Alvarez & Marsal on hiring spree in China

U.S. advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal Inc. is forging ahead with an expansion in China, buoyed by an increasingly complicated regulatory and geopolitical environment that has prompted some of its larger peers to scale back from the market. 

The New York-based firm plans to expand its China headcount fivefold in the next four to five years, according to James Dubow, co-head for North Asia. It tripled headcount in Hong Kong and the mainland in the past five years to more than 400, he said. 

"It's a non-stop thing. In the last several years, a third of my time has gone to recruiting," Hong Kong-based Dubow, a managing director, said in an interview. "But we're just getting started." 

A&M's China ambitions stand in sharp contrast with a pullback by global consulting giants. McKinsey & Co. partners have questioned the firm's presence in China, worried that doing business there may not be worth the risks. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP last year cut staff across the country, partly due to its former role as an auditor for China Evergrande Group, the fallen real estate developer that has been accused of accounting fraud. 

In 2023, some global consulting firms drew scrutiny from China's government during an anti-spying campaign. Relations with the U.S. have remained fraught during the second Trump administration amid competition over technology and trade. 

Despite being founded in the U.S., A&M isn't deterred by geopolitical tensions, Dubow said. The firm has had state-owned enterprises as clients in mainland China, he added. 

Instead of offering high-level strategic and political forecasting, A&M focuses on enhancing corporate operations and financial metrics, according to Dubow. It seeks to help organizations deliver their first improvements within six months.

"I always tell people if I look at the weather, we're not a weather forecaster," he said. "But we help people deal with it when it rains." 

Founded in 1983, A&M made its mark in China after its representatives in Hong Kong were appointed as liquidators for Evergrande, once the world's most indebted property developer. Globally, the firm has taken on some of the biggest corporate blow-ups in recent history, including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and FTX Trading. 

'Top-tier'

Best known for helping struggling firms turn around their businesses and restructure debts, A&M is seeking to grow into a more comprehensive advisory service provider. In Asia, particularly China, the company now aims to become a "top-tier consultancy," offering a range of practices that also includes performance improvement and private equity services, Dubow said. 

A&M's decision to establish a larger China presence has been driven by clients facing an increasingly complex operating environment after decades of rapid economic growth, according to Dubow. Many analysts and investors have expected a downshift in Asia's largest economy in coming years as exports cool and President Donald Trump's tariffs take a toll.

Companies are also having to adjust to the government's drive to ease overcapacity and excessive competition as it tries to tackle deflation. Dubow said the "anti-involution" campaign that policymakers have stepped up since July may provide opportunities to advise clients on mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs, insolvencies and restructurings. 

A&M has about 50 to 100 positions in its near-term recruiting pipeline, Dubow said. 

The firm has added 41 senior people so far this year, including 16 managing directors, according to a statement Tuesday. They include Adam Yuan, formerly with Ernst & Young, as a managing director for its China restructuring practice. 

Longer term, the company also hopes to open offices beyond the major centers of Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Dubow said. 

"China has always been a market of strategic importance to A&M," co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said in the statement. "We're here for the long term."