Former PwC M&A partner Steven Einstein joins Equiteq in New York

Equiteq has hired former PwC partner Steven Einstein as Vice Chairman. Based in the firm’s US office, Einstein, who brings over 30 years of extensive corporate finance experience to the firm, has been tasked with supporting Equiteq’s strong North American growth ambitions. 

Steven Einstein was most recently Partner in the Chairman's Office of PwC. In the role, he was responsible for leading PwC’s acquisition and divestiture initiatives in the US, for all lines of service. During his 24 year tenure at the Big Four firm, he was involved with the deal making process, from strategy through execution/integration, including activities such as acquisition search/targeting, deal structuring, financial and commercial due diligence, negotiations, transaction consummation and post-merger integration. PwC has acquired dozens of smaller and larger professional services firms in the period, with Booz & Company (the transaction was led by PwC’s US team), digital consultancy BGT and analytics consultancy Logan Tod & Co among the most well-known recent consultancy additions.

Prior to joining PwC in 1991, Einstein served in various senior-level capacities in the mergers and acquisitions departments of PaineWebber (a former stock brokerage and asset management firm; acquired by UBS AG in 2000), Morgan Grenfell & Co. (a former London-based investment bank discontinued by owner Deutsche Bank in 1999) and private equity firm Kluge Subotnick Perkowski and Co. Einstein started his career in the Corporate Finance group of a predecessor of Deloitte.

In his new capacity, Einstein will leverage his wealth of experience and expertise to advise and lead Equiteq clients through both North American and global transactions. He is based in Equiteq’s New York office – the M&A consultant to the consulting industry also has hubs in London, Singapore and Sydney.

Commenting on the high-profile appointment, Equiteq CEO David Jorgenson said: “We are very excited to be able to offer Steven’s broad expertise in transaction advisory and corporate development in this sector to our clients. Steve’s expertise will not only benefit our large and fast growing North American client base, but reinforces our status as the global leader in M&A and strategic advisory services to the consulting and IT services sector.” 

Data from Equiteq shows that M&A in the consulting industry has come off to a good start in 2017, with 1,306 deals noted of significant size. North America, which is the globe’s largest management consulting market by a distance, is the largest market for deals across the advisory landscape, from management and technology consulting to HR, engineering consulting and media advisory services.

Recent deals Equiteq has advised on in the US include the acquisition of Philadelphia based private equity consultancy CMF Associates by CBIZ, and the purchase of UK outsourcing consultancy Aecus to US based The Hackett Group. On the back of the growing M&A market in the region, and its growing stature in the space – in June Equiteq was named ‘Boutique Investment Banking Firm of the Year’ by The M&A Advisor – Equiteq aims at growing its footprint in the region. 

Remarking on his new challenge, Einstein said, “I am looking forward to bringing my extensive experience and client focus to a firm committed to delivering excellent outcomes for owners of knowledge-intensive services firms. Equiteq’s deep concentration in this sector and understanding of buyer requirements is second to none and I look forward to supporting our clients along their M&A journey.”

Steven Einstein graduated with honours from Lehigh University having received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, minoring in International Law. Subsequently, he received a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University Law School as well as an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University Law School. Most recently, in addition to completing several executive education programs at Harvard Business School, Einstein successfully completed the Director Education and Certification Program at UCLA's Anderson School of Management.