Grant Thornton named Lisa Walkush national managing principal of its industry program, effective immediately. She also will also serve on the firm’s national leadership team. In addition, Grant Thornton named Carlos Ferreira national managing partner for private equity, effective Aug. 1. He will succeed Doug Gawrych, who will retire at the end of this fiscal year in accordance with Grant Thornton’s mandatory retirement policy.
In her new role, Walkush will oversee all strategy and operations for Grant Thornton’s industry program, which consists of a range of industries, including asset management, banking, energy, healthcare, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, food and beverage, not-for-profit organizations and higher education institutions, real estate and construction, retail and consumer products, technology and telecommunications, media and entertainment, transportation, logistics, warehousing and distribution, hospitality and restaurants.
Walkush previously served as the national leader of Grant Thornton’s life sciences industry practice. She has experience in enterprise-program management, customer-relationship management and operational excellence, as well as compliance, validation and technology-consulting services.
“Lisa is an exceptional leader who understands that every business is facing historic new challenges — not to mention longstanding industry trends that are equally significant,” Brad Preber, CEO of Grant Thornton, said. “She is the ideal person to help build industry teams that will deliver Grant Thornton’s unique mix of quality, value and innovation to our clients.”
Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Walkush was a managing director at LECG. Before that, she worked at Arthur Andersen in its business consulting practice. She also held leadership roles in industry at Gentex and Lumonic.
Walkush is certified in ProSci Change Management Methodology (ADKAR) and a member of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation. Philly Biz magazine named her to its list of Women to Watch in 2017, spotlighting her ability to “help life sciences companies execute business strategy, transformation and technology projects.”
In his new role, Ferreira will lead the strategic direction for a range of private equity services designed to generate value across the investment life cycle, including areas such as growth, transformation, operations, resilience, compliance and diligence. Additionally, he will serve on Grant Thornton’s national leadership team, and he will retain his role as the global co-leader for transaction advisory services at Grant Thornton International.
As a transaction advisory partner, Ferreira previously led the advisory services practice for Grant Thornton’s metro New York and New England market territory, providing services that support the transaction strategies of private equity firms and their portfolio companies.
“Carlos is an outstanding leader who will step into a critical role during a time of historic disruption and uncertainty,” Preber said. “He will ensure we are consistently providing quality, value and innovative solutions to help our private equity clients.”
During Ferreira’s almost 25 years in professional services, he has developed proficiency in buy- and sell-side due diligence, helping business owners and investors identify the risks and opportunities in a deal. He also has helped plan the integration and exits for private equity investors. Additionally, he has served clients in cross-border transactions in Europe, South America, Africa, North America and Asia.
Ferreira has been recognized by M&A Advisor as a 40 Under 40 Awards recipient. Ferreira is also a former board member of the New York Association for Corporate Growth.
Grant Thornton is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, which is an independent audit, tax and advisory firm.
