Rothschild Taps Argentina Crisis Veteran for Mideast Turnarounds
Rothschild Taps Argentina Crisis Veteran for Mideast Turnarounds
(Bloomberg) -- Rothschild & Co. is set to hire a veteran of Argentina’s financial crisis from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC to help grow the boutique adviser’s debt and restructuring practice in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter.
Esteban Buljevich, who’s retiring as group head of special assets and restructurings at ADCB, will join Rothschild Middle East and assume the position of vice-chairman for debt advisory and restructuring from July, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.
Rothschild and ADCB declined to comment.
The world’s top turnaround firms including Alvarez & Marsal Inc. and AlixPartners LLC have been expanding in the Gulf region, where the global pandemic has strained economies and a spate of corporate scandals has pushed some firms into debt restructurings. ADCB, one of the largest lenders in the United Arab Emirates, has exposure to several high-profile, distressed cases such as NMC Health Plc and Arabtec Holding PJSC.
Buljevich is a former executive at the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., where he was co-head of its global distressed assets practice group and led the workout task force during the Argentine financial crisis two decades ago, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s also the author of two books on global debt restructurings and project finance.
Rothschild has made several management changes in the past two years to boost its regional presence, including hiring a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. veteran. The firm advised Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ on its acquisition of a 45% stake in commodities trader Louis Dreyfus and was involved in restructuring two of Dubai’s largest state entities in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.