With more than two decades of restructuring and turnaround experience, Chris Coley has advised lenders, businesses and other stakeholders through complex financial situations. His career has taken him from Birmingham to London and Singapore, and he brings a practical, client-focused approach to helping businesses navigate stress, distress and transformation.
We sat down with Chris to discuss his career, the assignments that shaped his approach, his outlook for restructuring and life outside the office.
Restructuring Was Always the Plan
Chris knew from the outset that he wanted to build a career in restructuring.
"I've always been a restructuring person. It's all I've ever known professionally."
Chris began his career as a graduate in Ernst & Young's Birmingham Restructuring Team, gaining experience across formal insolvency and advisory engagements. An early assignment on Nortel Networks led to a move to London and larger, increasingly complex restructuring mandates.
He then spent almost a decade at FTI Consulting, including a two-year secondment in Singapore, before joining Duff & Phelps, now Kroll. After re-establishing and building KPMG's Turnaround and Restructuring practice in the UK, Chris returned to Kroll.
"What attracted me back was the ambition, the investment in people and services and the global platform. It's a place where you can really build something and approach the market with the pace and flexibility needed to provide the best value to clients."
Experience in Global Restructuring
Two assignments stand out for Chris as milestones in his career. At MF Global, Chris worked alongside the Chapter 11 Trustee on its complex international financial collapse.
"I was still relatively junior, but suddenly I was advising the trustee, who happened to be the former Head of the FBI, on issues across Europe and Asia Pacific and sitting alongside major stakeholders in the process."
The role gave him experience of restructuring challenges across multiple jurisdictions and reinforced his enthusiasm for the profession. He also cites the Steinhoff restructuring as a defining assignment.
"It was one of the largest restructurings in the market at that time. The scale, complexity and stakeholder dynamics were unlike anything I'd seen before." The assignment gave him insight into how lenders, funds and investors navigate large-scale restructurings under intense scrutiny.
From Extension to Intervention
Chris believes the restructuring market is entering a new phase. For several years, many businesses have been able to defer difficult decisions through refinancings and maturity extensions. He believes that environment is now changing.
"We are moving from an extension era to an intervention era."
With companies facing refinancing challenges, higher borrowing costs and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, Chris expects a greater focus on implementing solutions rather than simply buying time.
"The key question is no longer whether we can extend the issue. It's whether we need to fix the business, the balance sheet or both." Chris also highlights the growing influence of alternative lenders and private credit funds as a significant structural shift in the restructuring market.
Building Momentum at Kroll
Since returning to Kroll, Chris has focused on helping clients address complex challenges by drawing on the firm's global capabilities.
"My priority is simple. Integrate into the business, get back into the market and help clients solve problems." He sees particular value in bringing together Kroll's capabilities to address clients' operational, financial and stakeholder challenges.
"We have the platform, expertise and services needed to help clients manage stress, distress and transformation."
A Collaborative Approach
Chris describes his leadership style as collaborative, practical and grounded in teamwork.
"I'm not particularly loud or driven by ego. I enjoy working through problems with people and finding the best outcome for clients."
That collaborative culture was one of the reasons he chose to rejoin Kroll. For Chris, bringing together people with different perspectives helps teams navigate complex issues and achieve the best outcome for clients.
Beyond the Office
Away from work, Chris makes time for his family and interests. He jokes that his life revolves around three things: "Faith, family and Aston Villa." His chapel is Villa Park in Birmingham's B6 district.
He follows Aston Villa, as well as enjoys watching his daughters play for their local team in Hitchin. Other hobbies include staying active at the gym and a less healthy obsession with horology.
"Understanding and pursuing watches is a genuine hobby and probably occupies far more of my brain space than it should."
Looking Ahead
As businesses confront refinancing pressures and economic uncertainty, Chris expects growing demand for practical restructuring and turnaround advice.
His focus remains on helping clients address financial and operational challenges while finding solutions that deliver lasting results.
