Ernst & Young LLP has appointed Chris Smyth as EY Americas private equity leader. Smyth will be responsible for leading the EY organization’s private equity professionals in 31 countries in the Americas as they support private equity funds and their portfolios in deploying capital, refining exit strategies and creating stakeholder value. He succeeds Bill Stoffel, who served as the Americas leader since 2016, and who was recently appointed EY global private equity leader.

As a Strategy and Transactions partner at EY US, Smyth has had experience across retail, consumer products, distribution, manufacturing, technology and business service sectors. Over his 27-year EY career, Smyth has served in leadership roles in the US and abroad, including the London office of the EY member firm Ernst & Young LLP.

“The private equity rebound continues to accelerate. This is expected to be a landmark year, with record levels of fundraising, deal activity, M&A and IPOs,” said Smyth. “In this environment, AI, supply chain diversification and pricing improvements are critical value drivers. I’m excited to support our EY teams across the Americas as they continue to enable their clients to deliver on their investment cases while expanding the diversity of their talent, focusing on sustainable investments and deploying new technologies.”

“Implementing the digital agenda is now a core focus of PE firms, a transformation that COVID-19 accelerated, and dealmaking and fundraising have soared to historic levels,” said Stoffel. “Chris’ broad private equity and transactions experience across geographies and in varying economic conditions has prepared him well to lead the EY Americas PE practice.”