Alvarez & Marsal hired Jeffrey Relf as managing director in the firm’s Corporate Performance Improvement practice, based in Houston. The firm has also picked up Suman Jagdev who joins as senior director and lead within the firm’s Corporate Solutions practice.

Relf has more than 30 years of experience focused extensively on advising energy sector clients around supply chain management, which has most recently revolved around operating profitably in a low commodity price environment.

Relf previously worked at FocalPoint Advisory Services as a managing director focused on supporting executive level business strategy development. He was with the BG Group before that, most recently as head of North America supply chain. He started his career at Accenture where he worked for 23 years, working his way up to the role of managing partner.

“The current landscape provides U.S. companies with strong opportunities and incentives to participate in oil and gas expansion in onshore and offshore energy operations. In this environment, trade deals are important now more than ever. Jeff is a seasoned professional with in-depth supply chain knowledge and insights, who has been instrumental in numerous purchasing and contract negotiations. His extensive experience with energy sector supply chain issues will benefit our clients,” said Michael Davidson, a managing director in the firm’s Corporate Performance Improvement practice.

Jagdev joins as a senior director and lead for the Automotive and Industrial sectors within the practice, focused on transaction advisory and performance improvement. He has more than 15 years of experience in the areas of growth and business transformation programs across automotive, industrial equipment, engineering, procurement and Construction (EPC), metals and mining sectors.

Jagdev previously worked at Strategy (now Part of PwC) as a director and leader of the firm’s Emerging Markets Centre where he focused predominantly on the automotive and industrial equipment sectors. He spent a year at Deloitte Innovation in India as a senior manager. Earlier in his career, he worked at Accenture for almost seven years, most recently as a project leader.

Manish Saigal, managing director with A&M India, remarked, “Given, the Indian auto industry is one of the largest in the world, we see immense potential and opportunities for growth. Suman’s hire demonstrates our commitment to provide clients with the exceptional operations and transformation solutions that help drive change and create value.”