Colum Bancroft joins AlixPartners as a Managing Director in Hong Kong

International consulting firm AlixPartners has added Colum Bancroft to its team in Hong Kong. Bancroft, who joined from Kroll, has been appointed a Managing Director in the firm’s Investigations, Disputes & Risk practice.

Colum Bancroft brings three decades of experience to AlixPartners in financial reporting, auditing, due diligence and business valuations, most of which have been spent in Asia, having lived across the continent for 25 years. Bancroft was most recently head of Kroll's Hong Kong office, head of the firm’s APAC Financial Investigations (FI) practice, as well as co-head of Kroll's Greater China Investigations & Disputes practice.

Previously, Bancroft was a Director at JLA Asia, where he led the forensic accounting and litigation support teams in Hong Kong and Macao, and for six years managed IEL Group, a China-based manufacturing and trading operation. Earlier in his career he was a partner at accounting and consulting firm Glass Radcliffe (now Baker Tilly Hong Kong). Throughout his career he has advised clients across a multitude of industries including pharmaceuticals, construction and manufacturing, aviation, automobiles, shipping and logistics, property development, telecoms and technology, financial and professional services, hospitality and leisure, wholesale and retail, and education and not-for-profit.

At AlixPartners, Bancroft has been tasked with leading the firm’s Asian Investigations, Disputes & Risk practice, focusing on fraud, corruption, anti-money laundering, data-breach and commercial dispute services. The arm, led globally by Louis Dudney (US) and Steven Ambort (UK), supports clients globally with a wider suite of services, including arbitration and litigation, economics consulting, valuation, investigations and compliance, expert testimony, mergers and other business transactions, and legal analytics and eDiscovery.

The New York headquartered consultancy has been ‘on the ground’ in Asia for sixteen years now, serving an increasing number of clients over the past several years including Asian corporates and foreign multinationals operating in the region. “Given the complexities of the Asia-Pacific market and its growing need for specialist investigation and dispute support, Colum’s extensive experience will be of great value to our clients throughout the region and beyond. We warmly welcome him to our firm,” said Simon Freakley, Chief Executive Officer at AlixPartners.

Last month in Hong Kong, financial services company Finastra opened a Banking Center of Excellence, with McKinsey & Company selected as its knowledge and consultancy partner, while media consultancy Cognito entered the market with the opening of a new office in the city's financial district. 

Colum Bancroft is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and holds a degree in economics, with first-class honours, from the University of Leeds, England.