EY US has welcomed the consulting team from Jacket River, a boutique operational consulting firm. The team of seasoned advisors will join EY’s turnaround and restructuring strategy practice.
Jacket River was founded in 2016 and provides operational consulting services to primarily mid- to large-cap private equity clients. The company’s offerings include operations due diligence, value creation planning, operations transformation, post-merger integration, and turnaround and restructuring. Jacket River works with clients across manufacturing, industrials, business services, midstream energy, and healthcare.
The firm also has an investment arm, providing capital along with advisory services and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs and small- to mid-cap companies. Jacket River has nine employees listed on LinkedIn, located in several cities across the US and Canada.
“The Jacket River team’s experience and skills are broadly applicable not only to our Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy practice but the growth of all our related services,” said Bill Casey, EY Americas vice chair for transaction advisory services. “While they have particular experience in consumer products, these colleagues also bring significant knowledge in energy, life sciences, automotive and infrastructure services projects.”
Jacket River is headed by partners Gil Valadez, David Jerneycic, and Tom McArdle. Valadez has 20 years of experience in operational turnaround, crisis management, operational restructuring, and post-merger acquisitions. Before cofounding Jacket River, he was an engagement manager at McKinsey, and held several senior operational roles at General Mills.
Jerneycic was previously a senior consultant at McKinsey, focusing on operational transformation in the manufacturing sector. Prior to that, he was plant manager at Brad Foote Gear Works.
McArdle is a private equity professional and lawyer who previously worked at private markets investment manager Partners Group. Before that, he served as corporate counsel at General Compression and was an associate at law firm Ropes & Gray.
“Their focus on delivering tangible, value-enhancing results in dysfunctional environments makes them ideal team members,” Gaurav Malhotra, EY US restructuring leader, said. “They will enhance the diversity of our collective skill set as we lead our clients through new challenges.”
EY US last month acquired Avalanche Consulting, an Austin-based economic development consulting firm, bolstering the company’s economic development advisory practice within the tax services line.