London (June 28, 2024) – Global consultancy Kearney has today announced the expansion of its private equity team, in response to growing demand for portfolio value creation and operational improvements. The new hires reflect the continuing focus on value creation as a driver of investment returns across private equity portfolio businesses and the expected unlocking of substantial pools of dry powder through stabilizing interest rates and pressure to deploy funds by GPs for LPs.

Grace Chieng, joining as principal

Grace has more than 13 years of experience in financial analysis, operational due diligence, and high-impact transformations for PE funds and their portfolio businesses. As a qualified accountant, she has worked across sectors including consumer products and business services. Prior to joining Kearney, Grace spent more than six years at EY Parthenon in the strategy and transactions team where she also focused on pre- and post-acquisition projects.

Marius Boersema, joining as principal

Having gained experience at EY Parthenon in the strategy and transactions team, Marius has worked on operational due diligence, transformational carve-outs, and PE high-impact transformations across multiple sectors. Marius previously worked in the Montagu Private Equity operational excellence team where he focused on value creation across their portfolio companies. He specializes in identifying and delivering value-creation opportunities.

Michael Schutte, joining as senior manager

Prior to joining Kearney, Michael spent nine years at PwC within its deals strategy and operations practice, specializing in pre-deal operational due diligence, carve-out DD, and synergy development. Michael also has experience in post-deal transformations across multiple sectors.

Sara Tan, joining as associate

Sara joins Kearney from PwC, having worked as a manager for its deals strategy and operations team. Sara’s expertise lies within operational due diligence and through providing post-deal transformations to deliver higher returns for PE clients in the retail and consumer sector.

Jan Timmermann, European lead of PE portfolio operations at Kearney, commented:
“We are thrilled to welcome Grace, Sara, Michael, and Marius to our growing team at Kearney. The PE market witnessed a real slowdown in exits and fundraising in 2023, which has resulted in high levels of un-exited assets, estimated at approximately $3 trillion. As a result, we’re seeing high demand from GPs prioritizing value creation across their portfolios—something we are well-positioned to support. We’re looking forward to working with our new hires to drive value creation for our clients and enhance our strategic capabilities across a range of different sectors.”

Grace Chieng, principal at Kearney, added:
“I’m delighted to join Kearney at this pivotal time in the private equity landscape. With increasing pressure on PE firms to deliver tangible value and operational improvements, I look forward to leveraging my experience in high-impact transformations and operational due diligence to drive value for our clients. Kearney’s commitment to portfolio value creation aligns perfectly with my professional background and I am eager to contribute to the firm’s success and growth.”

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