Eight of the accountancy firm’s most senior partners are to leave the leadership team to make way for six newcomers, according to people briefed on the changes and documents seen by the Financial Times. Only one of the new appointments is a woman and the reshuffle will reduce female representation at Deloitte’s top table from 37.5 percent to 28.6 percent. The revamp, which was not shared with staff until the firm was approached by the FT on Thursday, is to be billed internally as a “renewal” and presented as business as usual, according to two people at Deloitte. “Professional services firms typically don’t overhaul management teams. They’re doing it slower,” said one senior recruiter when told of the overhaul. The turnaround comes despite partners being paid an average of more than £1m for the second year in a row in the 12 months to May – more than rivals EY, KPMG and PwC. The moves come as Deloitte announced that Richard Houston has been re-elected for a second four-year term as managing director of Deloitte’s North-South Europe region, which includes the UK, parts of Europe and the Middle East. He has the power to choose the executive team. The changes are due in part to a desire to replace older members of the management team with younger partners who would be young enough to run for CEO at the end of Houston’s second term in 2027, one of the people at the firm said. The most senior of the eight partners leaving the executive team is Stephen Griggs, who most recently took up the role of UK managing director in September 2020 and who has decided to retire next year. He will be replaced in June 2023 by Philip Mills, who has led the firm’s global tax and legal practice since 2019. The other people leaving the executive team, which include the heads of three of Deloitte’s five service lines, will remain with the firm and have “significant” roles, Deloitte said. Three women are set to step down from the UK leadership. Anne-Marie Malley, head of consultancy, is the most high-profile of the trio, having achieved a 44% increase in revenue since 2019, when she became the first woman to lead the practice. The changes will reduce the size of the team from 16 to 14. Deloitte said two of the new leadership team will be from ethnic minorities. The entire current leadership team is white. Head of risk advisory and financial advisory lines Andy Morris and Richard Bell are among those to leave the executive team. The other new appointments are Rob Cullen, who takes over the consultancy department. Charindra Pathiwille, who will lead the financial advisory line; and Cindy Chan, who will take over the risk advisory unit. Nick Turner has been named chief development officer, while Duncan Farrow-Smith has been appointed head of strategy.
