New York, NY – Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has expanded its wealth management transformation capacity with the addition of two seasoned experts who join the firm’s Financial Industry Advisory Services group.  Craig Walling joins as a Managing Director and Kevin Ferguson joins as a Senior Director, both in New York.

Mr. Ferguson, an operations officer, and Mr. Walling, who brings C-level experience, come to A&M from UBS AG where they established a strong series of accomplishments across enterprise restructuring, regulatory compliance and other transformation services within the wealth management sector.

Until recently, the business model on which financial institutions have built out wealth management organizations has largely gone unchallenged. Now, however, a convergence of external factors is causing the industry to re-think that model with various degrees of urgency. Messrs. Ferguson and Walling bring a breadth and depth of experience that aligns with the current market shift and will be critical in helping clients transform their wealth management business models.

“New Department of Labor regulations, technological advancements and evolving pricing practices are all having a major impact on banks, brokers and trust companies,” said Douglas Lambert, a Managing Director and Co-CEO of the firm’s U.S. Financial Industry Advisory Services practice.  “As these institutions work to absorb and understand these issues, Craig’s and Kevin’s  deep combined knowledge of the newly published regulations and their strong backgrounds in pricing further enhances our ability to meet clients’ changing needs.” 

Mr. Walling brings more than 30 years of executive leadership in the financial services industry, including comprehensive U.S. and international C-level experience across asset management, banking, financial planning, trust and estate and family office verticals.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Walling served at UBS AG as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UBS Trust Company N.A., Chairman and CEO of the UBS Private Bank in the Americas, Chairman of UBS Bank Canada and Co-Head of the International Division of UBS Wealth Management Americas. In these roles, he restored these entities to sustain profitability and regulatory compliance through remediation, restructuring and repurposing.

Previously, Mr. Walling was President, CEO and Member of the Board of The U.S. Trust Company, an affiliate of the Charles Schwab Company at the time. Earlier in his career, he was with the Central Trust Company, and Citibank N.A., where he spent two decades in both domestic and international assignments in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Mr. Walling earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati. He holds FINRA Series 24, 7 and 63 licenses.

Mr. Ferguson brings a strong understanding of complex financial concepts, capital markets, related operating dynamics and regulatory standards. A seasoned Chief Operations Officer, he has extensive domestic and international operating and technology experience and in-depth knowledge of transaction processing, settlement and clearing, client reporting, multicurrency operations, and tax operations.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Ferguson spent 20 years with UBS AG Private Bank Americas, a franchise of UBS AG.  During his last eight years with UBS Americas he was responsible for operating oversight of several increasingly integrated multi-currency,multi product platforms in the U.S., Switzerland, Canada, Bahamas, Mexico and Brazil.

Mr. Ferguson received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from St. John's University and holds FINRA Series 24, 7, licenses.

About Alvarez & Marsal

Companies, investors and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) when conventional approaches are not enough to activate change and achieve results.

Privately held since 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that delivers business performance improvement, turnaround management and advisory services to organizations seeking to transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action.  Our senior professionals are experienced operators, world-class consultants and industry veterans who leverage the firm's restructuring heritage to help leaders turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage.

When action matters, find us at alvarezandmarsal.com.  Follow A&M on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Sandra Sokoloff, Director of Global Public Relations
Alvarez & Marsal, 212-763-9853