Political stability makes India attractive for global investors: Bryan Marsal, CEO, Alvarez & Marsal

Mumbai: India's political stability and consistent policy environment are making global investors "generally feel quite comfortable deploying money here," even as geopolitical uncertainty shifts capital flows across markets, Bryan Marsal, co-founder and CEO of Alvarez & Marsal, has said.

"This whole discussion around instability in parts of the world could end up benefiting India significantly," he told ET in an interview.

China remains a major economic force and global influencer, but its biggest challenge today is investor confidence, with many asking, "Is it safe to put my money there?" Marsal said. Investors rarely raise such questions about India, he added.


"There are bumps in policy from time to time. But broadly speaking, the policy direction and the macro environment-at the corporate level, the banking level, and across the system-are quite supportive," he said.

The New York-based consulting firm, known for turnaround and restructuring advisory, has sharply expanded its India presence over the past three years after acknowledging it had historically underinvested in the market.

"Historically, India was probably somewhat neglected by us," Marsal said. "We simply didn't invest in the market the way we should have until about the last two years."

The firm's India operations have since grown rapidly. "In just three years, we've gone from about 250 people to 1,350," Marsal said. "Last year, we sold about twice the business we did the year before-roughly 100% growth in sales."

Himanshu Bajaj, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal India, said collections grew about 65% last year and are on track to grow another 65% this year.

Looking ahead, the firm expects the India consulting business alone to generate about $150 million in collections by 2028-29, with the capability centre adding another $130 million, Bajaj said.

Globally, about 20% of the firm's business comes from restructuring, 35% from transactions, and 30% from corporate performance improvement, with India broadly reflecting the same mix.

Alvarez & Marsal has handled some of the world's most complex restructurings, including Lehman Brothers after its collapse during the 2008 global financial crisis, helping cement its reputation as a specialist in large-scale corporate restructurings.

"Whether you're dealing with a company in distress, a normal corporate situation or a transaction, the underlying objective is the same-it's about value creation," Marsal said.

However, he expressed disappointment with the execution of India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), initially seen as a landmark reform to resolve corporate distress.

"The structure of the law itself was very encouraging," he said. "But the shortfall has been in the execution."

When the law was introduced, many restructuring experts believed India could develop a bankruptcy system comparable to those in developed markets. But prolonged litigation and delays in resolution have undermined its effectiveness.

"The goal of any bankruptcy process is simple-you want to maximise recovery value and move swiftly," Marsal said. "The longer these cases drag on, the more value gets destroyed."

Marsal said the growing complexity of the global economy is increasing demand for consulting services.

"People sometimes say consulting isn't growing at scale, but you have to ask which parts of consulting," he said.

The firm is seeing strong activity in transaction advisory, including pre- and post-acquisition work for private equity investors, as well as corporate performance improvement.

"Distress is fine too. It's not booming like it was two years ago, but it's still solid," Marsal said.

Artificial intelligence is another shift shaping consulting demand. "CEOs keep asking how AI is going to affect their business," he said. "Everyone is trying to figure that out, including us."

AI is expected to improve productivity significantly at junior levels by automating data and analytics work, though senior judgement will remain critical.

"What AI will do is give us a richer, more comprehensive fact base gathered much more efficiently," Marsal said.

At the same time, the technology raises questions for consulting firms about training future leaders. "If AI is doing the work young consultants traditionally learned from, how do you develop the managers of tomorrow?" he said. "I haven't solved that one yet."