Tom Seymour succeeds Luke Sayers as CEO of PwC Australia
Brisbane-based senior Tom Seymour has been named the new CEO of PwC in Australia. Seymour takes over the reins in July from current CEO Luke Sayers, who led the professional services giant for two four-year terms.
Tom Seymour has been part of PwC’s Executive Board for the past eight years, and currently leads the firm’s Financial Advisory division, heading a team of more than 2,000 staff from across the Tax, Legal, Deals and Private Clients teams. He also has an international role, serving as the Tax lead for Asia Pacific covering China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia.
During his 18+ year tenure at the firm, Seymour previously was Managing Partner of the Tax & Legal department and Head of the National Corporate Tax practice, among others. “Tom he is well placed to ensure a smooth transition of leadership,” said Peter van Dongen, Chairman of PwC’s Board of Partners.
The new CEO was selected in democratic fashion, with all of PwC’s partners – the firm is a private partnership – invited to vote for their preferred candidate.
Commenting on his appointment, Seymour kicked off by highlighting his admiration for the firm, its people and the work they deliver. “I absolutely love this firm. We attract and develop amazing people, we work with the very best companies on their most complex and important issues, and we play a critical role in building the community’s trust in businesses and government.”
His main objective will be to continue PwC’s strong run of growth. Under Sayers’s leadership, PwC saw its revenues jump by a staggering 80% to $2.6 billion in its latest financial year, from $1.4 billion in revenue in the 2012/13 financial year. The number of staff increased from 5,500 to 8,500. As a result, PwC is today the largest of the Big Four groups in Australia, ahead of Deloitte by some $300 million.
The consulting division (PwC Advisory) was the strongest contributor to growth, lifted by booming demand for advisory services including strategic services, digital transformation, deals and cybersecurity, and accelerated by the major acquisition of Booz & Company in 2014, now operating as Strategy&.
However, Seymour stressed, PwC focuses on more than just business growth. A strong advocate of social impact and diversity & inclusion, Seymour said, “We need to understand the expectations of multiple stakeholders; our clients, people, regulators, government and the broader community.”
“There is no doubt that the next few years will present many challenges and opportunities as business navigates a more complex environment,” said Seymour, adding that he much looks forward to leading the firm’s strategy, teams and operations.
“I look forward to seeing what PwC achieves under Tom’s stewardship,” concluded Sayers, who has been with the professional services firm for over 30 years and will per June retire from the partnership.
Globally, PwC has over 276,000 employees in 150+ countries and is led by US-based Chairman Bob Moritz, who has been with the firm his entire career, joining in 1985 and becoming a partner in 1995.