William Buck appoints Greg Travers as new Australia and New Zealand chair

Accounting and consulting firm William Buck has appointed Greg Travers as its new chair for Australia and New Zealand, taking over from Jamie McKeough after four years in the role.
A tax partner based in Sydney, Travers has been with William Buck for more than two and a half decades, and replaced recently reelected global Praxity board member Nick Hatzistergos as head of the firm’s NSW practice in mid-2023.
The hand-over marks the latest step in a significant leadership transition at William Buck over the past two years, which has also seen new leaders assume the helm in SA (Adrian Chugg), WA (Conley Manifis) and NZ (Darren Wright).
“Greg has fostered an environment where talent thrives and exceptional results are delivered,” stated outgoing chair Jamie McKeough, who has occupied the role since mid 2021 after almost two decades leading the SA practice. “His collaborative leadership style, relationship driven approach and strong alignment with our values and vision, make him the ideal leader for our next stage of growth.”
Under McKeough’s watch, William Buck has grown its annual revenues by 50 percent to over $170 million, including by double digit figures over the past three years, placing it just outside the top ten largest accounting and consulting organisations of its kind in Australia – with PKFin sight in tenth spot. William Buck’s partnership numbers have also grown by a similar figure over that time.
“Having played a pivotal role in shaping the William Buck brand, Jamie’s four years as chair saw the firm build on its prior successes. He championed the establishment of our William Buck Foundation, which enables us to positively impact our communities, and helped build our unique culture of care,” Travers said of his predecessor, who will continue on at the Adelaide office.
Travers will be able to tap more than three decades worth of industry experience in his efforts to continue that growth, having kicked off his career at KPMG back in 1992 while completing an economics and accounting degree at Macquarie University (since complemented by a business law masters with the University of Sydney). He joined William Buck as a tax services director in 1999.
Since then, Travers has developed a reputation as one of country’s foremost tax experts, noted for his ability to cut through complex issues and communicate them clearly to clients, including those facing the daunting prospect of an ATO or state revenue audit. Elsewhere, he brings expertise in in- and outbound ventures, business and investment structuring, and sales and acquisitions.
As to his latest challenge, Travers said he would continue to embrace transformation while focusing on the firm’s next chapter of growth: “There is incredible expertise and experience across the William Buck group. My role is to ensure we collaborate, innovate and leverage this collective expertise and experience to deliver superior outcomes for our clients and outstanding experiences for our people.”