NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AlixPartners, the global business advisory firm, today announced the promotions of 11 professionals to managing director and 35 professionals to director. The appointments were effective Jan. 1.
"AlixPartners is promoting substantially more professionals to these senior roles than we did at this time a year ago, which is a testament to our commitment to our people's careers, to the continued growth of our firm and, last but certainly not least, to the exceptional talent and hard work of these outstanding individuals," said Fred Crawford, chief executive officer of AlixPartners. "AlixPartners stands apart in the industry for its results-oriented practitioners, and all of these professionals have distinguished themselves for the results they have brought, and will continue to bring, to clients around the world."
All promotions are listed below, by office location, starting with the 11 promoted to managing director:
Dallas
Bill Ebanks, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, began his career as an oil-and-gas operations engineer at Tenneco Inc.'s Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production unit and went on to hold positions at Hewlett-Packard Co. before leading strategy, operations and organizational-design engagements as a senior engagement manager at McKinsey & Company. Since joining AlixPartners in 2007, Ebanks has earned a reputation for his broad consulting skills, sharp business insights and strong leadership, as well as being recognized for his deep expertise in oil and gas as a core member of AlixPartners' Energy Practice – which has seen strong growth in recent years. He has a track record of delivering highly successful service to clients, which include many big names in the energy space, and also of undertaking research of great interest and use to clients.
Ebanks holds a MBA from Rice University in Houston and a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.
Detroit
Mark Wakefield, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, has earned a reputation as an automotive industry expert and trusted advisor in that space in product planning, supply chain, manufacturing, marketing, auto finance and the aftermarket. Now also leader of the firm's Automotive Practice in North America, he joined AlixPartners in 2006 and has consulted for many of the largest automakers and auto suppliers in the world. Prior, his career included consulting at McKinsey & Company, engineering and program-management positions at Magna International Inc. and business development at HSBC Finance Corp. Known for his creative thinking and intellectual rigor, Wakefield in 2012 was a recipient of an AlixPartners "Achievements in Excellence Award."
Wakefield has a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
Los Angeles
William Choi, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Advisory Services group, specializes in the application of economic theory and quantitative methods. He has served as the principal consultant on complex financial and statistical matters on behalf of large governmental agencies and Fortune 500 companies. He also is an experienced and skillful expert witness, having testified on numerous occasions related to intellectual-property damages, finance, market structures and statistical methods. He joined AlixPartners in 2005, from Econ One Research Inc. During his distinguished career, he has been published in economics and law journals; has presented at many outside organizations, including the American Bar Association and the Licensing Executives Society; and taught economics courses at Duke University.
Choi holds a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University, a master's degree in economics from Duke, a master's in business economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California at Riverside.
Milan
Andrea Alghisi, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, is recognized for his exceptional client service in the everything from turnaround to performance improvement to growth, particularly involving large and complex engagements where his clients have included some of Europe's biggest names. He has more than 20 years of experience in leading programs in the automotive, industrial-goods, retail and consumer-products industries. Prior to joining AlixPartners in 2003, his career included serving for three years as interim CEO of a large Italian pet-food retailer, leading a turnaround. Before that, he worked at Boston Consulting Group after beginning his career as a mechanical engineer with Fiat Group SpA. Since joining AlixPartners, he has been a key contributor to the growth of the firm's practices in Europe and globally. In recognition of his important contributions to the infrastructure growth of the firm over his tenure, in 2012 he received an AlixPartners "Founders Award."
Alghisi has a MBA from SDA Bocconi School of Management at Bocconi University in Milan and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin (Politecnico Di Torino) in Turin. He is currently a visiting professor of strategic entrepreneurship and member of a development committee at the business school ESCP Europe.
Giacomo Mori, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, has an impressive track record of leading complex international assignments requiring deep functional expertise, particularly in automotive, aerospace and industrial goods. He is also a procurement expert, and last year was appointed co-leader of AlixPartners' Procurement Practice in Europe. His client work includes consulting to global automakers, global equipment companies and many others. He joined the firm after more than 10 years of consultancy and industry expertise in the automotive, aerospace and industrial-goods sectors. Prior to joining AlixPartners, in 2003, he led several European and North American engagements as a senior manager and automotive project leader at A.T. Kearney. Before that, he held positions at Fiat Auto SpA in multiple departments, including manufacturing, quality, product development and strategic marketing.
Mori has a bachelor's degree in mechanical and naval engineering from the University of Genoa in Liguria, Italy, and completed the executive program on business economics at the ISVOR Fiat School of Management in Milan.
Munich
Michael Dorn, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Turnaround & Restructuring Services group, is a deeply experienced turnaround and restructuring expert, known for his success in complex interim-management roles and in operational turnaround as well. He is adept at working through difficult business issues and dealing with complicated stakeholder concerns, and his expertise also includes issues surrounding union negotiations and headcount reductions under complex German and European labor laws. Dorn joined AlixPartners in 2012. Prior to that, he served as both chief restructuring officer and chief operating officer at both PrimaCom AG and Tele Columbus GmbH, successfully managing the financial and operational restructuring of those companies. Other previous employers include Axel Springer AG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.
Dorn holds a MBA (diplom-kaufmann) from the Leipzig School of Management in Leipzig, Germany, and has also studied at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz, Germany, and at the University of Victoria in Victoria, Canada.
Jens Haas, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Turnaround & Restructuring Services group, has extensive expertise in managing complex, multi-dimensional and cross-functional projects, be they restructuring, performance-improvement or large-scale transformation programs. He is a recognized expert in automotive and is co-leader of AlixPartners' Automotive Practice in Germany. His clients include some of the biggest auto companies in the world, as well as leading companies in various other industries. Prior to joining AlixPartners in 2005, he worked at McKinsey & Company and, before that, at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. At both firms, he was responsible for projects in the automotive and turnaround-and-restructuring practices. In 2011, he was a recipient of an AlixPartners "Achievements in Excellence Award," in recognition of his outstanding performance and initiative.
Haas holds a MBA (diplom-kaufmann) from the University of Tubingen in Tubingen, Germany, and has also studied at San Francisco State University.
New York
Vineet Sehgal, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Information Management Services group, is a data-analytics expert skilled at helping clients leverage analytics and electronic discovery in financial investigations, and in forensic and litigation situations.
He has deep experience in systems analysis and reporting, financial-data modeling and analysis, database planning and design, and overall project management. He also has extensive experience in managing high-profile corporate litigation and investigation projects. His client assignments have been among the most critical, including key roles in AlixPartners' support of the U.S. Trustee in the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, including the distribution of billions of dollars to claimants. Sehgal has more than 15 years of experience in data analytics, and prior to joining AlixPartners in 2007, held positions of increasing responsibility at the consultancy Deloitte. He was a recipient of an AlixPartners "Achievements in Excellence Award" in 2013, which cited his strong leadership and relationship-building skills.
Sehgal holds a master's degree in information systems and a bachelor's degree in finance, both from Pace University in metro New York.
Paris
Nicolas Beaugrand, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, offers to his clients a broad set of skills that include functional expertise in operations, engineering, aerospace program management and other areas. He has consistently delivered superior client service in such industries as automotive, aerospace and defense, and transportation, and the clients for which he's worked include many top names in those industries and others, including Mecachrome SAS, which was named "Turnaround of the Year 2012" by the French turnaround association ARE (Association pour le Retournement des Entreprises). Beaugrand joined AlixPartners in 2007 from A.T. Kearney.
Beaugrand is a graduate from the French Ecole Polytechnique, and has a master's degree in engineering from the Ecole des Mines de Paris (Mines Paris Tech) in Paris, and he also completed a post-graduate business administration program through the University of Michigan.
Amir Hosseini, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Information Management Services group, boasts 25 years of IT experience in both the consulting and corporate worlds, and is well known for both his technical abilities and outstanding delivery of services to clients – which include companies in many industries. He is also now in charge of the IT practice for AlixPartners' Paris office. Since joining AlixPartners in 2006, he has, among other successful assignments, served as interim CIO for clients in crisis situations. Before AlixPartners, he was a board member and managing director at IDS Scheer-Western Europe, and held positions of responsibility at Ernst & Young in Atlanta, Mars Inc.'s Masterfoods Europe division and KPMG Peat Marwick in Paris and London.
Hosseini holds a MBA from the business school INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, a master's degree in information technology from SKEMA Business School in Sophia Antipolis, France, and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publics in Paris.
Florent Maisonneuve, promoted to managing director in AlixPartners' Enterprise Improvement group, is known for both his strategy expertise and strong functional operations capabilities in sourcing, complex cost reduction, manufacturing, and support and services. He joined AlixPartners in 2006, and has worked in multiple industries including oil and gas, aerospace and defense, and automotive, working on engagements for many well-known companies. Prior to AlixPartners, he was a manager at A.T. Kearney, where his work included consulting in the area of manufacturing engineering.
Maisonneuve holds a master's degree in engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris in Paris and another master's in engineering from the Technical University of Munich (Technische Universitat Menschen) and he also completed a post-graduate business administration program through the University of Michigan.
The 35 AlixPartners professionals promoted to director are, by office location:
Chicago
Ryan Graham, Enterprise Improvement group
Andrew Gust, Financial Advisory Services group
Josh Knauff, Enterprise Improvement group
Darren Morrison, Enterprise Improvement group
Dallas
Sundaram Chokkalingam, Enterprise Improvement group
Kyle Elam, Financial Advisory Services group
Steven Fratus, Information Management Services group
Brian Johns, Information Management Services group
Myles McCormack, Financial Advisory Services group
Kyle Nelson, Information Management Services group
Timothy Rosolio, Information Management Services group
Detroit
Dan Hearsch, Enterprise Improvement group
Jason King, Enterprise Improvement group
Hong Kong
Baljinder Singh, Financial Advisory Services group
London
Natalie Butcher, Information Management Services group
Olaf Geretzki, Turnaround & Restructuring Services group
Bhaskar Neppalli, Enterprise Improvement group
Bjoern Velden, Enterprise Improvement group
Munich
Nils Wemhoener, Enterprise Improvement group
New York
Chris Brown, Financial Advisory Services group
James Hogarth, Turnaround & Restructuring Services group
Sonia Lapinsky, Enterprise Improvement group
Rob Mastrigli, Enterprise Improvement group
Silvio Palumbo, Information Management Services group
Noam Paransky, Enterprise Improvement group
Spencer Ware, Turnaround & Restructuring Services group
Paris
Julien Charlier, Enterprise Improvement group
Nicolas Harmouche, Turnaround & Restructuring Services group
Cecilia Mattson, Enterprise Improvement group
Julien Nathan, Enterprise Improvement group
San Francisco
Michael Chang, Enterprise Improvement group
Jonathan Greenway, Enterprise Improvement group
Scott Jones, Information Management Services group
Chris Pocek, Information Management Services group
Shanghai
Qian Xu, Enterprise Improvement group
About AlixPartners
AlixPartners is a leading global business advisory firm of results-oriented professionals who specialize in creating value and restoring performance at every stage of the business lifecycle. We thrive on our ability to make a difference in high-impact situations and deliver sustainable, bottom-line results. The firm's expertise covers a wide range of businesses and industries whether they are healthy, challenged or distressed. Since 1981, we have taken a unique, small-team, action-oriented approach to helping corporate boards and management, law firms, investment banks and investors respond to critical business issues. For more information, visit www.alixpartners.com.