FTI Consulting Promotes Five to Senior Managing Director in Corporate

    Business Editors

    ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2005--FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN), the premier provider of corporate finance/restructuring, forensic and litigation consulting, and economic consulting, today announced the promotion of Chris Armstrong, Steve Coulombe and Andrew Hinkelman to senior managing director in the Corporate Finance/Restructuring group, and Joseph Looby and Philip Stern to senior managing director in its Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice. In addition, FTI announced the hire of three senior managing directors: Jim Hunt and Brad Ross in its Corporate Finance/Restructuring group and Dr. Richard V. L. Cooper in its Economic Consulting practice.

    Promotions

    Dominic DiNapoli, chief operating officer, said "It is a pleasure to announce these well-earned promotions. These five executives are consummate professionals; they set the benchmark high, they are leaders in their field and they have a demonstrated commitment to client service excellence. It is through the efforts of executives like these that FTI is able to consistently deliver comprehensive solutions and tailored advice and insight to meet its clients' needs."
    Chris Armstrong was promoted from managing director to senior managing director in FTI's Corporate Finance/Restructuring group. Mr. Armstrong has over 17 years of diversified experience in a variety of industries and in both advisory and operating capacities. He began his career in the UK and Ireland where he worked in increasing capacities ranging from planning and marketing to COO of an advertising concern. He has significant cross-border and international restructuring experience which will benefit FTI's existing clients' needs in Europe and the US. He moved to the U.S. to work for Blockbuster Entertainment in 1996 and joined Price Waterhouse soon thereafter. Chris joined FTI in connection with the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. Business Recovery Services division in 2002. Mr. Armstrong has led many complex company side engagements in diverse industries, including steel, automotive, consumer goods manufacturing and retail. Mr. Armstrong is expected to transfer from Dallas to FTI's London office in 2005.
    Steve Coulombe was promoted from managing director to senior managing director in FTI's Corporate Finance/Restructuring group. Mr. Coulombe joined FTI in connection with the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. Business Recovery Services division in 2002. Prior to FTI, he spent several years in the real estate investment industry. Mr. Coulombe has been a significant contributor to the growth and increasing profile of the Corporate Finance/Restructuring group in the Northeast. He has been the lead managing director on several major engagements for large private equity funds and significant retail engagements, and has developed a following among the major lending institutions in the region. Mr. Coulombe's experience includes significant representation of institutional lenders and companies on both in- and out-of-court restructurings. Notably, he was a member of the team awarded the International Turnaround of the Year - 2002 award by the Turnaround Management Association for an international media company. Mr. Coulombe will be based in FTI's Washington, D.C. office.
    Andrew Hinkelman was promoted from managing director to senior managing director in FTI's Corporate Finance/Restructuring group. Mr. Hinkelman has over 10 years of experience, and came to FTI in connection with the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. Business Recovery Services division in 2002. He has worked in many areas of corporate finance, including corporate bankruptcies, out-of-court operational and financial restructurings, debt negotiations and trustee engagements, with an emphasis on high technology cases, transaction services, and providing forensic accounting services on bankruptcy related matters. Mr. Hinkelman has developed a core following of expanded client relationships and contributed to FTI's market leading presence in Northern California.
    Joseph Looby was promoted from managing director to senior managing director in FTI's Forensic and Litigation Consulting group. Mr. Looby, based in New York, is a forensic technology specialist focusing on electronic evidence consulting. He has 10 years experience in leading data investigations for public sector concerns and Am Law 100 firms. He specializes in the detection of financial statement errors, irregularities and defalcations. He has provided expert testimony on financial and technology issues. He is an experienced regulator and published software developer. Prior to joining FTI in 2003, Mr. Looby was in the Financial Advisory Services division of Deloitte & Touche. There he specialized in the detection of fraud in financial statement audits based on SAS 99 and provided forensic technology leadership to the firm's national audit technology steering committee.
    Philip Stern was promoted from managing director to senior managing director in FTI's Forensic and Litigation Consulting group. Mr. Stern, based in New York, has more than 32 years of private sector consulting and federal, state and city government experience, and has developed a reputation as an expert in corporate, computer and health care fraud, litigation consulting and crisis management. Mr. Stern was the regional director of the New York State Special Prosecutor's Office in charge of investigating and prosecuting fraud in the $10 billion Medicaid supported health care delivery system. In addition, Mr. Stern served as a special assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1986 to 1989. In this role, he was responsible for prosecuting joint federal/state crimes against the government-funded Medicaid system.

    New Appointments

    Jack Dunn, president and chief executive officer said, "We are proud of our ability to attract the highest caliber professionals and we are excited to welcome Jim, Brad and Rick to the company and to our expanding corporate finance/restructuring and economic consulting practices. Their experience and expertise will enable us to further enhance the advice and intellectual capital available to our clients."
    Jim Hunt joins FTI's Corporate Finance/Restructuring group from Venturi Partners, Inc. (VPI) where he was president and chief financial officer. Mr. Hunt directed all administrative functions of VPI, an information technology and commercial staffing company based in Charlotte, NC, and he oversaw the acquisition of over 25 companies by Venturi. Prior to joining Venturi, Mr. Hunt spent 18 years with Arthur Andersen, the last six years as an audit and business advisory services partner. Mr. Hunt will be based in FTI's Charlotte office where he will oversee transaction advisory services initiatives and pursue opportunities with private equity groups headquartered in the region.
    Brad Ross joins FTI's Corporate Finance/Restructuring group from the Houston office of Ernst & Young, where he was a senior manager responsible for providing transaction advisory related services. Mr. Ross also worked at Deloitte & Touche and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and he has over 16 years of public accounting experience. Mr. Ross will be located in FTI's Houston office where he will be responsible for growing that region's transaction advisory services practice, with a concentration in the energy sector.
    Dr. Richard V. L. Cooper joins FTI's Economic Consulting practice from Ernst & Young, where he was a managing partner of their economics and business analytics practice. Dr. Cooper is a nationally and internationally renowned expert in transfer pricing and, for the past three years, has been named by International Tax Review, a leading international tax journal, as "one of the world's top transfer pricing specialists." Most recently, his experience at Ernst & Young was building an economic advisory practice focusing on the retail and consumer products, telecommunications, utilities and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Cooper is based in FTI's Chicago office, and in his new role he will be focused primarily on building an economic consulting practice to aid corporate clients in making internal business decisions.

    About FTI Consulting

    FTI is the premier provider of corporate finance/restructuring, forensic and litigation consulting, and economic consulting. Strategically located in 24 of the major U.S. cities and London, FTI's total workforce of approximately 1,000 employees includes numerous PhDs, MBAs, CPAs, CIRAs and CFEs who are committed to delivering the highest level of service to clients. These clients include the world's largest corporations, financial institutions and law firms in matters involving financial and operational improvement and major litigation. FTI is on the Internet at www.fticonsulting.com.

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CONTACT: FTI Consulting Jack Dunn, 410/224-1483 or Media Relations: Lisa Schaefer, 212/841-9364 or Financial Relations Board Analyst Inquiries: Lisa Fortuna, 312/640-6779 or Financial Media: Tim Grace, 312/640-6667 or The Neibart Group Media Relations: Kerstin Parkel, 718/875-2121

KEYWORD: MARYLAND INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: FTI Consulting, Inc.

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