BrazilA&M recruits regional forensics pioneer Chris Fordham to Asia team
Alvarez & Marsal has recruited regional forensics pioneer Chris Fordham to its disputes and investigations team in Hong Kong and China.
Global consultancy Alvarez & Marsal has brought in a new managing director for its Disputes and Investigations practice in Asia; near three-decade forensics and accounting veteran Chris Fordham, who will be based out of the firm’s office in Hong Kong. Fordham joins Alvarez & Marsal after departing Ernst & Young earlier this year, before which he served in stints at Deloitte and RSM in Hong Kong.
Named among Who’s Who Legal’s 2019 list of global consulting experts in the asset recovery space, and described by the industry publication as an ‘excellent’ practitioner, Fordham brings close to thirty years of experience to his new role with particular specialties in fund flow and asset tracing, fraud, bribery and corruption investigations, financial crime and regulatory issues including AML, and cyber response.
“Chris’s in-depth experience and strong track record in investigation and regulatory requirements enable him to provide strategic advice and solutions to our clients who are facing increasing complexities in the market,” said A&M’s Asia Disputes and Investigations practice head and managing partner Keith Williamson. “A&M’s appointment of a professional of Chris’s profile and calibre is a testament to A&M’s commitment to create value for our clients in Asia.”
In addition to leading cross-border investigations for US and European entities, Fordham has more than two decades of local experience, first joining RSM in Hong Kong in 1998, where he formed and led its fraud investigation and dispute services team. From there, he helped to establish Deloitte’s corresponding practice for China and the Asia Pacific region, spending over six and a half years at the firm before departing for Ernst & Young.
A partner at firm, Fordham led a 400-plus cross-disciplinary team in EY’s Asia Pacific fraud investigation and disputes services division, spending altogether a decade at the Big Four before moving on in the first half of this year. A number of his former local and global colleagues – including e-discovery expert Christopher Marks – have also recently moved on from EY, and in particular to A&M competitor FTI Consulting.
“When I first came to Hong Kong in 1998, there weren’t many people in the Asia-Pacific region in this line of work and, therefore, not a great deal of experience,” Fordham told Classified Post in an interview from 2015. “That meant I was asked to do investigations and cases in different countries and, as a result, got to understand the local issues and nuances, the way business is done and how things can be manipulated.”
As well as providing litigation support and expert witness services in both criminal and commercial proceedings before the courts and arbitration tribunals, Fordham holds a long list of accreditations, including as a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a certified member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and a member of the Insolvency Practitioners Association.
