Alvarez & Marsal has strengthened its financial advisory business in the Middle East with a team hire from a Big Four firm, spearheaded by Waqas Ahmed, and Tom Howitt and Ali Taher.
According to reporting by Bloomberg, Waqas Ahmed, Tom Howitt, Ali Taher and three other employees from Deloitte have crossed to Alvarez & Marsal, a consulting firm with over 5,500 employees across 25 countries.
In the Middle East, Alvarez & Marsal operates with offices in Dubai and Riyadh, and is particularly renowned for its expertise in transactions (mainly financial due diligence), restructuring and performance improvement.
The new hires join the firm’s Transactions and Restructuring practices, and are part of Alvarez & Marsal’s growth agenda in the region.
Ahmed served Deloitte for close to a decade across two spells, with an eight-year period at KPMG in between. He latterly was a partner at the firm, and led the Financial Advisory practice in Abu Dhabi, covering a wide range of M&A transactions and restructuring advisory services.
Howitt has been with Deloitte for thirteen years, relocating to the Dubai practice in 2015. He most recently was a director in the Turnaround and Restructuring team, focusing on turnaround projects on behalf of large lenders, corporates and family offices.
Taher started his career with Deloitte in 2008, and has been part of the Transaction Services team since 2014, latterly as a director. Abu Dhabi-based Taher specialises in merger & acquisition services, including financial due diligence, financial analysis and performance evaluation.
US-headquartered Alvarez & Marsal has been active in the Middle East for close to fifteen years, and cemented its mark in the region’s restructuring scene after being appointed as the administrator of scandal-hit NMC Health in 2020. The firm has also worked on other high-profile restructuring cases, including Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries and Finablr.
Beyond restructuring engagements – which typically make the headlines following formal appointment procedures – Alvarez & Marsal remains secretive of its client roster.
Meanwhile, Deloitte has reportedly rebuilt the gap left behind by the team exit, said people familiar to the matter.
Earlier this year, another global player – Teneo – entered the region’s bustling financial advisory space, poaching a duo from Alixpartners to setup and lead the practice, which has an initial focus on restructuring and turnaround services.
Sourced from Consultancy.me