Grant Thornton appoints Andrea Waters as new Australian chair

Grant Thornton has appointed Andrea Waters as its new Australian chair, with Waters following in the footsteps of the firm’s first female chair Louise McCann.

McCann has led the Grant Thornton board since 2018, when former KPMG partner and CAANZ director Andrea Waters first joined. Waters is also currently a director at Helia and MyState Bank, with earlier seats at Cash Converters and Cancer Council Victoria among others.

Waters’ elevation to the top role follows Said Jahani taking the CEO reins in July from long-term chief Greg Keith – who has since become global CEO – with Wi Liem Chua also recently handed national leadership duties for the firm’s management consulting business.

“I am delighted to work more closely with Andrea in her capacity as chair as we continue to evolve our firm and shape its future for the better for both our people and our clients,” Jahani said, while crediting McCann with helping steer the firm through a period of rapid growth and transformation while being instrumental in shaping its culture and corporate governance model.

Based out of Melbourne, Waters spent more than a decade and a half at KPMG as a financial services-focused audit partner to 2012, with just as long now spent in various board roles, including for a number of social and philanthropic organisations such as the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and presently as the chair of the Colonial Foundation.

“I am pleased to have been appointed as chair of Grant Thornton,” Waters said. “Our retiring chair Louise has led the board with clarity and dedication and made an enormous contribution to the firm during her eleven years on the board. I have big shoes to fill, but am excited for the challenge and humbled by the confidence placed in me by my colleagues.”

Those board colleagues further include Jahani, CFO Michelle Watson, one-time McKinsey & Company partner Diane Grady, Risk, Quality & Excellence managing partner Andrew Archer, and partners Peter Woodley (audit & assurance), Tim Hands and Aryk Bechler (tax), Philip Campbell-Wilson and David Hodgson (financial advisory).

Grant Thornton said that Waters, who previously served as acting chair during 2022, would provide stability and experience as the firm enters “its next chapter of accelerated expansion”. Grant Thornton’s Australian revenues have grown significantly over the past few years, with approximately $100 million of its now $360 million annual take added since the pandemic.