November 2009 - 8 partners, leaders in Transaction Services and Restructuring, launch Eight Advisory

Independent advisory firm specialized in financial and operational consulting

8 partners led by Pascal Raidron previously Head of Transaction Advisory Services for Ernst & Young in France announced the creation of Eight Advisory, an independent firm specializing in financial and operational consulting. The firm supports the managers, shareholders of companies and potential investors in their decisions regarding transactions, restructuring and operational management.

"Eight Advisory is above all a human and entrepreneurial adventure which will enable us to create greater value for our customers by providing clear answers to our clients' questions, combining expertise in financial and operational consulting in complete independence from the audit and certification world" said Pascal Raidron, Managing Partner of Eight Advisory. The new structure relies on a team of experienced partners with strong market recognition such as Cédric Colaert for restructuring or Eric Demuyt, Justin Welstead, Stéphane Vanbergue, Lionnel Gérard and Vincent Blot who are specialized in Transaction Services. The team is expected to grow very quickly as "the goal is to create the leading independent firm in France in our market with at least 150 professionals within a 4 year timespan while accompanying our customers in the international aspects of their business" continues Pascal Raidron who also underlines that Eight Advisory wil open offices in London in February 2010 and Frankfurt in 2011.
New partners from very diversified backgrounds (Big Four, but also performance improvement consultants or managers with operational experience in large companies) should join Eight Advisory in the coming months, starting with Stanislas Grange (Working Capital management and improvement), who joins from the group Cegelec.

The highly differentiated position in the French market combining financial advisory and operational advisory under the same roof is centered around 8 offers:
4 financial offers:
- Transaction Support
- Restructuring
- Valuation
- Litigation support

4 operational offers:
- Working Capital Management
- Performance Improvement
- Risk Review and management
- Integration and Carve Outs



Eight Advisory team:
Pascal Raidron, Managing Partner of Eight Advisory, was previously Head of Transaction Advisory Services at Ernst & Young France since 2004 and had previously developed the Corporate Recovery and Transaction Services activities since 1996 at Arthur Andersen. He worked from 1993 to 1996 at Banque Indosuez Locafrance as CEO of Bank Credimo as well as Commitments and Finance Director as well as in Metrologie International CPU from 1989 to 1993. He began his career at Arthur Andersen from 1983 to 1989. Pascal Raidron graduated from ESSEC (1983) and is a qualified French Chartered Accountant (1989).

Eric Demuyt, 43, was Head of Transaction Support at Ernst & Young, responsible for France (2004) and the region EMEIA (2008), and previously at Arthur Andersen where he began his career in 1989.
Eric Demuyt graduated from ESCP (1989) and is a qualified French Chartered Accountant since 1992.

Cédric Colaert, 45, was Head Partner in charge of the under-performing businesses and Restructuring group for France, Italy and Spain at Ernst & Young from 2002 to 2009 and prior to that at Arthur Andersen where he began his career in 1989.
Cedric Colaert graduated from ISG (Institut Supérieur de Gestion) in 1988.

Justin Welstead, 41, was Head of Transaction Support for Ernst & Young France since 2008. He began his career in 1994 at Arthur Andersen in the United Kingdom before being transferring to the Paris office in 2001.
Justin Welstead holds a Masters in French Literature (1991) and a Bachelor of Law (1993) from the University of Edinburgh. He is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant, ICAEW since 1996.

Stéphane Vanbergue, 37, was Partner of Transaction Support activity at Ernst & Young since 2007, and previously with Arthur Andersen after starting his career as an auditor at KPMG in 1997.
Stéphane Vanbergue graduated from Audencia (1997).

Lionnel Gérard, 38, was Partner of the Restructuring and Transaction Support activities at Ernst & Young since 2007 and previously at Arthur Andersen. He began his career in auditing at Price Waterhouse in 1997.
Lionel Gérard graduated from ESCP in 1997 and holds a DEA in Management Sciences, Major Finance and Strategy (1997).

Vincent Blot, 39, has been conducting Interim CFO assignment since 2006. Furthermore, he had created BC Invest in 2005, a company specializing in services to businesses and individuals related to real estate. He worked at Ernst & Young as Senior Manager from 2002 to 2005 after starting his career at Arthur Andersen in 1995.
Vincent Blot graduated from the EISTI (Ecole Internationale des Sciences du Traitement de l’Information) in 1994 and holds a Masters degree in Auditing and Consulting from ESCP (1995).

Stanislas Grange, 43, was head of the working capital management and financing group at Cegelec during successive LBOs since September 2002, and also Head of group organization since 2006. Previously, he worked as a consultant with Boston Consulting Group from 2000 to 2002 including assignments in Working Capital improvement. He began his career at Valeo in France and in Argentina where he worked in sales positions, projects and productivity of many plants from 1991 to 2000.
Stanislas Grange is a graduate of Ecole Centrale de Paris (1989).