Accountancy people moves: September 2024

Each month, Accountancy Age delivers a comprehensive update on the key people moves and promotions that have taken place among the UK accountancy market’s top 100 firms.

In October 2024, we unveil the final wave of activity among some of the largest firms and accounting bodies in the UK across September. This month we report on a swathe of partner appointments across the mid-tier firms with numerous promotions at Evelyn Partners, as well as BHP’s first CIO. PwC also made three partner appointments, and this month we include a new industry segment with appointments at Avalara and FloQast. 

Mid-tier 

(September 2) – Grant Thornton UK has bolstered its technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) M&A offering with the appointment of Nathan Reay as partner. Reay is an Investment Banker and former C-suite executive with over 20 years’ experience in global strategy and M&A, during which time he has been based in Hong Kong, Sydney and London.

(September 2) – Evelyn Partners has announced the appointment of Rachel Bleakley as an associate director in its Birmingham financial planning team. Before joining Evelyn Partners, Bleakleywas a Wealth Planner at Succession Wealth. She has also worked for Fisher Investments and Chase de Vere Medical.

(September 2) –BHP has appointed Melanie Foster as its first chief information fficer (CIO). Foster, who has held a number of senior technology positions within the financial services sector, brings with her almost two decades of experience in technology innovation and integration.

(September 2) – Albert Goodman has announced the appointment of Neil Wyatt as its new business development and marketing manager.  He joins the leading South West-based accountancy firm in a newly created role, bringing with him more than 15 years of professional services experience, having spent over six years at Cooper Associates and nine years at Higos Insurance Services.

(September 3) – Kilsby Williams has made four new appointments to its audit and accountancy team. Channa Wijesekera joins Kilsby Williams from one of the ‘Big Four’ global accounting firms and will use his external audit, internal audit and special assignments experience to support the firm’s audit specialists as a senior. Joining Channa in the department will be manager Stephanie Pingue, an ACCA qualified business services manager with years of experience working in practice, and seniors Ryan Jeffs and Alex Manton. The trio will be responsible for providing accounts preparation services, including financial statements, year-end accounts, management accounts and VAT returns for a range of clients.

(September 3) – Evelyn Partners has announced the appointment of Jennifer Tragner as a partner in its R&D (research and development) tax team. Tragner has almost 20 years’ experience advising clients in R&D tax incentives and joins Evelyn Partners from ForrestBrown where she was a director and head of policy. Prior to that she spent over a decade working for KPMG.

(September 4) -Dow Schofield Watts (DSW) has strengthened its Cardiff corporate finance team with the appointment of Ben Nix as senior analyst. He joins from Advantage Accountancy & Advisory, where he was an Associate. His experience includes corporate finance advisory, market research and audit. He was previously a Market Underwriter at international insurer Zurich Insurance Plc where he was part of the business development and commercial risk team.

(September 5) Azets has promoted a business consultancy and accounting specialist in Newbury to partner – while on maternity leave. Lyndsey Camilleri who has been with Azets for more than three years, has 16 years’ financial industry experience after opting to begin her career as an apprentice in 2008 rather than take the university route.

(September 6) – Forvis Mazars has appointed Craig Maxwell as the first dedicated office managing partner (OMP) in Glasgow. Maxwell joined the firm as an Audit Partner in 2016 and has over 25 years of experience in the industry. Throughout Craig’s career, he has developed a portfolio of work ranging from smaller single entity audits through to the audit of major multinationals including, publicly listed, large international groups, and privately owned and owner-managed mid-market businesses.

(September 9) – RSM UK has appointed Caroline Le Jeune as private client tax partner based in London. She is a highly experienced private client partner and Chartered Tax Advisor, having spent over 25 years’ working in personal, inheritance and trust tax. Le Jeune specialises in advising families with complex financial affairs, in the UK and offshore, and will be a key member of the team responsible for servicing and developing RSM’s ultra-high net worth client base.

(September 1o) – BKL has announced the appointment of Neil Lancaster as partner at Wilson Wright. Lancaster has been appointed as the firm’s newest Tax Partner, based on his experience in assisting high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and their families in managing and structuring their business and personal affairs to preserve and grow their wealth.

(September 11) –BDO has named Robert Noye-Allen as its new head of Public Sector, taking over the role from Greg Rubins who retired in July after 12 years with the firm. Noye-Allen will be responsible for co-ordinating the growth of BDO’s public sector offering across audit, tax and a wide range of advisory services to central government organisations, local authorities and the NHS, nationally and regionally.

(September 11) – Gerald Edelman, a mid-tier accounting and advisory firm, has appointed Rowan Lindsay as its new audit partner. His appointment brings the total number of partners at Gerald Edelman to 23.  As a Responsible Individual within the Audit team, Lindsay will play a pivotal role in guiding clients through the complexities of corporate reporting and compliance.

(September 12) –Haysmacintyre has announced the appointment of Geoff Johnson as partner in its financial services team. He joins Haysmacintyre’s financial service sector team from Blick Rothenberg, where he was a Partner, and brings a wealth of experience across all areas of audit, accounting and outsourcing. Johnson  brings a deep knowledge of UK GAAP and IFRS, and exposure to US GAAP, alongside a tailored service to suit clients’ individual circumstances.

(September 12) Evelyn Partners has announced the appointment of Gary Fenemore to the role of tax director, supporting the growth of its tax offering across the North. Fenemore joins from Alvarez and Marshall, having previously held positions at Mazars and Grant Thornton. In his new role as tax director, he will work closely with business owners and entrepreneurs, acting as a trusted adviser and enabling ambitious individuals to achieve their personal and professional goals.

(September 13) – Quantuma has appointed Tracey Pye as its new managing director. Pye has “extensive” restructuring and insolvency experience, having worked in an independent boutique advisory practice based in Manchester, where she was a managing director. Prior to this, she held senior roles with  independent business advisory firms, as well as senior roles with global accounting firms, including Big 4.

(September 11) – RSM has announced the appointment of Michelle Bee as a business transformation director to strengthen its consulting team. She joins from PA Consulting and has over 15 years’ experience advising on operating models, with a particular focus on digital transformation, innovation and customer experience.

(September 11) – MHA has further enhanced its expertise with the appointment of Chris Greenhalgh as a new partner to its national technical and compliance team to lead on regulatory, risk and policy matters. Greenhalgh has taken on the roles of Practice Assurance Compliance Principal and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO).

(September 16) – Evelyn Partners has announced the appointment of Fenton Burgin as partner to its Debt and Capital Advisory practice. Joining from Deloitte, where he was a Partner responsible for the expansion of a successful debt and capital advisory team, and with more than 30 years of experience, Fenton has originated and led significant Board level client relationships, advised on over £20 billion of debt facilities across the UK, Europe and the US and served a broad range of public and private mid-market companies, institutions and investors.

(September 10) – Scrutton Bland, part of Sumer UK, has appointed Piers Harrison as a Corporate Services partner in its Colchester office. Piers joins the firm from BDO, bringing with him over 20 years of extensive experience in the accountancy sector.

(September 17) – RSM UK has appointed two new partners, Terence Amako and Michael Buckley, to strengthen and bolster its deal services team. Amako has over 20 years’ experience in corporate finance advisory and joins from Centrus where he was head of M&A. He specialises in advising corporates and private capital in the infrastructure and transport industries across the UK and Europe. Buckley  joins RSM after nearly 10 years at Deloitte, where he joined as assistant director and progressed to partner. He is an expert in financial due diligence, advising technology industry focused private equity investors and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America.

(September 17) – PKF Smith Cooper has appointed Oliver MacPhee as its new private client manager at the Nottingham branch. He has a vast amount of experience in tax planning, specifically Inheritance Tax planning, trust planning and year-end tax planning, as well as HMRC enquiries, tax compliance and reporting. 

(September 17) – Cooper Parry has announced the appointment of Nick Campbell Lambert as its new audit partner. In his role as an Audit Partner in our Big Business team, Nick will be working closely with mid-market, PE-backed and AIM listed businesses across London and the South. With almost 30 years of experience in the Big 4, Nick brings a whole host of varied, invaluable skills to the team. That time included 24 years at PwC in London and two years with Deloitte in Sydney.

(September 20) – Sumer Northern Ireland has announced the appointment of Jonathan McMillan as a senior manager in its Internal Audit team. He has eight years of experience and is a certified information systems auditor and chartered internal auditor. He will be responsible for developing the firm’s IT audit service. Previously he was a manager, technology risk at EY and managed the IT internal audit team covering Ireland.

(September 23) – James Cowper Kreston has announced the appointment of Kathy Lloyd as a director in its Employment Tax team, based at the firm’s Reading office. She joins James Cowper Kreston with extensive experience spanning the accountancy sector, including large international practices and the Big 4.

(September 23) –Hurst has announced that it has promoted Jennifer Escott and Matthew Taylor in its tax and corporate finance teams respectively Since joining us from EY early last year, Escott has been involved in projects ranging from corporation tax and personal tax compliance to advising shareholders on the tax implications of selling and exiting businesses, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Taylor  joined as an intern in 2021 after gaining a master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Leeds, and then earned a full-time job as a corporate finance analyst.

(September 9) –Forvis Mazars has promoted seven partners across the firm’s offices in London, Manchester and Milton Keynes.  The partners include Diego Fernandez, Patricia Moroney, Ryan Humphrey, Jim McDevitt, Daniel Watson, Adam Cooper and Katie Sharp. These individuals join the partnership following the recent launch of Forvis Mazars, the newest top 10 global professional services network, in June this year.

(September 24) – Azets has announced the appointment of Alain de Braekeleer as its latest financial services audit partner. He  has spent 20 years in FS audit practice at KPMG, including leading many Financial Statement and Client Money (CASS) audits as well as providing a variety of non-audit services to clients.

Big Four

(September 17) –PwC has announced that Lewis Bretts has joined as a partner in the Legal Technology team. He brings specific experience in building and delivering global legal technology, CLM, and managed legal services solutions, and will focus on PwC UK’s AI, legal technology and managed legal services offering.

(September 23) – PwC has announced the appointment of Darren Ketteringham as its new UK leader of industry for Financial Services. He has been a partner at PwC for 19 years after joining the firm in 1994. Ketteringham spent thirty years working with financial services organisations, primarily in the banking and capital markets sector. He has been PwC’s lead relationship partner for some of the firm’s top banking clients.

(September 26) – PwC UK has announced the appointment of Cara Haffey as its new UK leader of Industry for Industrial Manufacturing and Services. Now based in Belfast, having originally joined PwC UK in 2000 in Glasgow, Haffey has been an M&A Deals Partner for 10+ years. She most recently held the role as Sector Lead for Manufacturing and Automotive, alongside her Industrials M&A role and heading up Private Business and Deals in Northern Ireland.

Tech Industry Players

(September 10) – Avalara, a provider of tax compliance automation software, has announced Kevin Sellers has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer. Sellers brings more than 25 years of broad-based global marketing expertise to Avalara with a proven track record of driving growth and relevance for world-class brands and moving buyers to action.

(September 16) – FloQast, an accounting transformation platform, has announced the appointment of Ben Schechter as chief marketing officer (CMO). With more than 25 years of experience leading global marketing teams across SMB, mid-market, enterprise, and consumer sectors, Schechter will oversee FloQast’s marketing strategy as CMO.