Berkeley Research Group, an Emeryville, CA-headquartered management consultancy, has hired Joe Schmitt and Will Russo as managing directors in its corporate finance practice.
Based in Los Angeles, Schmitt will lead the retail performance improvement (RPI) team together with his former colleagues Murali Gokki and Shawn Ashworth. He has 20+ years of experience leading retail industry engagements in cost structure efficiency, margin expansion, sourcing effectiveness, and working capital improvement for C-suite, board, and private equity clients.
Schmitt joins BRG from AlixPartners, where he spent over 11 years, latterly as a managing director and leader of the retail private equity practice. Before that, he was a managing consultant at IBM Consulting and a senior consultant at Kurt Salmon Associates.
Schmitt has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Villanova University.Based in New York, Russo will focus on turnaround and restructuring engagements. He has more than 20 years of experience in consulting and corporate leadership, with expertise in financial analysis, credit rating analysis, cash-flow modeling, turnarounds, M&A, and capital allocation.
Russo rejoins BRG from The Community Preservation Corporation, a real estate finance company focusing on affordable housing, where he spent the last five years as chief investment officer.
Before that, he spent three years at BRG as a director. Earlier in his career, Russo spent eight years at Capstone Advisory Group, where he was latterly a managing director.
Bob Duffy, a managing director and co-head of BRG's corporate finance practice, said, "Welcoming Joe and Will to BRG directly aligns with our focus on growth and enhancing our service offerings. Joe brings a unique skillset and wealth of experience that will be crucial as he co-leads the RPI practice. Will provides value in the form of real, hands-on experience as a C-suite leader; this perspective will be an invaluable asset to the Turnaround and Restructuring group."
BRG’s corporate finance practice provides advisory services in turnaround and restructuring, transaction advisory, CFO solutions, interim management, and valuation, among other areas.
The consultancy has more than global professionals 1,200 who advise on corporate finance, disputes and investigations, and performance improvement and advisory.
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