Alvarez & Marsal launches EMEA ESG wing
Alvarez & Marsal has launched a new environmental, social, and governance practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The firm has hired Will Rhode as a managing director to lead the new practice.
According to multiple reports from Alvarez & Marsal, momentum is building for activist investors across the continent of Europe. With the number of activist campaigns steadily increasing, there are more environmentally-motivated campaigns than ever before in particular.
Amid this, A&M has decided to launch a practice to help it integrate sustainability into its bread and butter of business transformations – showing how sustainability metrics can drive financial performance. The EMEA ESG practice will work closely with A&M’s core offerings and senior sector specialists to provide clients with an integrated, comprehensive and competitive services that boost environmental, social and governance performance.
Antonio Alvarez III, managing director and leader of A&M’s European practice, said, “ESG has long been a focus for corporates across the world,. The challenge is to deliver operational change that creates financial as well as societal value.”
“Our practice helps clients navigate increasingly complex regulatory, compliance, and stakeholder requirements, while also seeking ways to integrate ESG into business transformation. There is a gap in the market for evidence-based advice focused on operational delivery and results.”
The ESG practice focuses on enhancing and integrating ESG into A&M’s core services in EMEA, including transaction diligence and advisory; performance improvement and transformation; CFO advisory; and industrial decarbonisation and solutions.
To lead this new offering, A&M has brought in Will Rhode, a consultant with more than 15 years of experience as a consultant covering ESG advisory, strategy, business and portfolio review, due diligence, and value creation support. He arrives having previously served as a partner at EY’s financial services strategy and transactions team, and the global private equity ESG leader. Prior to this, he was a partner at Boston Consulting Group, where he was EMEA lead for financial services in the private equity and principal investor practice.
Rhode added, “I am excited to lead A&M’s ESG practice in EMEA. Our goal is to provide clients with high-impact ESG-related solutions that have direct links to enterprise value and EBITDA. By leveraging A&M’s multidisciplinary capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to support clients in their sustainability-linked transformations. We have already worked on some exciting projects, from carbon baselining to supply chain reviews, and have ambitious plans to continue to grow our team and expand our practice.”
