FTI Consulting, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Rhodes Group, a leading construction consulting firm with offices in Pittsburgh and Houston. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With the addition of approximately 40 billable professionals, including one Senior Managing Director and three Managing Directors, The Rhodes Group will join the Construction & Environmental Solutions practice within the Company’s Forensic and Litigation Consulting segment. The addition of these professionals, including Andrew Rhodes, the Founder and President of The Rhodes Group, will further enhance FTI Consulting’s leading construction advisory, dispute resolution and expert testimony capabilities in North America and provide The Rhodes Group’s existing clients with access to FTI Consulting’s global, diversified platform.
“We are delighted to welcome these outstanding professionals to FTI Consulting,” said Steven H. Gunby, President and Chief Executive Officer of FTI Consulting. “Construction & Environmental Solutions is one of our strongest and fastest-growing practices globally, and the opportunity to add the industry-leading team from The Rhodes Group supports our ambition of serving leading law firms, contractors and owners as they navigate the most challenging construction-related disruption and disputes.”
Founded in 1999, The Rhodes Group provides construction advisory, forensic accounting and expert testimony services to clients throughout the entire project lifecycle, from preconstruction through formal dispute resolution, with a focus on the power, oil and gas, industrial, infrastructure and commercial building sectors. The Rhodes Group’s experience includes multi-million and multi-billion-dollar projects across multiple service offerings, including construction claims consulting, expert testimony, project alignment services, Critical Path Method (“CPM”) scheduling and three-dimensional modeling and animation.
Paul Ficca, Global Segment Leader of the Forensic and Litigation Consulting segment at FTI Consulting, added, “Andrew and his team have an established track record of guiding clients through large, complex projects and providing high-value expert services. We have known Andrew for several years, and the depth of talent and services that he and his team bring will complement the global offerings of FTI Consulting’s Construction & Environmental Solutions practice. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to help our clients achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Mr. Rhodes will join FTI Consulting as a Senior Managing Director. He has consulted on hundreds of complex projects and testified as an expert on 70 occasions in various courts, before American Arbitration Association and ICC Arbitration panels, and in Board of Claims hearings.
Respected as an independent and objective expert in his field, Mr. Rhodes has also served as a mediator and as an expert consultant to a dispute resolution board. His experience includes petrochemical facilities, liquefied natural gas facilities, power generation facilities, complex industrial and mining facilities, highway infrastructure projects, mass transit rail projects, professional sports stadiums, university buildings, hospitals and commercial high-rise buildings. He is a Certified Cost Professional and a Planning and Scheduling Professional.
“Our clients undertake complex projects in challenging environments across the globe,” Mr. Rhodes said. “We have longstanding relationships with many of our clients, and the global platform at FTI Consulting will only bolster our ability to serve that clientele and enhance FTI Consulting’s position as a leader in the construction consulting industry. I am proud of what we built as a team at The Rhodes Group, and I am excited to continue our journey with the team at FTI Consulting.”
Sourced from FTI Consulting