Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), has strengthened its Private Equity Performance Improvement practice with the appointment of Tania Howarth as Managing Director.
Howarth’s arrival follows that of Jason Spencer who also joins the practice as a Managing Director, bringing two decades of significant M&A experience. The latest appointments are indicative of the success of the firm’s European Private Equity Practice, which has seen the team size nearly triple over the past three years.
Howarth has over 30 years’ experience leading business transformation programmes across the FMCG and technology sectors. She spent ten years at Nomad Foods Europe where she served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Business Transformation Director, Group HR Director and CIO. During this time, she led major carve-outs and post-acquisition integration projects with a focus on delivering significant value creation across the cost base. She also designed and deployed a cultural transformation programme to drive performance improvement across the business.
Prior to Nomad Foods, Howarth held the positions of CIO for Europe and Africa at The Coca-Cola Company and CIO for PepsiCo UK. In these roles, she was responsible for change leadership in a number of cross functional business programmes. More recently, Ms. Howarth has advised global private equity funds on complex carve-outs, including the Unilever Spreads business.
Spencer, who has also joined A&M’s Private Equity Performance Improvement practice as a Managing Director brings over 25 years of M&A experience in technology-centric roles in both industry management and advisory roles. This includes a spell at SABMiller working on the integration of the Peroni and Grupo Bavaria acquisitions in both Europe and South America.
Mike Trenouth, Managing Director and Co-Head of A&M’s European Private Equity Performance Improvement practice, says: “Carve-outs are becoming an increasingly key focus with our private equity clients as large corporates seek to offload non-core assets which require complex separation and contain high value creation potential as stand-alone businesses. These investments typically require significant operational expertise, and we know that Tania’s unrivalled experience will be of great value to our private equity clients. She joins our private equity practice at an exciting time, with Jason Spencer having recently come on board to support clients with the technology aspects of transformation.”
Howarth adds: “I was drawn to A&M’s emphasis on delivering results and not just advising clients on strategy. This operational heritage chimes with my own background and is something that sets the firm apart in the consulting market. I’m looking forward to helping our private equity clients make long-term value creation the number one priority in their investee companies.”
