David Sawyer joined Ankura Consulting as senior managing director with the firm’s Turnaround and Restructuring group.

Sawyer, who will be based in New York, brings more than 25 years in the global financial markets industry, where he focused extensively on restructuring and turnaround issues through his experience as a hedge fund distressed debt and special situations investor.

Prior to joining Ankura, Sawyer was the global head of Portfolio, Counterparty Credit and Workout & Restructuring at Barclays, where he led a worldwide team of more than 130 people and managed all of the bank’s distressed principal positions, including post-restructured equity.

Before joining Barclays, he ran the Restructuring and Portfolio Group for Silver Point Capital, where he was responsible for leading restructuring and workout activities for the hedge fund, including active participation on creditor committees and managing investments in its $3 billion private financing portfolio. He was also a member of Silver Point’s Distressed Private Equity Group, and was responsible for the execution of the restructuring process, transitional efforts from debt-to-equity ownership, and post-ownership operational strategy and activities.

Earlier in his career, he was a director at Credit Suisse, managing workouts and restructurings for the bank. Prior to that role, he was a senior member of their credit risk group focused on the media and telecom industries. He also held roles in the risk departments of Societe Generale and HSBC where he focused on leverage lending.

Kevin Lavin, Ankura co-president and global head of the firm’s Turnaround and Restructuring Group, said, “David is another great example of the level of excellence Ankura is committed to providing for our clients. Throughout his career, David has been a leader not only in managing businesses but also in taking an active role in developing the “people values” necessary to make his businesses successful. His understanding of the importance of culture and collaboration, coupled with his world-class expertise globally in the financial, restructuring, and turnaround spaces, makes David the perfect fit for Ankura.”