From:
Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer
Beaulieu International Group
To:
Managing Director: PEPI, Post Deal Transformation & Interim Management
Alvarez & Marsal (Brussels)
Alvarez & Marsal has appointed Danny Van D’huynslager as MD for its PE Performance Improvement (PEPI) practice in Brussels.
In his new role, Danny Van D’huynslager will work alongside clients across the Benelux region and wider Europe as part of the Post Deal Transformation & Interim Management team. “I’m delighted to be joining Alvarez & Marsal and a team with such a strong reputation,” he shares.
“A&M’s hands-on approach was a major attraction for me, and I’m looking forward to working with colleagues and clients across Europe to deliver tangible results,” notes Danny, who brings 30 years of first-hand turnaround management, post-merger integration and enterprise scaling expertise to the MD position.
Most recently, Danny worked as the chief strategy and transformation officer at Beaulieu International Group, where he was tasked with recovering the “One B.I.G.” brand and delivering its transformation. Beyond delivering results materially above targeted financial improvements, he integrated major structural changes into business-as-usual by establishing an enterprise PMO and centres of excellence. He also built group-wide capability across digital transformation, commercial excellence, procurement and supply chain operations.
Before this, he was the CEO of Ethos Urban. Appointed to stand up the business following a complex three-way merger, Danny unified the firm into a single operating platform and executed a buy-and-build strategy that significantly boosted NPAT and stabilised the business through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His C-suite experience dates back to before 2012, including a 16-year tenure at Celerant Consulting (later Hitachi Consulting), where he served as CEO of Europe before becoming group president of Strategic Accounts. In this capacity, he implemented a best-practice model to drive growth for global heavyweights including SKF, Philips, DSM, Volvo and AB InBev.
Danny’s entrepreneurial and venture capital background also sharpens his commercial edge. Between 2013 and 2017, he co-founded Nexxworks – a network-based consulting model focused on disruptive business models – while acting as an angel investor in early-stage health and security ventures simultaneously.
He also comes with an extensive academic foundation, holding an executive MBA from Harvard Business School and a master’s degree in bioscience engineering from KU Leuven. He has also completed leadership programs at INSEAD, Stanford University and (most recently) MIT, where he focused on AI strategy and leadership. Danny adds:
“Having worked both inside businesses and as an adviser, I know that ambitious plans only create value when they are translated into action and sustained throughout an organisation," Danny adds.
Combining decades of dealmaking with C-suite decisioning
At A&M, Danny will focus on the crucial post-transaction phase, helping private equity investors and portfolio company leadership teams design and execute plans that translate investment theses into measurable outcomes.
Raymond Timmer, another MD in A&M’s PEPI practice, notes the growing market demand for this specific brand of expertise:
“Private equity firms are increasingly focused on what happens after the deal is done and how quickly management teams can turn an investment thesis into results.”
He adds that this “requires leaders who understand both the strategic ambition and the realities of delivering change inside a business”.
Ramond continues that Danny has done that from the C-suite as well as in an advisory capacity, which will be a real asset to A&M's clients across Europe.
