Grant Thornton appoints Said Jahani as its next Australia CEO
Accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton has appointed financial advisory managing partner Said Jahani as its next Australian CEO, with Jahani due to replace Greg Keith from July.
An Iranian refugee who grew up in Britain, Jahani joined Grant Thornton in Sydney in 2009 after previously working at PwC and Ferrier Hodgson, and has served as the firm’s financial advisory national managing partner for the past six years.
He will now take over from Greg Keith as Grant Thornton’s Australian CEO from the beginning of July, with Keith having been in the role for the past decade, growing the local firm to a headcount of 1,500-plus professionals and revenues upwards of $350 million over that time.
“I’m delighted to hand over the reins to Said and have no doubt his expertise and commitment to the firm will ensure its sustainability and long-term success,” Keith stated. “Reflecting on my ten-year term as CEO, I have enjoyed all the challenges and opportunities that come with steering a truly remarkable firm that has achieved so much in a relatively short time.”
A turnaround & restructuring expert like Keith, Jahani’s appointment as CEO is the culmination of a three-decade career in the professional services industry. Starting out in 1996 with a two-and-a-half-year stint at PwC following a commerce degree with the University of Sydney, Jahani then spent seven years at Ferrier Hodgson, which was later sold to KPMG.
He joined Grant Thornton as Sydney head of ‘recovery and reorganisation’ in 2009, before taking on the financial advisory lead role for the firm’s largest Australian office and then being promoted as the practice’s national managing partner ten year into his time at the firm, overseeing what is now a team of more than 200 corporate finance, restructuring and forensics professionals.
“Stepping into the CEO role is truly an honour and I embrace the responsibility of guiding Grant Thornton into this new era,” Jahani stated. “Our firm’s extraordinary potential flows from our distinctive culture, and moving forward I’ll build upon our tremendous achievements, fostering an environment where both our exceptional clients and remarkable team can thrive.”
Speaking with the AFR, Jahani also said he will aim to grow the firm’s partnership beyond its current count of 172 by further poaching from the Big Four, which have been beset in recent times by a number of converging challenges, while also expressing an interest in pursuing potential acquisitions, with the firm last buying financial crime boutique Initialism in 2022.
“I think a little bit of the gloss has come off the Big Four brands over the past couple of years,” Jahani told the business publication. “It’s given a lot of their people and partners a bit of pause. As more and more partners have come, and they’ve spoken to their colleagues about the culture and work, it has created a bit of a groundswell.”
Meanwhile, Keith – who recently came under fire for some unfortunate comments about workplace 'coffee culture', but was staunchly defended by Grant Thornton staff – was credited with instituting a number of people-focused initiatives during his time at the top, including the introduction of a ‘nine-day fortnight’ and leading the way on diversity & inclusion.
