Chapter Champions

Kari Nurmi (Finland)

has extensive experience in a wide range of business development projects and his consultancy company Transformlink specialises in business development, turnaround, corporate restructuring and contract services. Previously he worked for more than 15 years in industry, holding various management positions in Finland and across Europe. He is also the author of a book on practical change management, and serves on the board of TMA Finland.

Eugen Lascu (Romania)

is Managing Partner at Thepesia Corporate Advisory. As consultant he has five years' experience in turnaround management, change management  and corporate finance. He has more than 12 years' experience in corporate management as CFO and CEO at C.N. Romtehnica SA and vice-president in corporate finance and business development in Uti Grup as well as extensive banking experience in product management in Raiffeisen Bank,  Romania. He is member of TMA and ACMP (The Association of Change Management Professionals).

Petr Smutny (Czech Republic)

Petr Smutny, Partner at PwC, leads the Business Recovery Services in the CEE region.  He has more than 20 years of experience in restructuring, as well as conducting independent business reviews, preparing in-court and out-of-court restructuring plans, and advising companies in a variety of industries during the course of insolvency proceedings.

Pedro Acien (Spain)

Pedro Acien is Founder and Managing Partner of Arganzuela Capital, an investment firm focused on the acquisition and turnaround of medium-sized manufacturing industrial businesses with strong fundamentals whose performance can be improved. He has a strong background in Turnaround Private Equity Investing and more than 10 years' experience in corporate and debt management of European LBOs, HY and distressed names. Pedro currently serves as Board Member of the Spanish Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).

Prior to founding Arganzuela, Pedro established the Madrid office of Alpstar Capital, where he worked as Investment Manager.  Previous experience also includes several Investment Banking roles at JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch.