Development Program
Jeff Black is a Partner and leads Mercer’s Global M&A Advisory Services business. Jeff leverages his nearly 25 years experience as a trusted advisor to business leaders. He specializes in assisting employers across the full spectrum of Mercer’s people advisory capabilities.
Through his work on over 300 transactions, Jeff provides both strategic and financial buyers and sellers deal advice on a variety of global people risks including commercial due diligence, organization design and transformation, leadership development, change management, culture risk mitigation, benefits pooling and financing, and salesforce effectiveness.
His experience includes advising on start-ups, IPOs, acquisitions, mergers, partnerships, and divestitures. This advice is provided across all deal phases (sourcing, diligence, pre-close and post-merger integration).
Jeff is a frequent speaker on M&A people risks regularly partnering with Transaction Advisors and The Conference Board.
Jeff has been widely published and quoted in numerous industry journals and media outlets. He has also published articles addressing various people risks in transactions including mitigating culture risk, retaining key talent during transactions, and executing business transformation through transactions.
During Jeff’s tenure, he has advised hundreds of organizations around health care and health related issues. In addition, he has held numerous leadership positions within Mercer’s Health business.
Jeff graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Thomas Bouchez is leading Mercer’s M&A and Org. Transformation practice for the Europe zone and DACH/GSA region. He advises clients on the people / HR issues in M&A transactions & org. transformation.
Thomas has more than 15 years of international experience with focus on mergers & acquisitions and organizational transformation. Prior to his career at Mercer, Thomas worked for Deloitte Consulting and gained experience in different HR roles within multinational groups.
He has extensive experience leading global projects in 4 languages, incl.:
Thomas holds an MBA in Finance and Investment at IE Business School and a dual Master’s degree in HR Management and Business Administration in France and UK.
Jean-Luc Durrieu is a Partner in Mercer's Global Business Solutions and is the M&A Leader of France and Southern Europe.
In this position, he consults both multinational and PE firms on acquisition, divestiture and greenfield projects. He has extensive experience in assisting companies throughout the entire process, including: cross-boarder due diligence, benefit design and implementation, HR organization planning, employee communication and change/restructuring projects. Jean-Luc is a Relationship Manager for various Mercer’s global clients including Private Equity funds.
Since joining Mercer in 2003, Jean-Luc has held key roles in consulting and management. Until 2007, he led a Business Unit in the Mercer France Health & Benefits department. Afterward, Jean-Luc transferred to London from 2008 to 2010, before coming back to Paris to lead the M&A practice.
Previously Jean-Luc held various roles at Gras Savoye (now WTW), specializing in HR programs for financial institutions, and at Société Générale, as a bank auditor both in Frankfurt and Paris.
Jean-Luc graduated from Sciences-Po Paris in 1989 and from Paris IX Dauphine in 1990 with a degree in economics and econometrics. He has participated in several advanced actuarial training programs and in the M&A program from Wharton University, USA. He is also certified in Hogan psychometric assessments.
Konrad is a Partner and leads Mercer’s International M&A business. In addition he serves as a Global Client Manager for multinationals. He has a wealth of experience in international HR management and M&A gained from both line management and consulting roles.
He has worked for 17 years in the area of HR consulting incl. HR M&A in an international context. Konrad supports clients in all aspects that matter from the Workforce and HR perspective and has worked on a large number of projects across the Globe.
During the last 14 years he has been involved in multiple transactions by supporting the organizational and HR due diligence through post-merger integration. Within this context he has been involved in various restructuring projects.
Konrad has worked on numerous projects developing and executing organization strategy. Furthermore he works closely with senior executives of corporates and private equity firms on a variety of Leadership, People, HR and cost reduction issues. He has particular expertise in: Mergers & Acquisitions, organization design, human capital strategy, synergy realization, rewards, labor relations, leadership assessment and development, HR transformation, culture design and alignment, restructuring, transformation and change management.
Konrad has substantial experience in the following industries: Private Equity, Financial Services, Telecoms, Manufacturing, Automotive, Aviation, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Food & Beverage and Pharma/Life sciences.
Prior to joining Mercer he held positions as leader of PWC’s HR Management and M&A business and was Mercer’s HR M&A Consulting Head for Central Europe and Italy.
Education: Konrad studied political economy at Ludwig Maximilian’s University in Munich and at the insurance academy in Munich, Germany, where he graduated as an insurance economist. During 2002/2003 he graduated from an Executive Education Program at Babson College, Boston and he has completed the M&A Executive Program at the Wharton School. Konrad is fluent in German, English and Italian.
Haze Zhang is a Principal and Mercer’s Greater China M&A Advisory Services Leader. She specialises in undertaking operational and HR diligence and leading post deal integration engagements for private equity and corporate clients. Haze is also proficient in identifying and quantifying synergy benefits and related implementation costs.
Prior to joining Mercer, Haze gained over fourteen years of experience working for PwC, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, L’Oreal Asia Pacific and Coca-Cola, with extensive exposure in organizational restructuring, strategic workforce planning and project management.
Haze graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Master’s Degree in Organization and Human Resource Management.
Advised several HR advisory projects for global industry leaders including assessment of the target’s HR compliance risks, evaluation of the employee turnover and compensation structure, and provide integration recommendations.
Led the carve-out of a global telecommunication company from the group, and supported private equity house to successfully take control of the business by deal close. Focus areas included target operating model design, Day 1 planning and overall PMO implementation lead for various workstreams.
Led the post deal M&A Integration planning and implementation for two global leading brandings in retail sectors in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Focus included target operating model design, Day 1 planning, Synergy quick wins delivery and overall PMO implementation lead for 7 workstreams (e.g. Finance, HR, IT, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing)
Led the integration planning service for a leading Hong Kong company in acquisition of a Chinese company in South China. Her efforts included Day 1 readiness assessment and 100 Day integration plan development.
Dhruv Mehra is a Partner and Mercer’s Asia M&A Advisory Services Leader based in Singapore. He also leads the Multinational Client Segment for Singapore. He has almost 20 years of human capital consulting experience and has worked on a broad range of assignments including cross-border M&A due diligence, do-by-close and post-close support for mergers, joint-ventures, spin-offs, carve-outs and reorganizations.
Dhruv has advised both Private Equity as well as Corporate clients across the US, Europe and Asia and worked on over four hundred transactions covering various sectors such as manufacturing, energy, financial services, insurance, retail, auto, healthcare, media, IT/telecommunication and pharmaceutical industries.
His key areas of expertise on M&A transactions include:
Prior to joining Mercer, Dhruv spent two and a half years in the HR M&A advisory team for a Big Four accounting firm in the US. He has also worked at another leading HR consulting firm as a global consultant supporting organizations on their human capital globalization strategy, governance and execution.
He has an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business in Global Business Management and an undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Mathematics and Economics
Koji Suzuki is a Senior Principal and Multinational Client Segment Leader, M&A Advisory Services Leader and Global Client Manager in Tokyo.
He has experienced in designing HR programs, such as competency model, Performance Management and Rewards redesigning. From 2002, he has set up ‘Japan Desk’ based in Bangkok to support HR consultation for Japanese subsidiary companies which have operations in ASEAN countries. After 2006, he has been consulting on Talent Management for global companies. In addition, he has experienced in HR transformation and change management for Japanese and Asian global companies. He also has rich experiences of designing globally integrated business and HR processes and implementing HR technologies for global companies.
His clients are belonging to many industries such as pharmaceutical, consumer products, medical industry, publishing and manufacturing. Also multinational companies having operations in Japan, US, EU and Asian countries are his clients. He is now a global account director manager of Global companies.
Prior to joining Mercer Japan, he worked for Sumitomo Corporation, Willis Towers Watson and EY Tax Co. (People Advisory Service).
He has written books, such as “Basic HR Management in China and ASIA” (NIHON KEIZAI SIMBUNSHA). He also developed the business training video about MBO, performance management.
He graduated from the University of Tokyo (bachelor of laws).
Ji-Won Jang is an Engagement Manager of Mercer’s M&A advisory team for Korea. She has various experiences in Cross-border DD, Closing and PMI.
She has been involved in a broad range of deals from DD, PMI, Day-1 preparation, etc. from In-Out and Out-In cross-border deals to In-In local deals from the HR perspectives.
Jiwon has special knowledge in the following industries:
Her major clients are Samsung Electronics, Samsung Mechanics, SK Telecom, KTF, Hyundai auto mobile group, LG International, KT&G, CJ Cheiljedang, Nongshim, Korea Investment Corporation, Korea Finance Investment Association, etc.
Working for Deloitte Consulting, Towers Perrin and Nemo SCG prior to joining Mercer, she had been involved in numerous strategy, organization & HR consulting projects for various clients.
She received BA and MBA from Korea University.
Ale is a Principal in the M&A practice who has more than 13 years of professional experience, 8 of which have been in the consulting space related to different topics such as HR transformation, integrations, separations, synergy analysis, due diligence, carve out analysis, organizational structuring, joint ventures and change management.
Before joining Mercer, he worked at PwC as the HR M&A Leader for Mexico and Latin America as well as for the London Consulting Group and Grupo Vitro in different HR areas such as payroll, human development, training, Organizational Development and the SAP implementation.
Relevant transactional experience includes:
Ale graduated with a degree in engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana, and has an International MBA with Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain. He also holds holistic psychotherapy and meditation certificates and Coaching with Eneagram.
For information about the event, please contact our Global M&A team:
Over the past 15 years, more than 5,000 professionals from a diverse mix of companies around the world have endorsed The Mercer M&A Ready™ Development Program and have consistently ranked the program 4.8 out of 5.0.
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