Audit and Assurance Intern

Grant Thornton acquires Fairgrove to expand M&A advisory. By Global Consultants Review Team, Saturday, 25 July 2026 Grant Thornton has expanded its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory capabilities through the acquisition of Fairgrove Partners, a specialist M&A consultancy focused on private equity-backed transactions and mid-market corporate deals. The move reflects Grant Thornton's strategy to broaden its advisory portfolio following recent investment backing while responding to rising demand for deal advisory services. The acquisition brings Fairgrove's experienced dealmakers, transaction specialists, and corporate finance professionals into Grant Thornton's advisory practice. Together, the firms aim to offer clients comprehensive support across acquisitions, disposals, fundraising, strategic reviews, and growth planning. Fairgrove has built a strong reputation for advising entrepreneurs, founder-led businesses, and private equity investors on complex transactions. Its expertise complements Grant Thornton's existing audit, tax, and consulting capabilities, allowing clients to access end-to-end support throughout the deal lifecycle. Industry analysts note that the acquisition comes at a time when the global M&A market is regaining momentum. Despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, companies continue pursuing acquisitions to gain technology capabilities, expand into new markets, and strengthen competitive positioning. Mid-market transactions, in particular, remain resilient as businesses seek strategic growth opportunities. Grant Thornton stated that combining Fairgrove's specialist advisory expertise with its broader professional services platform will enable faster execution of transactions and deeper sector knowledge. The integration is expected to strengthen the firm's ability to serve private equity funds, family-owned enterprises, and high-growth companies looking for strategic investments or exits. The acquisition also reflects a broader trend within the consulting industry, where firms are increasingly acquiring niche advisory businesses to expand capabilities in high-growth areas such as M&A, restructuring, digital transformation, and value creation. Competition among consulting firms for specialist talent has intensified as organizations seek integrated advisory partners capable of delivering both strategic guidance and transaction execution. Looking ahead, market observers expect continued consolidation across the consulting sector, with firms investing in specialist expertise to capture increasing demand from businesses navigating economic change, capital deployment, and business transformation. Grant Thornton's acquisition of Fairgrove positions the firm to capitalize on these opportunities while strengthening its presence in the competitive M&A advisory market.

FMG expands board as platform surpasses 80,000 financial professionals. * July 14, 2026 New directors and board observer bring leadership experience across financial services, insurance, enterprise technology, AI, and professional services SAN DIEGO, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - FMG, the marketing automation platform trusted by more than 80,000 financial professionals collectively serving over 45 million U.S. investors, today announced the appointment of three independent directors and one board observer to its Board of Directors. John Carter, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Financial; Janet Malzone, former CEO of Grant Thornton LLP; and Deanna Mulligan, CEO of Ceres Life Insurance and former CEO of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America joined as independent directors. Steve Sloan, VP of AWS Marketing at Amazon and former CEO of Contentful, joined as a board observer. These new members join a board that includes Executive Chairman Mark Casady, former Chairman and CEO of LPL Financial; CEO and Founder Dave Christensen; and Scott White, former CEO of FMG. The strategic appointments coincide with FMG's ongoing expansion across Registered Investment Advisors, broker-dealers, wirehouses, and insurance organizations, as it continues to advance its growth strategy under GTCR's ownership. This includes the recent acquisition of Testimonial iQ and the appointment of a new executive leadership team. To guide its next phase of enterprise scale and AI-enabled innovation, FMG is onboarding these leaders to bring deep institutional financial services experience, advanced technology leadership, and world-class corporate governance to support the board. "FMG is serving a larger, more complex, and more strategic role in the market than it was even a few years ago," said Casady. "The firms we serve are looking for technology that helps advisors communicate consistently, personalize at scale, meet compliance expectations, and turn marketing into a more measurable growth function. John, Janet, Deanna, and Steve each bring experience that maps directly to where FMG is going." "GTCR has strong conviction in FMG's opportunity to define the next phase of organic growth for financial services firms," said Michael Hollander, Managing Director at GTCR. "The company sits at the intersection of advisor growth, enterprise fintech, compliance, and marketing technology enabled by AI. This board brings the operating experience and governance perspective to help FMG continue scaling with the discipline and ambition the market requires." New appointments: * John Carter concluded a 40-year career in financial services as President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Financial, a Fortune 100 company and one of the country's largest providers of insurance and retirement solutions. During his tenure, Carter led Nationwide's retirement plans, annuity, life insurance and mutual fund businesses to unprecedented growth and profitability. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Prudential Financial, UBS, and Kidder Peabody, and he has served on the boards of the American Council of Life Insurers, the Insured Retirement Institute, and the Employee Benefit Research Institute. * Janet Malzone most recently served as CEO of Grant Thornton LLP, one of the nation's largest professional services firms, where she oversaw the firm's audit and assurance practice and served on the Executive Committee. With nearly 35 years of public accounting experience serving companies ranging from early-stage businesses to large multinationals, Malzone has been recognized twice on NACD's Directorship 100, the annual recognition of the most influential leaders in and around the boardroom and holds NACD Directorship Certification. * Deanna Mulligan currently serves as CEO of Ceres Life Insurance and previously served as President and CEO of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a Fortune 250 mutual life insurer, from 2011 to 2020, where she led product strategy, distribution, and digital transformation across a decade of sustained growth. Earlier in her career, Mulligan served as a principal at McKinsey & Company, where she helped lead the North American Life Insurance Practice, and held senior executive roles at AXA Financial and New York Life. She previously served as a Director of The Vanguard Group, Trustee of the Vanguard Funds, and Chair of the American Council of Life Insurers. She holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. * Steve Sloan currently serves as VP of AWS Marketing at Amazon, where he leads the development of marketing teams powered by AI at one of the world's largest cloud platforms. He previously served as CEO of Contentful, a Forbes Cloud 100 composable content platform, and as Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Twilio SendGrid and Senior Vice President of Product at Marketo. Earlier in his career, he held senior product leadership roles at Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, and he currently serves as an independent board member of AdRoll and previously served as Executive in Residence at Bessemer Venture Partners. "I started FMG because I believed advisors deserved better tools to grow their practices, and that belief has never wavered," said Christensen. "What has changed is the scope and speed of what we need to deliver. Whether we are serving a solo practitioner or one of the largest firms in wealth management and insurance, every one of our customers is navigating the same rapidly shifting landscape. This board gives us the experience to move faster and the discipline to do it right." About FMG. FMG is the leading marketing platform for financial advisors, insurance professionals, and enterprises, empowering them to scale compliant, client-centered marketing that drives organic growth. Trusted by more than 80,000 financial professionals reaching over 45 million U.S. investors, FMG is consistently ranked number one in market share in the T3 Software Survey Report and has been recognized by WealthManagement.com as Best Marketing Automation Platform. A study conducted by a leading independent consulting firm found that enterprises using FMG achieved Net Promoter Scores nearly four times the industry average, along with improvements in lead conversion, client retention, and time saved on marketing tasks. FMG is defining the future of organic growth for financial services firms. For more information, visit https://fmgsuite.com/. About GTCR. Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that invests behind The Leaders Strategy(TM), finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business and Consumer Services, Financial Services and Technology, Healthcare, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $35 billion in over 300 companies, and the firm currently manages approximately $45 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit https://www.gtcr.com/. FMG Media Contact Donald Cutler HavenTower [email protected] FMG press contacts. Susan Theder Chief Marketing & Experience Officer