Tracy Branding Pyle

Tracy joined Ankura with the firm’s 2020 acquisition of Water Street Partners.

Tracy’s professional experience includes:

• Advised an aerospace and defense company regarding the potential formation a joint venture in the Middle East, including developing deal concepts, advising on negotiation strategy, serving as lead negotiation facilitator, and managing process to develop a business plan for the venture.
• Advised an autonomous vehicle software company in assessing a potential transaction involving significant company intellectual property; provided deal options and advice on negotiations, deal process, and key terms.
• Developed a set of processes and standards related to entry into and management of joint ventures for a growing Middle Eastern natural resources company; such processes and standards included a joint venture stage gate process to define approvals required when entering into a venture, a joint venture major clauses guide to set minimum standards for joint venture agreements, and a joint venture manager handbook for management of existing ventures.
• Advised one partner in a 50:50 chemicals joint venture after a material dispute between such partner and the other partner had eroded partner trust and affected joint venture governance; provided options for ways to restructure the venture’s governance system to restore partner collaboration, mitigate risk, and follow joint venture governance best practices.
• Conducted an assessment of a supermajor oil and gas company’s governance of its portfolio of non-operated joint ventures and provided recommendations to assist the company with implementing best practices to reduce the company’s risk and increase its ability to add value to its non-operated assets.
• Advised the board of directors of an over $100 billion oil and gas joint venture regarding joint venture governance, with a focus on helping the board effectively manage the venture while simultaneously planning for a major change regarding joint venture operations.