Kearney Principal, Private Equity & Principal Investors (PEPI) - Restructuring & Special Situations

Job Description

As a Principal within Kearney's Private Equity & Principal Investors (PEPI) practice, you will help build and grow a market-leading restructuring, turnaround, and special situations capability serving private equity sponsors, private credit investors, lenders, Fortune 500 companies, boards, and executive leadership teams.

Our work focuses on helping clients navigate periods of financial and operational distress through restructuring, distressed transformation, turnaround execution, and credit-informed operational turnaround. Leveraging Kearney's operational expertise together with deep restructuring capabilities, we help clients stabilize performance, improve liquidity, preserve enterprise value, and create sustainable outcomes across large enterprises and middle-market businesses.

This is an opportunity to shape one of Kearney's newest growth platforms at the intersection of restructuring, turnaround, special situations, and private capital while developing trusted advisor relationships across the private capital ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading complex restructuring, turnaround, distressed transformation, and special situations engagements
• Advising private equity sponsors, private credit investors, lenders, Fortune 500 companies, boards, and executive leadership teams
• Leading Fortune 500 special situations and credit-informed transformation engagements
• Overseeing middle-market restructuring and distressed advisory engagements
• Developing executive-level recommendations and driving measurable client impact
• Building and expanding client relationships across the restructuring, private equity, and private credit markets
• Leading business development activities, including proposal development, pursuit leadership, and thought leadership
• Mentoring teams and contributing to the continued growth of the PEPI practice

Who You Are

Experienced: An MBA (preferred) and 10+ years of professional experience.

Consulting executive: Significant Principal-level experience leading restructuring, turnaround, distressed transformation, special situations, or private credit advisory engagements within a leading consulting or restructuring advisory firm, with demonstrated market traction.

Market-facing: Proven ability to develop executive-level client relationships and generate business opportunities across private equity sponsors, private credit investors, lenders, and corporate leadership teams.

Restructuring leader: Deep expertise leading complex restructuring, liquidity improvement, operational turnaround, distressed transformation, and enterprise stabilization engagements.

Strategic advisor: Trusted advisor to senior executives, investors, lenders, and boards navigating complex operational and financial challenges.

Practice builder: Passionate about developing talent, growing client relationships, and scaling a high-growth restructuring and special situations capability.

Professional certifications preferred: CIRA, CDBV, CTP, CFA, CPA, or other restructuring, turnaround, insolvency, or financial advisory credentials.

Location flexible: Located near or willing to relocate to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington D.C., or another Kearney office location.

What We Can Offer You

Every day, our people work to be the difference for our clients, our communities, and our colleagues. Helping them make an impact, they are sustained by a competitive remuneration package plus comprehensive benefits and perks, including but not limited to:

• Structured and on-the-job learning and development opportunities
• Generous retirement/pension savings contributions
• Comprehensive medical insurance for employees and their families
• Non-partner equity-based awards (for consulting managers and above)
• Personalized opportunities including talent mobility, flexible work programs, and externships to help you chart a unique career journey to pursue your own personal and professional goals

Principal Base Salary: $245,000 – $270,000

It is important to note that at Kearney, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the top of the range for their role. Individual salaries within each range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills. Kearney reviews compensation regularly and may adjust base salaries to reflect market competitiveness.

In addition to salary, individuals may be eligible for a discretionary performance bonus. Our full suite of benefits includes paid time off, 401(k) match and profit sharing, medical, dental and vision coverage, healthcare concierge, backup child/adult care, annual employer HSA contribution, home office stipend, subsidized gym membership and annual wellness program, and leaves of absence when needed to support employees' physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Read more about our benefits and a career at Kearney.com/careers.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination

Kearney prides itself on providing a culture that allows employees to bring their best selves to work every day. Our people can feel comfortable, confident, and joyful to do great things for our firm, our colleagues, and our clients. Kearney aims to build diverse capabilities to help our clients solve their most mission critical problems.

Kearney is committed to building a diverse, unbiased and inclusive workforce. Kearney is an equal opportunity employer; we recruit, hire, train, promote, develop, and provide other conditions of employment without regard to a person's gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information or any other differences consistent with applicable laws. This includes providing reasonable accommodation for disabilities, or religious beliefs and practices. Members of communities historically underrepresented in consulting are encouraged to apply. #LI-DNP