Private Equity
Related Consultants
Amit Laud co-heads the Private Equity team for Alvarez & Marsal across Europe and has spent the last 16 years with A&M building up the PEPI (Private Equity Performance Improvement) practice across Europe. He has 25 years of hands-on leadership in managing large technology programmes, developing and implementing value creation plans, carve-out and post-merger integrations as well as leading transformation offices. He has helped clients across Europe to implement business and technology strategies, drawing on his extensive experience in the TMT and business services industries.
Prior to joining A&M, Laud was responsible for Asset-Plus, a software division of GE HealthCare, the largest provider of asset management software for healthcare in Europe. As head of the unit, he restructured it and drastically reduced costs over a six-month period to improve the EBITDA. Previously, he applied Lean Six Sigma methodology as a Master Black Belt and served as CIO for GE HealthCare International. During this time, he led the $3Bn GE Healthcare acquisition and post-merger technology integration of Amersham PLC.
Earlier in his career, Laud was with McKinsey in US, Germany and Scandinavia in the Financial Services and the TMT sector, managing several large-scale systems and strategy projects. Previously, Mr Laud also worked for SAP AG, and Siemens in German. Laud earned an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, as well as engineering degree from VJTI, Mumbai. A UK national, he is fluent in English and German.
Bruna Melo is a Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Private Equity Services practice based out of New York, with over 11 years of experience acting in Brazil, Latin America and the United States. Her primary areas of specialization include merger integration, pre-acquisition due diligence support and performance improvement.
Throughout her career, Melo has worked in the beauty segment, retail agrobusiness, industrial gasses, plastics, mining, engineering, automotive and auto parts, consumer goods and foodservice industries to unlock value by optimizing business performance through effective integration transactions and performance improvement initiatives.
Melo earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics Science from the University of Campinas – UNICAMP and is fluent in English and Portuguese, with a working proficiency in Spanish. Ms. Melo is a certified Professional Scrum MasterTM I (PSM I) and a certified PROSCI® change management practitioner.
Claire Hackett is a Principal at Kearney, delivering due diligence and leading transformation programmes for large buy-out funds and their portfolio companies. Hackett joined Kearney’s growing Transactions & Transformation Practice in 2021 and quickly joined leadership as a Principal in 2023. She focuses on ODDs and sustainable cost-out transformations. At Kearney, she has worked to redefine these offerings and drive new best practices. Kearney is often known for its deep industry and operational expertise, and these offerings bring the best of the firm to clients with a PE lens - focusing on EBITDA, payback and speed.
Hackett prides herself with these thoughtful offerings, and partnering with clients to deliver tangible, achievable results. She has a passion for people, especially mentoring and bringing women together in the PE space. Prior to Kearney, Hackett was with Alvarez & Marsal’s PE consulting practice. Prior to that, she worked in retail, running special projects from the CEO office - across various functions, channels and brands.
Colin Sanderson is a Partner and TriState Private Equity Leader at RSM US. Sanderson is a distinguished financial consultant with a focus on private equity funds, including audits, fund administration and value creation at the portfolio level. He is RSM US LLP’s TriState leader for private equity services, harmonizing our offerings to clients in coordination with our firm’s relationship leaders, while also serving key private equity accounts, and leading our Fund Services practice.
Sanderson boasts extensive experience in private equity fund audits and administration. He is renowned for addressing private equity fund accounting, valuation, investment adviser compliance and custody, as well as RSM’s M&A360TM value creation model at prominent industry forums. Sanderson's influence extends to his active involvement in multiple professional associations, and his educational background includes dual degrees from South African universities and CPA licensure. Sanderson graduated from the University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika with an undergraduate degree in accounting.
Jay Scanlan is the global lead for private equity at Accenture where he supports private equity investors, operating professionals and portfolio company executives to assess, define and deliver value to their limited partners.
Over a 20-year career, Jay has led relationships with many US and international private equity firms, where he supported the investment life cycle from due diligence through value realization and exit. Previously, Jay founded the global private equity practice at a US-based professional services firm and is experienced in integrated transformations, mergers, divestitures, and global growth. He holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and an MA in international economics from Johns Hopkins.
Kerensa Butler's expertise spans assurance, tax, accounting, and related consulting services, with a particular focus on value creation throughout an investment’s life cycle. She has almost 30 years of experience across various industries, including consumer products, industrial products, technology, and for-profit healthcare entities. As one of RSM’s elite Enterprise Account Leaders, Butler delivers unified, seamless, global services with high-quality deliverables and a depth of understanding of regulatory and industry constraints to private equity firms. Negotiating delivery of these services across the globe requires Butler to use courage, nimble problem solving, technical expertise, and excellent communication skills, all at an accelerated pace.
Butler believes in the exponential power of a team that can bring their full selves to work. She is the executive sponsor of RSM’s efforts to engage more women in the private equity marketplace and has served as the national leader of the firm’s Pride employee network group. Butler first got her start in 1996 as a senior associate at PwC. From there, she went on to Daszkal Bolton LLP as a senior manager. Butler graduated from Florida State University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and anthropology.
Kim Clark Pakstys is a Managing Director in CohnReznick’s CFO Advisory Practice specializing in business and finance transformation. She has more than 25 years of professional services experience, including over 15 years of experience advising private equity and corporations through mergers, acquisitions, and integration. She oversees a national team that provides a range of advisory services to help businesses build platforms, improve performance, optimize operations, plan for transactions, and integrate acquisitions. Clark Pakstys and her team help executives and operators employ strategies for operational excellence, profitability, and value creation.
Clark Pakstys has experience in numerous industries including the technology, communications, consumer products, industrial, space, energy, professional services, nonprofits, and, public sectors. She is often called upon to share insights on the best practice in driving value creation for all stakeholders during the distinct phases of ownership. As co-leader of CohnReznick’s Finance Transformation practice, Clark Pakstys focuses on increasing collaboration across service lines and creating new services to help clients drive growth. Earlier in her career, she was instrumental in building the Center for Performance Improvement at Price Waterhouse, LLP. She serves on the executive committee of the Alliance of Mergers and Acquisition Advisors National Capital Region and is the chairman of Easterseals DCMDVA.
Nichole Jordan is Grant Thornton's National Managing Partner of Geography and the Managing Partner of the Texoma region, where she plays a role in the firm’s strategy execution and growth, serving as a key figure in the company’s senior leadership team. Grant Thornton is a professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms that provide assurance, tax, and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities.
With a comprehensive background in client service and growth leadership, Jordan has significantly contributed to Grant Thornton's success across the U.S., particularly with Fortune 500 clients. She has spearheaded the development of key alliances, executive peer advisory boards, and leadership forums nationwide. Earlier in her career, Jordan served as Grant Thornton’s national managing partner of Markets, Clients, and Industry, overseeing the firm’s strategic key client portfolio, industry sectors, regions, sales, market intelligence, and customer analytics.
Prior to that role, she was a member of the firm’s Partnership Board, while also serving as the national managing partner for Grant Thornton’s Banking and Securities industry practice, as well as the leader of markets and industries in metropolitan New York and New England. Jordan holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas in Austin.
Robert (Bob) Haas is a Kearney Senior Partner based in the New York office. He has more than 25 years experience working with global clients in Private Equity, consumer, healthcare, technology, and financial services industries; and has led dozens of client transactions and transformations in the US, Japan, Switzerland, UK and around the globe. Haas focuses on a range of strategic and transformational issues including: M&A Strategy, Diligence, Integration Planning, and Growth Strategy as well as Enterprise Transformation and Restructuring
Haas has held a variety of Kearney leadership roles including: Director, Governance Chair, Strategy Chair, for A.T. Kearney Holdings Board of Directors, Silicon Foundry (a Kearney Company) Board of Directors Chairman, Founder and Global Leader Private Equity and M&A practice, Global Leader Transactions and Transformation Practice, Global Leader Strategic IT Practice and Founder Kearney Digital Business Forum.
Haas led dozens of M&A programs including some of the most complex global carve-outs and divestitures across various industries and geographies, numerous commercial and operations DDs and portfolio company performance improvement programs for leading Private Equity firms, drove synergy design and implementation programs (pre and post-close) resulting in billions of dollars of synergy value, and multi-year support to CEO and leadership team of Global Consumer company on M&A, Sales, Supply Chain, and IT issues
Prior to Kearney, Haas held senior positions at Information Resources, Inc. and IBM subsidiary Metaphor Systems. He earned both an MBA and a BS in industrial engineering from Rutgers University.
Rohini Christina Williams is the Global Head of Private Equity Practice at Infosys. She has been with Infosys for 18 years and advises Private Equity on value creation through operations and engineering optimization and digital transformation. Williams leads a global team with a hands-on approach and a strong drive for execution and a passion for building and nurturing high performing, motivated and diverse team.
She works with Private Equity Investors, Operating Partners and Portfolio companies’ C-suite to help them evaluate, define and deliver value to their Limited Partners with a clear understanding on these initiatives impact on EBITDA and thereby MOIC. In addition to Infosys offerings, she works with all technology providers who have Private Equity focus to embed their solution for delivering the best value for Private Equity.
Williams is passionate about D&I and her actions speak for themselves by being a shining example for women in the IT Industry and nurturing and promoting women leaders in her team. She is invited and speaks in all private equity forums and has been positioned as a thought leader in this space.
Scott Bingham is a Senior Managing Director, and Leader of the U.S. Transactions practice, and Co-Leads the Global Transactions practice, which encompasses both pre-deal and post-deal services. Bingham has more than 20 years of experience providing clients with acquisition advice on engagements, ranging from $30 billion leveraged buyouts and multibillion-dollar ‘white knight’ defenses of hostile takeover targets to middle market private equity placements and strategic ‘add-on’ acquisitions. He has deep industry expertise in healthcare and life sciences.
Bingham has assisted both private equity and corporate clients throughout the deal continuum, including the identification of potential targets, due diligence, contract structuring and negotiations, and transition planning. He has also served in many post-deal roles including, integration support, financial advisor to the lenders, and interim CFO.
Bingham has also taken a lead role in developing FTI Consulting’s Healthcare Integrated Diligence platform, which combines financial and tax due diligence, clinical and compliance diligence and operational assessments. Sectors in which Bingham has experience include renal care, behavioral health, specialty hospitals (long-term acute care, rehab), home health, urgent care, pathology laboratories, specialty pharmaceuticals, healthcare technology, numerous physician practice roll-ups, and for-profit and not-for-profit acute care hospitals.
Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Bingham was a Managing Director in the Advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”). Bingham helped start the Atlanta office of the Transaction Services practice for PwC and was the Practice Leader for the Healthcare Transaction Consulting practice at PwC. Prior to joining PwC, Bingham was Director of Corporate Development for a healthcare-based private equity portfolio company whose primary investors included Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and William Blair and Co Bingham holds a B.S., cum laude, in accounting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and is a Certified Public Accountant in Georgia.
Sean McDevitt is a leading decision-maker, advisor, and thought leader in the telecommunications industry with three decades of international management consulting and operations experience spanning several global markets.
Based in Boston, Sean is a Partner at global consultancy Arthur D. Little, where he leads their USA TMT Practice. Sean's clients - telecom operators, suppliers, private equity, infrastructure funds, and lenders – turn to his expertise for critical business decisions regarding investment due diligence, commercial / market assessments, business plan review, strategic growth initiatives, and portfolio value creation.
At ADL, he has been pivotal in driving ADL’s growth and re-emergence as one of the premier management consulting firms in the USA. Since its reentry into the USA market, ADL currently serves five of the top ten US telecom operators. Sean also leads the firm’s recruiting efforts and has had an instrumental role in building the ADL USA team and company culture.
Prior to joining ADL, Sean was a VP at Cartesian, where he led the North American Strategy and Management Consulting businesses. Previously, he held executive positions in Europe, serving as Président-Directeur Général of Le Numéro France (118218) and COO of 118118//Media in the UK.
In October 2023, United States Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo appointed Sean to serve on the Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), the USA’s nationwide public safety broadband network that equips first responders to save lives and protect U.S. communities.
Sean is also a Level 4 Tenured (highest level) USA certified On-Ice Official for youth, high school, NCAA, and disabled ice hockey. Sean officiated both the 2023 and 2024 USA Hockey Sled/Para National Championships and is a regular league official for the NorthEast Sled Hockey League.
Sean earned his BA in Classics and Business Economics from Brown University and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.