Chris Smyth Appointed EY Americas Private Equity Leader

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Oct 18, 2021, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announces the appointment of Chris Smyth as EY Americas Private Equity (PE) Leader, effective immediately. Smyth will be responsible for leading the EY organization's private equity professionals in 31 countries in the Americas as they support private equity funds and their portfolios in deploying capital, refining exit strategies and creating stakeholder value. He succeeds Bill Stoffel, who served as the Americas leader since 2016, and who was recently appointed EY Global Private Equity Leader.

Photo: Chris Smyth, EY Americas Private Equity Leader

As a Strategy and Transactions partner at EY US, Smyth has had extensive experience across retail, consumer products, distribution, manufacturing, technology and business service sectors; he has worked on over 300 transactions with valuations in excess of $8b. Over his 27-year EY career, Smyth has served in leadership roles in the US and abroad, including the London office of the EY member firm Ernst & Young LLP (UK). Most recently, as the EY US-Central Region Strategy and Transactions Managing Partner, Smyth led a team of more than 1,100 EY professionals in 42 offices who provide transactions services to market-leading companies in the Central United States and the Caribbean.

"The private equity rebound continues to accelerate. This is expected to be a landmark year, with record levels of fundraising, deal activity, M&A and IPOs," said Smyth. "In this environment, AI, supply chain diversification and pricing improvements are critical value drivers. I'm excited to support our EY teams across the Americas as they continue to enable their clients to deliver on their investment cases while expanding the diversity of their talent, focusing on sustainable investments and deploying new technologies."

"Implementing the digital agenda is now a core focus of PE firms, a transformation that COVID-19 accelerated, and dealmaking and fundraising have soared to historic levels," said Bill Stoffel, EY Global Private Equity Leader. "Chris' broad private equity and transactions experience across geographies and in varying economic conditions has prepared him well to lead the EY Americas PE practice."

Smyth is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Illinois and a member of the AICPA.

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Private equity firms, portfolio companies and investment funds face complex challenges. They are under pressure to deploy capital amid geopolitical uncertainty, increased competition, higher valuations and rising stakeholder expectations. Successful deals depend on the ability to move faster, drive rapid and strategic growth and create greater value throughout the transaction life cycle. EY taps its global network to help source deal opportunities, and combines deep sector insights with the proven, innovative strategies that have guided the world's fastest growing companies. Our clients discover powerful new ways to create unexpected paths to value — generating positive economic benefits for both investors and society. That's the power of positive equity.

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