point as the uncertain business landscape creates opportunities to serve clients in new, innovative ways.”
Howard succeeds Landon Smith, who founded and led the firm since 2006. In that time, Smith has grown Riveron into a consultancy with more than 500 employees across 14 offices in the US. Smith will remain as chairman of the board of directors.
Prior to founding Riveron, Smith spent eight years in EY’s assurance, advisory, and transactions support practices, where he was a senior manager. He was also previously a director in the project finance group of Panda Energy International.
“As Riveron continues its impressive growth trajectory, there is no one better positioned to lead it into the future than Julie,” Smith said. “Her ability to action strategies to capture emerging growth opportunities will be instrumental in positioning Riveron for even greater success.”
Riveron specializes in accounting, finance, technology, and operations. The firm’s services include accounting advisory, finance operations, capital markets & divestitures, performance improvement, restructuring & turnaround, tax advisory, technology enablement, and transaction services.
The firm last year acquired turnaround specialist Winter Harbor. The deal followed on Riveron’s earlier acquisition of Conway MacKenzie, a turnaround and restructuring advisory firm with more than 100 employees.
