Chris Smyth appointed as EY Americas private equity leader
Chris Smyth has been named leader of EY's private equity segment in the Americas region. He is based in Chicago.
Smyth, who has been at EY for 27 years, will oversee a team of professionals in 31 countries who advise private equity funds and their portfolios on deploying capital, refining exit strategies, and creating shareholder value.
He succeeds Bill Stoffel, who moves on to serve as EY Global private equity leader after heading the Americas region for the last five years.
Smyth has extensive experience in transactions, having worked on more than 300 deals worth more than $8 billion in combined value. He has sector expertise across retail, consumer products, distribution, manufacturing, technology, and business services.
Smyth most recently spent eight years as managing partner of strategy and transactions for the US Central region, overseeing a team of more than 1,110 EY professionals in 42 offices.
He became a partner in the transaction advisory services practice in 2007. He began his career at EY in 1994 in the assurance practice before joining the transactions practice five years later.
Smyth holds a BS in accounting from Purdue University and a CPA certification.
“Chris’ broad private equity and transactions experience across geographies and in varying economic conditions has prepared him well to lead the EY Americas PE practice,” Stoffel said.
Smyth added, “The private equity rebound continues to accelerate. This is expected to be a landmark year, with record levels of fundraising, deal activity, M&A, and IPOs. I’m excited to support our EY teams across the Americas as they continue to enable their clients to deliver on their investment cases while expanding the diversity of their talent, focusing on sustainable investments, and deploying new technologies.”
Private equity accounted for a record 30% of global transactions in the first half of 2021, with deal flow and fundraising nearing all-time highs. With PE investors flush with cash, combined equity deal value, exit value, and fundraising is on track to breach $1 trillion by year-end, according to Bain & Company.
