Alvarez & Marsal Launches in Japan, Plans to Hire 500 Professionals
US based consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) entered Japan in October and plans to recruit 100 professionals annually, targeting a workforce of 500 within five years, said head of the firmʼs transaction advisory group Japan, Daisaku Nonaka.
A&M set up offices in Tokyo and Osaka on 16 October. The firm has already hired just under 20 specialists – primarily drawn from Deloitte, EY, PwC and other major professional services firm, according to a press release.
Nonaka said it plans to expand each of its core practice areas by adding more experts in accounting, tax, and corporate finance while also recruiting experienced CEOs, CFOs and plant managers with operational backgrounds. “Our strength lies not only in analysis and hypothesis formulation but also in providing on-site executing support,” he noted.
Founded as a corporate turnaround firm, A&M played the leading role in the restructuring of Lehman Brothers during the global financial crisis. Unlike the so-called big four firms, (Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting, PwC Consulting, EY Strategy and Consulting, KPMG Consulting), A&M does not maintain an auditing division and that enables it to undertake executive management roles that may present conflict of interest for other major firms.
It aims to differentiate itself by offering deep engagement in not only advisory and due diligence but also in turnaround and post-merger integration (PMI) services – referred to as Performance Improvement (PI) at A&M, Nonaka said.
He also said the company is targeting an annual revenue of USD 100m within five years, to be achieved by establishing dedicated turnaround and a PI team. It plans to offer a full range of consultancy services together with existing financial advisory (FA), tax, and due diligence (DD) capabilities.
Market opportunities
Nonaka identified five growth sectors in Japan, including automotive, which is experiencing significant pressure to restructure, semiconductors and AI, where demand remains robust despite a cooling trend, logistics, space and defence, and infrastructure – all of which face challenges related to aging assets.
A&M also intends to pursue cross-border opportunities beyond domestic transactions. Japanese companies, recognized for their advanced technology and impact of yen depreciation, are attracting acquisition interest from oversea clients, with the firm retained on three cross-border deals since the office launch, according to Nonaka.
Founded in 1983, A&M employs 12,000 professionals across 90 offices worldwide, with a footprint in China and Australia in the Asia-Pacific.
