News
Ankura Continues its Global Expansion with Saudi Arabia Office Opening in Riyadh
March 2, 2022
Ankura to offer multidisciplinary advisory services to Saudi’s largest and most innovative companies as the Firm significantly expands its Middle East presence and capabilities
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – February 03, 2022 – Ankura Consulting, LLC (“Ankura”), a leading global expert services and advisory firm, today announced its latest office opening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This launch marks the 36th global office opening across the Firm’s growing global network and the second office in the Middle East. The expansion reinforces Ankura’s commitment to supporting clients with local, highly experienced and best-in-class teams, as well as access to independent experts and advisory services. Ankura now employs 40+ professionals across the UAE and Saudi, supported by a globally dispersed team of more than 1,700 professionals.
Ankura’s strategic office expansion in Riyadh is both a reflection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ( “Saudi” or “Kingdom”) thriving business environment, which is increasingly diversifying across industries, as well as its strong portfolio of Saudi based clients. Ankura is building on a legacy of engagements conducted in the Kingdom, having already worked with some of Saudi’s largest companies across several leading private and public projects. The Riyadh office will initially focus on providing services across Transactions and Joint Venture Advisory, Construction Disputes and Project Advisory, Commercial Disputes, Investigations and Compliance, including Anti-Financial Crime, Advanced Data Analytics and Technology.
Kevin Lavin, Chief Executive Officer at Ankura, said: “We are excited to continue Ankura’s global expansion at such rate and rigour, allowing us to continue to meet the needs of our clients today and in the future and provide greater capabilities across the Middle East. Undoubtedly, the region has quickly carved itself out to be a key area of growth for Ankura and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken huge leaps in fostering a thriving business environment full of opportunities.”
Kassem Younes, Senior Managing Director at Ankura, said: “Riyadh is undoubtedly an excellent location and ideal home for our continued growth. We have ideal proximity to some of the largest companies and organisations within the Kingdom. Many industries and multinationals in the region are already navigating complex issues, such as the ongoing fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, digitalisation, restructuring, and the changing environment due to economic diversification, in lockstep with Vision 2030. This offers ample opportunities for us to deliver localised strategies and solutions in the region and I look forward to working with our team as we leverage our global best practices to provide effective solutions for our clients’ complex challenges.”
Simon Michaels, Chairman for EMEA and APAC at Ankura, added: “The opening of our office in Saudi Arabia is the next important milestone in our global growth at Ankura as we continue to deepen our footprint in the Middle East. Building on our experience of assignments with some of the leading organisations in the region, our new office composed of a talented team of professionals led by Kassem Younes, will allow us to bring our best-in-class services to better serve our clients in this thriving market as we help protect, create, and recover value.”
The announcement follows a number of recent office openings in Mumbai and Gurgaon, India and Frankfurt, Germany – as well as the launch of a European restructuring practice in London.
