Alvarez & Marsal launches Executive Compensation arm in UK
Alvarez & Marsal has launched an Executive Compensation Services practice in the United Kingdom, hiring a launching team of nine advisers.
The new practice provides corporates and their boards (Board of Director, Remuneration Committee, Supervisory Board, etc) with independent advice on executive pay. The unit complements the firm’s existing Employee Rewards practice, which focuses on compensation matters across the entire organisation, and the two units will work closely together to offer a holistic offering for clients seeking to transform their rewards & compensation.
The Executive Compensation Services hub will also collaborate with the US wing of Alvarez & Marsal, which has the largest Executive Compensation Services practice in the firm’s network of 60+ offices worldwide.
“The addition of this practice is testament to our commitment to our growth ambition and to offer solutions that meet our clients’ diverse needs,” said Ernesto Perez, a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, the firm’s Tax subsidiary and parent of the Compensation-related practices.
Leading the new arm are three experienced managing directors who bring decades of experience in the field to the New York headquartered consultancy: David Tuch, Jeremy Orbell and Nic Stratford. The trio previously were leaders in Aon’s Executive Compensation team in the UK, previously known as New Bridge Street.
Prior to joining Alvarez & Marsal, Tuch spent 14 years as a partner at Aon’ and before this was a partner at KPMG for 10 years. Orbell similarly spent 14 years at Aon and before that worked both as a consultant and as an in-house specialist for international, listed companies. Stratford worked for Willis Towers Watson before joining Aon, where he spent the past 14 years.
All three boast over two decades of experience advising listed and unlisted companies in the UK and internationally on all aspects of executive remuneration. Key offerings include remuneration policy development, executive compensation benchmarking, incentive plan design, shareholder consultations, valuation of shares and other rewards, accounting & tax considerations, and compliance.
They are joined by six other (senior) advisers who have been appointed across Alvarez & Marsal’s ranks. Commenting on why they decided to join Alvarez & Marsal, Tuch said: “It’s great to be able to expand Alvarez & Marsal’s offer, which provides independent, conflict-free advice to clients across Europe, at such an exciting time of growth for the business.”
Over the last two years, Alvarez & Marsal’s headcount in Europe has increased by over 50%, helping the firm break through the barrier of 1,000 staff across 22 offices in 15 countries.
Tuch also pointed at the growing need for executive remuneration services, in light of a rapidly changing leadership environment amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because executive remuneration is increasingly coming under the spotlights from media, employees and activist investors. Meanwhile, companies are also shifting their traditional executive remuneration approach to increasingly include non-financial and purpose-driven metrics.
“The team here at Alvarez & Marsal particularly well placed to deliver dynamic and independent executive remuneration advice alongside other practice areas to help business leaders deliver for their stakeholders. In the coming months, there are plans to further increase the headcount as the practice develops.”
