Fred Crawford is the Chief Executive Officer of AlixPartners, a position he had held since 2008. He is also a member of the firm’s board of directors and is located in the New York office.

Fred is an internationally-recognized strategist and operations restructuring specialist who has worked with a wide variety of global companies. Before becoming CEO, he served as co-head of AlixPartners’ Enterprise Improvement unit, where he was instrumental in driving rapid growth in that unit.

Prior to joining AlixPartners in 2004, Fred led executive functions and global business units at other professional-services firms. He previously served as the chief sales, marketing and strategic planning officer for North America at the publicly-held Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (now Capgemini) and as executive vice president and managing director of that firm’s $1.6 billion global consumer products, retail, and distribution practice.

Fred's experience as a consultant and practitioner spans the value chain. He has led some of AlixPartners’ most successful client engagements, including serving as chief restructuring officer of a major global retailer where he helped improve operating earnings 70% and add $2.7 billion to shareholder value.

Fred has also assisted dozens of retailers and manufacturers in brand, channel, and consumer strategies. Representative clients in this area include Ahold N.V., Gerber, Hewlett Packard, Coca-Cola Co., General Mills Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., FedEx Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Federated Department Stores Inc. (now Macy’s Inc.), Kroger Co., Walt Disney Co., Nike Inc., Limited Brands, Inc., American Greetings Corp., Best Buy Co. Inc., British American Tobacco plc, and Lowe’s Companies Inc.

Fred also authors the biennel AlixPartners Consumer Sentiment IndexSM, a consumer-attitude survey that has important, broad-reaching ramifications for all businesses, owners, and other stakeholders involved in selling to or serving consumers.

Fred is a recognized thought leader, co-authoring the best-selling book The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything (Random House), which details research on consumer motivation and corporate strategic response. He is also a highly sought-after speaker and a frequent contributor to business and trade publications.

Fred holds an MBA with a concentration in management and administration from Indiana University. He has bachelor’s degrees in both operations management and psychology from Michigan State University.