Grant Thornton appoints two independent directors to board
Grant Thornton announced the appointment of two independent directors to its board of directors, Aliza Knox and Martin Geh. The appointments are intended to provide “greater diversity of thought and experience” as the firm continues to develop its global strategy.
“We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of building the next generation professional services organisation,” said Peter Bodin, CEO of Grant Thornton International.
“To truly transform ourselves we need to harness the best minds and immerse ourselves in the disruptive forces shaping the future of business and society. Both Aliza and Martin bring invaluable insights and experience gained in businesses that have led the way in transforming not only how business is done, but how we live and work today,” he added.
Indeed, both Knox and Geh have extensive experience at some of the largest tech firms in the world. Geh, who starts his role on 1st July 2019, is the MD for hardware at Google Asia Pacific. He also has previous experience for Apple, Intel and Logitech.
Meanwhile, Knox is the head of Asia Pacific region at Cloudflare Inc, one of the largest cloud network platforms in the world. Knox is a digital media and financial services executive with further experience at Google and Twitter, alongside her professional services experience.
In addition, the appointments will increase regional diversity on the board with both Knox and Geh based in Singapore. Singapore is a gateway for international trade and investment and plays a central role as a hub to the ASEAN economic block, which is projected to become the world’s largest by 2050. Asia Pacific was also one of Grant Thornton’s fastest growing regions last year, delivering stand-out growth of 18.7%.
Scott Barnes, chair of the board, GTIL, says: “Martin and Aliza will bring creativity and insights from outside the profession and provide a constructive challenge to the board. With the pace of change facing our industry we cannot afford to be complacent or pretend that we have all the answers ourselves. I look forward to the added stimulus these appointments will bring to our decision making.”
Martin and Aliza join Judith Sprieser as independent directors, taking the total number of board members to 17. The board is the principal and overriding authority in Grant Thornton and is responsible for approving the network’s strategic direction and policies and overseeing the implementation of the global strategy. Each appointment is for a term of three years.