Expert Spotlight: Meet Our Restructuring Expert Lara Rosenbloom

Lara Rosenbloom’s route into restructuring was anything but conventional. After graduating in 2007 with a degree in English literature, she entered a challenging job market and found herself temping in insolvency almost by chance.

“It was the only industry that was booming at the time,” she recalls. What began as a temporary role soon evolved into a career. Following a backpacking trip through Australia, China and Southeast Asia, Lara secured a permanent position in contentious insolvency and started building her expertise. In 2011, she joined Deloitte, where she moved into corporate simplification and non-distressed restructuring work. “I still didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she laughs. “Ideally, I wanted to be a political speechwriter or a food critic, or both!”

Deloitte provided professional training, and Lara became what she describes as an “accidental accountant.” After a decade with the firm, she moved to Teneo in 2021 before joining Kroll in 2023. The opportunity appealed because it combined her specialist expertise with the chance to help grow a developing team.

 

Building Relationships in Complex Situations

One of Lara’s current engagements involves the solvent liquidation of the investment vehicle behind a highly successful celebrity-founded beauty brand. The project includes litigation, complex stakeholder dynamics and multimillion-dollar cash distributions. “It’s a very meaty job with lots of moving parts,” she says. “But ultimately it’s a careful stakeholder management project.”

For Lara, the assignment reinforces a lesson learned throughout her career: successful restructuring is often as much about people as it is about process. Building trust, managing competing interests and keeping stakeholders aligned can be just as important as technical expertise.

Another standout engagement was the global wind-down of overseas subsidiaries for a U.S.-based content delivery network streaming provider following the parent company’s Chapter 11 proceedings. Working with colleagues across Kroll’s global network, Lara coordinated the EMEA workstream, bringing together financial, legal and operational efforts to safeguard value for creditors and shareholders.

“It was a fantastic learning curve,” she says. “I’m familiar with UK insolvency processes, but that project gave me exposure to a wide range of international frameworks and approaches.”

The experience highlighted the increasingly global nature of restructuring work and the importance of collaboration across borders.

 

The Evolution of Restructuring

Lara believes clients increasingly seek proactive advice rather than crisis-driven intervention. Today’s restructuring engagements are often focused on strategy, value preservation and operational efficiency.

“Gone are the days of calling in ‘the undertaker’ at the eleventh hour to wind down a business or exit a jurisdiction,” she jokes.

Cross-border managed exits and corporate simplification remain particularly active areas. Following acquisitions, restructurings or insolvency events, many multinational organizations are left with legal entities that no longer serve a meaningful purpose. Rationalizing these structures can create efficiencies, reduce costs and improve governance. “Many of my clients have an impressive global footprint and look to the future through a global lens rather than a local one,” she explains.

Artificial intelligence is another development Lara is watching closely. While excited by its potential, she also believes organizations should approach it thoughtfully. “I see overexposure to and overreliance on AI-generated content as a challenge. That said, I think it is a fantastic resource and a great learning tool if used appropriately and with a critical eye.”

 

Raising Awareness of Managed Exit

A major focus for Lara is promoting Kroll’s managed exit offering. While the services are well established, she believes Kroll’s holistic approach demonstrates the breadth of expertise across the firm. The team supports clients navigating organizational change through post-restructuring cleanups, strategic exits from non-core operations, markets or jurisdictions, legal entity rationalization and end-of-fund-life solutions. These services are particularly valuable for organizations seeking to simplify corporate structures and achieve more efficient operating models.

“Creating awareness of how we can truly add value is a big focus for me,” she says. Through industry networks and professional organizations, Lara is helping strengthen Kroll’s presence in a growing global market.

 

Bringing Calm to Chaos

Lara describes her working style as collaborative and methodical. “I like to bring calm to any chaos and create a working environment where people can play to their strengths,” she says. It is an approach that resonates with clients facing uncertainty and complexity. By providing clarity, structure and practical solutions, she helps organizations navigate challenging situations with confidence.

 

Beyond the Office

Outside work, Lara values creativity and balance. Tennis is her preferred way to unwind, while painting has become a lasting passion. What started as a lockdown hobby has evolved into a valuable creative outlet. Working mainly with acrylics, she enjoys experimenting with color and texture and finds the process therapeutic.

As someone who describes herself as an “accidental accountant”, painting offers a welcome contrast to the analytical world of restructuring. Whether helping clients simplify organizational structures, managing stakeholder relationships or creating abstract artwork, Lara is driven by the same principle: bringing clarity, calm and pragmatism to achieve the best possible outcomes.