Grant Thornton Australia CEO Said Jahani given added Asia Pacific role

Grant Thornton’s Australian chief Said Jahani has been tapped to also lead the Asia Pacific region of private equity-backed Grant Thornton Advisors following the completion of the local firm’s sale.

Approved by Grant Thornton’s Australian partnership earlier this month, the finalisation of the deal – reported to be worth around $1 billion – sees the local practice and its approximately 1,500 professionals officially align with now almost 20 members around the world.

Yet, having picked up practices in most of the major economies of Europe, as well as in the Middle East and across the Americas, the US-based Grant Thornton Advisors has yet to make its mark in Asia proper, with New Zealand being the only other APAC firm to have so far signed up.

Now, Jahani, Australian boss since the middle of last year, has been tasked with “expanding the platform’s cross-border footprint” in the region as Grant Thornton Advisors’ inaugural Asia Pacific CEO. Jahani will also join the burgeoning firm’s global executive committee, reporting to Grant Thornton Advisors’ Americas chief Jim Peko, who also leads the business internationally.

“This transaction opens a new door for our platform’s growth, bringing us the leadership, talent, and quality we need to further expand our singular model within the region,” Peko said. “This is about building capabilities at scale across worldwide markets so we can move and grow with clients, while investing in the best technologies and creating even more opportunities for our people.”

With the mammoth recent $5 billion acquisition of CBIZ in the US (which is still subject to closure), Grant Thornton Advisors is soon set to swell to a global headcount of more than 25,000 professionals after coming to life a little over two years ago under the ownership of New Mountain Capital. Still, the firm didn’t specifically state if it will target any new practices in Asia. 

In its last financial period, Grant Thornton’s Asia Pacific geography accounted for $1.4 billion of its $8.5 billion in combined global revenues, with Australia contributing around $400 million of that regional sum. However, Singapore, India, and the Philippines were all cited as among the firm’s best-performing strategic growth markets, all up by between more than 20 to almost 30 percent.

“The Asia Pacific region is one of the most dynamic growth markets in the world, and we are building a platform with the talent, technology, and connectivity the region needs,” Jahani said of his added role. “I’m proud to be helping create new opportunities for our clients and our people, and together we’ll move faster, operate more confidently, and succeed across borders.”

Previously, Jahani also told the AFR that the accounting and consulting firm’s local sale would provide it with access to funds in the “hundreds of millions of dollars” to support an aggressive M&A strategy, including some potentially large opportunities should they present, and predicted the firm would execute at least one or two local acquisitions by the middle of next year.