KPMG appoints partners as non-executives
Six partners supplement new chairman to oversee executives' decision-making
A NEW GROUP of non-executive directors from within KPMG have been announced.
The six non-executive directors are partners within the firm who put themselves forward. Five were subsequently voted in by the partnership. Their role in the new governance structure is to provide a detached view of issues dealt with by the firm’s ten-partner executive team.
The six non-execs are: Kru Desai, who leads the public sector team within the Management Consulting practice; Jonathan Hurst, KPMG’s northern regional chairman; Richard Reid, London regional chairman and also chairman of KPMG’s UK China practice; Melanie Richards, a debt advisory partner within corporate finance, acting as lead advisor on a wide range of substantial fund raisings and restructurings; David Sayer, global head of banking, has had a varied career working at PwC, IBM and Lloyds Banking Group before joining the firm in 2005; and Ian Starkey, audit partner on some of KPMG’s largest global corporate clients, has worked for the firm in Birmingham, London and Switzerland.
They are led by recently elected chairman Simon Collins.
“The partners who went through the election process represent a diverse mix of the characters, backgrounds and skill sets our professionals have to offer. The team will play an important role in the firm’s leadership, which will include challenging the business plan and monitoring performance,” said Collins.
“This is a positive step forward in improving the corporate governance of our business and I believe our first non-executive group will provide real diversity of experience and contribution.”
KPMG Europe, of which KPMG UK office sits within, has three external non-executives: Sir Steve Robson, Dr Alfred Tacke and Tom de Swaan.