[May 06, 2015]

Navigant Deepens its Energy Practice Expertise with the Addition of Five Senior Professionals

Today, Navigant (NYSE: NCI) announces the addition of five senior, strategic hires to support the Firm's expanding Energy practice. These professionals will complement the practice's utility services through expertise in areas, including energy markets, strategic planning, smart grid, grid modernization, operational excellence, utility transformation, and asset management.

"Each of these senior hires brings deep industry expertise that will continue to support our global growth strategy," says Jan Vrins, Managing Director and practice leader for Navigant Energy. "In the midst of broad transformations in the utility and oil and gas industries, Navigant is expanding its capabilities and enhancing the skills of our global team in order to deliver creative, cost-effective solutions that will help our clients be successful in rapidly changing and complex markets."

The new senior experts include:

Rob Patrylak, Managing Director, Marietta, Georgia

Bringing more than 25 years of experience in the utility industry, Patrylak is experienced in delivering strategic advisory services to clients related to power market assessment, asset valuation, strategic resource planning, environmental and regulatory policy advisory, energy procurement, and economic transmission planning. Prior to rejoining Navigant, Patrylak led Black & Veatch's (News - Alert) Energy Markets and Strategic Resource Planning practice.

Eric Smith, Managing Director, Burlington, Massachusetts

With more than 25 years of experience in utility operations, Smith brings a strong focus and deep experience in smart grid, grid modernization, meter-to-cash, work and asset management, distributed generation, and demad response. He has worked closely with clients across the industry globally. He joins Navigant from Wipro (News - Alert) Technologies, where he led the global smart grid practice.

Rob Wilhite, Managing Director, Charlotte, North Carolina

Over his near 30-year career, Wilhite has dedicated himself primarily to the electric utility industry and brings to Navigant a strong record of creating value, articulating industry thought leadership, and providing strong growth strategies to utility clients. His career includes stints with Florida Power & Light, the Electric Power Research Institute, and KEMA (now DNV GL), where he was responsible for achieving growth, profitability, and operational performance objectives as managing director for the Americas energy advisory practice, and as director for one of the global business lines.

John Agoston, Director, Cleveland, Ohio

With more than 25 years of experience in multiple industries, including utilities, oil and gas, chemicals, and manufacturing, including work in the finance, management consulting, and technology fields, Agoston brings deep expertise in lean manufacturing, operational excellence, supply chain management, and business transformation. Agoston has a demonstrated record of driving transformational change using process excellence and Lean Six Sigma tools. He joins Navigant with many years of experience in both industry and consulting, most recently with Accenture (News - Alert) as a senior manager focusing on process improvement and innovation performance.

Mark Livingstone, Director, London, England

With over 25 years of experience steering change in both the utility and telecommunications industries, Livingstone's focus is on strategy development and advice, complex analysis, and business transformation. He has particular experience in the customer opportunities and commercial challenges involved in smart energy and the major market and regulatory changes involved in the expansion of low-carbon energy. Livingstone joins Navigant from the energy practice at PA Consulting (News - Alert), where he provided transformation and smart grid solutions for significant energy clients in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Navigant's global Energy practice is recognized for providing clients with proprietary market insight, developing differentiated strategies and implementing innovative solutions that drive both top and bottom line results in the utility and oil and gas sectors. In 2014, the Firm announced strategic investments in oil and gas talent with the addition of global upstream, midstream and downstream expertise, as well as expanded expertise in disputes and investigation services. With these expanded capabilities, Navigant is able to provide a holistic, full-scope suite of consulting services to clients in the energy industry.

About Navigant

Navigant (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized, global professional services firm dedicated to assisting clients in creating and protecting value in the face of critical business risks and opportunities. Through senior level engagement with clients, Navigant professionals deliver expert and advisory work through implementation and business process management services. The firm combines deep technical expertise in Disputes and Investigations, Economics, Financial Advisory and Management Consulting, with business pragmatism to address clients' needs in highly regulated industries, including Construction, Energy, Financial Services and Healthcare. More information about Navigant can be found at navigant.com.

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