BrazilRoland Berger appoints Richard Paton as Partner in Middle East
Roland Berger has added Richard Paton as a new Partner in the Middle East. The appointment comes amid an increase of the company’s activity in the region and aims to strengthen the Middle Eastern team.
The international strategy consultancy firm has three offices in the region, in Beirut, Lebanon; Manama, Bahrain and in Dubai, UAE – all three offices were opened in 2011. Paton has joined the Bahrain office, which is located in Almoayyed Tower. The company says Paton has a mandate to enhance the firm’s infrastructure, public sector and defence practice across the Middle East.
The firm has, according to Kushal Shah, Managing Partner for the Middle East at Roland Berger, been growing quickly in the Middle East in recent years, expanding its headcount to keep up with growing demand for its services. Shah said: “Our Middle East practice is going from strength to strength, and we are delighted to be growing our team further by onboarding Paton as partner.”
Paton attended Edinburgh University where he acquired a a Bachelor after which he received an Master in Economics from Heriot Watt University. He began his career as an assistant economist in the UK Governments Energy Policy and Analysis Director and has worked in multiple government and private sector positions since.
“Having previously been involved in the largest PPP transactions across the Middle East – including three airports, nuclear and renewable financing projects, school and hospital PPPs – he brings a wealth of experience as well as an innovative commercial approach, balancing government risk with private sector funding,” remarked Shah.
Paton brings with him over 20 years’ experience in financial analysis and consulting and has spent the past eight years working in the Middle East. Most recently Paton has served in multiple roles for consulting firm KPMG including as Head of Infrastructure Advisory, Middle East and South Asia and as Head of PPP and public-sector strategy in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Paton has worked for and advised the Singaporean and Saudi Arabian governments.
“I am delighted to be joining Roland Berger. Their mix of entrepreneurship, innovation and depth of expertise provides an excellent platform from which to deliver exceptional advice to our clients,” said Paton commenting on his appointment.
Roland Berger was founded in 1967 and is the largest global consultancy with German heritage and of an European origin, ahead of the likes of Simon-Kucher & Partners, Q_Perior, KPS and zeb.rolfes.schierenbeck.associates. The firm, which an independent partnership owned exclusively by its 220 Partners, has 2,400 employees working from 36 countries across 50 offices located in the key global business hubs.
In Bahrain, Roland Berger recently joined Bahrain FinTech Bay as one of the founding partners. Meanwhile, earlier this year, The Boston Consulting Group added two new partners to its Middle East roster of partners – Yves Morieux and Andreas Kyrilis – and late last year Strategy&, the strategy consulting arm of PwC, added two new partners to its leadership in the region: Frederic Ozeir and Marwan Bejjani.
