Robert Hillard appointed as next CEO of Deloitte in the Asia Pacific
Deloitte’s former Australian consulting leader Robert Hillard has been appointed to replace David Hill as the Big Four firm’s next Asia Pacific CEO, continuing the run of locally-drawn chiefs.
Robert Hillard has been Deloitte’s Asia Pacific consulting boss for the past five years out of Melbourne, joining the regional branch as chief transformation officer in 2020 after serving as Australia strategy & innovation chief and consulting managing partner.
He will now replace David Hill as Asia Pacific head for an initial four-year period from June, with, according to a brief note in the AFR, the latter reportedly opting not to contest for another term after taking over from former Australia CEO Cindy Hook in 2022.
“As part of our normal governance and succession processes, the board undertook the steps to select a new CEO, and Rob Hillard was selected by the board to succeed David, with his selection confirmed by a partner vote,” a Deloitte spokesperson told the publication, further expressing “deep appreciation” on behalf of the board for Hill’s “very significant contribution”.
Hillard, who holds a physics degree from the University of Melbourne, first joined Deloitte as its Australian enterprise information management leader in 2008, having earlier spent a decade between KPMG and as a managing director in its consulting spin-out BearingPoint. At Deloitte, he was rapidly promoted to consulting technology leader, COO, and finally managing partner in 2015.
Hillard becomes the third consecutive Asia Pacific chief drawn from Deloitte’s Australian practice since the firm’s regional amalgamation in 2018, with the US-born Hook, the first female to lead a Big Four firm in Australia (and still just one of two to do so on a permanent basis, the other being current Australia CEO Joanne Gorton), tapped for the inaugural role.
But whereas Gorton’s appointment in Australia may have signalled a shift back to an audit & assurance balance of power following Adam Powick’s tenure – Powick having previously handed over to Hillard as consulting national managing partner – Hillard’s replacement of Hill, who came through the ranks on the M&A and corporate finance side, provides another hint of direction.
Outside of his more recent executive roles, Hillard boasts almost four decades worth of IT industry experience, and has spoken and written extensively on topics associated with technology, including as the former chair of peak sector body the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). Naturally, much of that discussion in recent years has centred around the subject of AI.
A central question concerning AI, other than whether it will ultimately wipe out human civilisation, is as to the emerging technology’s impact on the workforce, and soon Hillard will be overseeing a $10 billion revenue-generating regional organisation with more than 100,000 employees spread across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and Taiwan.
