Alvarez & Marsal announced that Yvette Connor, former director of client engagement for Marsh, joined as a managing director, based in Denver and New York.

Connor brings more than 20 years of experience building, quantifying, testing, and implementing operational, financial, hazard and reputational risk frameworks. She focuses on helping companies identify opportunities for value creation through the use of decision-driven models that bridge risk management and strategic planning. Her soon-to-be-published thesis, “Does Risk Management Matter to Shareholders,” explores an innovative methodology for risk management valuation and the significant impact risk management can have on organizational profitability and capital performance.

“Fear and obligation have been the historic drivers of risk management,” said Jim McDermott, managing director and head of A&M insurance and risk advisory services. “Increasingly, however, forward-thinking boards are recognizing the importance of turning risk into a strategic conversation focused on value creation. Yvette has been a pioneer in creating models and implementing strategies that redefine how risk is identified, quantified and addressed &mdash producing frameworks that are more closely aligned with an organization’s bottom-line business objectives and overall performance. We are delighted to welcome her to A&M.”

While at Marsh, Connor led the creation of a groundbreaking global servicing model designed to produce optimal risk management responses tied to clients’ business needs and priorities. Prior to that role, she was the director of risk management at Vulcan, a private firm with a portfolio of operating companies. Earlier in her career she served as VP of risk management at global food company Roll International and as director of insurance and risk financing at Sutter Health.

Connor has been named among the 2013 “Women to Watch” by Business Insurance magazine and was included in the 2008 Treasure & Risk magazine “40 under 40” list.