Neil Hayward

Biography

Neil Hayward is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Middle East based in the United Arab Emirates. He brings 18 years of experience in turnarounds and restructurings and was named among the top 20 of Global Restructuring Review's list of "The New Restructuring Advisors." He is a senior adviser to boards, management teams, banks, bond holders and governments in relation to turnaround or distressed situations. Mr. Hayward has been based at various times in London, New York and now the United Arab Emirates and has worked on projects across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Norway and the Middle East. He has worked with clients across a range of industries, including oil and gas, construction, retail, food manufacturing and financial services and is an expert in restructuring both conventional finance and Islamic finance facilities. Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Hayward was a partner in PwC's restructuring team in the Middle East where he focused on advising boards of directors and banks through financial and operational restructurings. In 2015, Mr. Hayward improved financiers' returns by more than $680 million in the successful restructuring of Amlak Finance's $2.85 billion Islamic finance facilities. He developed an innovative contingent convertible instrument, which allowed the company's balance sheet to deleverage while also allowing financiers access to future value upside and reduced provisioning. He also advised the local and international lenders in the $4.35 billion restructuring of the Al Jaber group, a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) based family group focused on construction, real estate and transportation. Mr. Hayward's first role in the Middle East was as a secondment to the Government of Dubai where he advised on the commercial terms of the Dubai World, Nakheel and Dry Docks World restructuring agreements and managed the restructuring process to completion. This work also included assisting the Istithmar World team with its second investment in Loehmann's and its Chapter 11 process. Mr. Hayward earned a master's degree in engineering with a French degree from the University of Nottingham, including a year at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSA Toulouse). He is a Certified Insolvency Restructuring Advisor (CIRA) and carries the ACA (Chartered Accountant qualification) as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Research Interest

Neil Hayward has 18+ years of experience advising on turnarounds and restructurings whilst based in London, New York and now the Middle East Named one of the top 20 "New Restructuring Advisors" by Global Restructuring Review Senior adviser to boards, management teams, banks, bond holders and governments in relation to turnaround or distressed situations