A&M Nordics appoints Daniel Frigell as Managing Director
Alvarez & Marsal have continued to supply their new Nordic presence with former KPMG talent. New Managing Director Daniel Frigell is A&M’s most recent addition to their Stockholm office, arriving by way of KPMG’s Valuation Services practice, which he headed.
In the Summer of 2017, global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal expanded its global footprint by opening a new Nordics office in Stockholm. The office in Sweden's capital city was established under the leadership of three industry experts, who each joined from professional services giant KPMG.
The playing field of the auditing and advisory industry has significantly levelled in recent months due to new, tighter audit rotation rules, meaning industry players beyond the Big Four have been able to court top talent more easily. A&M subsequently followed up on their initial three-person swoop with another capture of senior talent from the Big Four firm, soon after. Helene Willberg, formerly KPMG's CEO for Sweden, joined as another co-leader of the firm’s new Stockholm practice.
Now Alvarez & Marsal has continued to expand its presence in the Nordics with the appointment of Daniel Frigell. Frigell has been hired as a Managing Director to lead and grow A&M’s valuation practice in Stockholm, specialising in dispute, tax and sell-side valuation, debt service modelling and other investigative services, while reinforcing the firm’s capacity to meet demand for conflict-free European consultants resulting from pan-European regulatory changes in the rapidly growing economic region.
Frigell, who is regarded as a leading expert witness in Sweden for cases involving valuation and remedy/damage calculation, brings a total of 17 years of financial and strategic consulting experience to his new role. These years included an array of assignments for public and private companies, private equity firms and their portfolio companies. His former work has encompassed valuations, transaction structuring, dispute/litigation support and incentive programs.
The former Head of Valuation Services for KPMG Sweden, Frigell spent 11 years with the firm, during which time he came to be responsible for advisory services relating to incentive programmes. His time with the firm followed a year-long engagement with fellow Big Four firm PwC, where he was a Manager, after arriving from Capgemini – where he had become a Senior Consultant during a three year stay ending in 2004. Prior to arriving at Capgemini, Frigell completed an MSc in Finance and International Business at the Stockholm School of Economics – where he studied while working as a summer intern with Merita-Nordbanken’s treasury department.
Nordic competition
Christer Wiberg, Managing Director and Nordic Practice Co-Leader – and one of A&M Stockholm’s initial ex-KPMG cohort – said of the appointment, “Evolving regulatory requirements continue to press Nordic-based companies to seek out local professionals who are free from audit conflicts but still bring the deep knowledge and strong experience often associated with the Big Four.”
Fellow former KPMG employee Helene Willberg, also a Managing Director and Nordic Practice Co-Leader, added, “Our clients rely on A&M’s independent platform, aptitude for flexibility and senior project staffing to address their needs. Daniel’s proven capabilities will help our clients meet the challenges they face. His leadership experience will be invaluable as the office continues on its growth trajectory.”
A&M is not the first firm to have acquired large amounts of talent from fellow consultancies amid the booming Nordic consulting market. The market is hungrily sought after by professional service companies, particularly thanks to Sweden’s continued consulting market growth to a value of €800 million – which has seen consultancies determined to dip into the increasing profitability of the region. In 2016, as BDO opened 4 offices in Sweden, the firm also raided six partners and 14 professionals from rivals Grant Thornton.