Andrew Cann

I’ve been at PwC since 1997, working primarily in the Financial Services sector. That’s included asset management and insurance as well as banking, so I bring a great deal of industry knowledge to every deal I do. This is important because there are a lot of issues and challenges that are specific to this sector. The regulatory aspect is the most obvious, and the most complex, as it will vary from market to market. And the more markets a deal involves, the more complicated the process becomes. That means transactions in this sector almost always require the input of a much wider range of specialists, which is why PwC is so well positioned to help clients navigate these challenges.

Between 2008 and 2014 I set up and ran our Financial Services practice in Russia, so I know what it takes to build a business from scratch in an emerging market.

A lot of what I do involves working alongside clients to help them prepare for sale. Selling a business is much harder than buying one – and it’s a very different emotional journey. It’s very exciting being an acquirer, and you have a lot more control of the process. But if your business is being sold that process is ‘done to you’, and there will inevitably be a lot of uncertainty as well as losses along the way – loss of control, loss of colleagues, and possibly loss of jobs. It doesn’t matter how many deals I work on, I never lose sight of the personal impact that can have on those involved. That’s the value of a well-managed deal plan: it can mitigate some of those factors, and give people certainty much earlier on.

I’ve worked on huge pan-European deals like GE Capital, and cross-border transactions across the Middle East, Africa, and central and eastern Europe. In the last few years we’ve seen a clear shift in the type of M&A deals the Financial Services industry is doing. In the past it was typically straightforward vanilla purchases and sales, and once a bank bought a business it tended to keep it. But now we’re seeing more carve-outs and disposals, and more ‘buy and build’ projects in new markets.

The sector in general is also a lot more dynamic, given the low interest rate environment, changing capital requirements, the impact of digital, and geopolitical factors like Brexit.

The heart of my role as Deal Architect will be to bring together the right people, at the right time, whatever the size or complexity of the deal. We want to offer a one-stop-shop to the client, so they have one point of contact, but can be confident they’re accessing all the wide and deep expertise the firm can offer. I’ve been doing that informally for some time, but this new role will formalise that activity, and make it easier to achieve the seamless joined-up service the client needs.

I’ll also be looking to share the insights I’ve gained in Financial Services with our sector specialists in other industries. Again, this is something I’ve already been doing informally.