ANELIYA
CRAWFORD
Chief Partnerships Officer & Global Head of Shareholder Advisory
Aneliya Crawford joined Sodali & Co in January 2026 as Chief Partnerships Officer & Shareholder Advisory Global Practice Lead. She is an accomplished executive with almost 20 years of experience as an M&A and governance advisor in the public and private markets. Aneliya is a recognized leader in shareholder activism, M&A, and corporate governance, with a distinctive blend of legal and banking expertise across premier global institutions.
Most recently, Aneliya served as the Head of Corporate Shareholder Advisory, Americas at UBS. Prior to that, she was Global Head of Activism and Defense at UBS, where she built out the investment bank’s activism defense practice around the globe and advised some of the world’s largest corporations. She led a senior team of Managing Directors and Executive Directors, advising clients on complex M&A, activism, ESG, and capital markets transactions and driving strategic client engagements across borders.
Prior to UBS, Aneliya was an equity partner in the M&A group of Schulte, Roth & Zabel (now MCDermott Will and Schulte), co-leading one of the premier shareholder activism groups in private law, and previously a partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky, representing clients in hundreds of activist proxy contests and hostile takeovers for some of the world's most prominent investors. Her career is marked by hands-on leadership, commercial acumen, and a collaborative approach.
Aneliya earned dual degrees in business and political science in Bulgaria, completed her law degree in New York, and a post-graduate business degree in Cambridge, MA. Aneliya brings a proven track record of building and scaling advisory businesses, leading high-performing teams, and delivering integrated solutions to blue-chip clients globally.
