PwC appoints Jade Dixon and Noel Williams to new leadership roles

PwC has appointed Jade Dixon as its new Sydney markets managing partner, while Melbourne-based partner Noel Williams recently took over as national banking & capital markets lead.

Jade Dixon first joined PwC as a trainee two decades ago, and has altogether spent eighteen years at the Big Four firm across two stints. She also heads up Optimise, the firm’s outsourced CFO services business within its PwC Private wing.

Noel Williams meanwhile joined PwC as a partner in 2021, and was promoted to her new national leadership role last month. The firm also recently brought in former EY partner Jason McLean to strengthen its financial services industry practice.

Jade Dixon

A member of PwC’s team in Greater Western Sydney, Dixon replaces Adam Lai, who recently departed the firm to become CEO at Nido Education. It’s the second hand-over in as many years, with former Sydney managing partner Sue Horlin promoted to head of assurance and joining PwC’s national executive as part of a board shake-up in 2023.

Initially joining the firm in 2005, Dixon spent seven years as a member of PwC’s private clients practice before departing for an eighteen month stint as chief financial officer at former hospitality group Riversdale. She returned to PwC in 2014, and has since led PwC Private’s Greater Western Sydney practice and the division’s outsourced finance offering.

“I have seen a lot of change at PwC, none more so than in the past few years, but with this has come significant opportunities for our partners and people,” Dixon said. “In this new chapter, I’m excited to continue building the energy within the Sydney team, growing our relationships in the market and community, and bringing the best of our firm to Sydney.”

Dixon follows in the path of fellow Private partner and three-decade PwC veteran Samantha Vidler, who took over as Queensland managing partner last year. PwC’s other state leaders include Julian McCarthy and Martina Crowley in Adelaide and Perth, also both appointed over the past eighteen months, and Melbourne’s Suji Kanagalingam since 2022.

Noel Williams

Meanwhile, Williams steps up as PwC’s national banking & capital markets leader after crossing from KPMG’s partnership in 2021, having previously spent more than a decade and a half at the rival Big Four, originally joining in the US in 2004 before arriving in Australia two years on. She replaces Sam Garland, now internal audit group general manager at ANZ bank.

“Harnessing her deep experience as a bank technologist, Noel will be working with the industry as it faces growing disruptions posed by AI, ecosystems, and ageing core technology,” the firm stated. “In this role, Noel will collaborate with PwC experts, clients and the wider community to drive transformational, positive outcomes for the banking sector.”