KPMG's Michelle Hinchliffe takes up Macquarie and BHP board seats

Macquarie Group has appointed Michelle Hinchliffe to its board of directors, with the KPMG veteran also this week taking up her position on BHP’s board following 37 years at the firm.

Most recently serving as chair of KPMG’s UK audit division, Michelle Hinchliffe departs the Big Four professional services firm after close to four decades, including more than a dozen years in Australia across two stints.

First joining KPMG as an auditor in 1985, Hinchliffe four years later crossed to the firm’s London office, before gaining partnership in KPMG UK’s financial services division in 1997.

In 2006 Hinchliffe returned to Australia and was appointed to lead KPMG’s local financial services practice, a position she held until 2015 before again departing for the UK, where she headed the firm’s banking and audit practices.

“I will forever be grateful to the leadership of KPMG for the opportunities they have given me and for the friendships I have developed over the last 37 years,” Hinchliffe said in a message posted to LinkedIn. “My KPMG colleagues have been amazing people to work with – hard working and focused on doing the right thing – and I would like to thank each and every one of them for the support they have provided.”

Now, Hinchliffe returns to Australia once again to take up the Macquarie board position vacated last month by Diane Grady after more than a decade, with the former McKinsey partner and Grant Thornton non-executive director recently reelected to the board of Tennis Australia. Hinchliffe will also reunite with fellow board member Michael Coleman, a four-decade KPMG veteran who headed its Risk & Regulation business to 2011.

“We are delighted to welcome Michelle back to Australia and to Macquarie,” said Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank chairman Peter Warne. “Her deep knowledge of finance and financial services and her global experience will be of great value to the Macquarie Boards and our businesses. I would also like to reiterate my thanks to Diane Grady, who has been a valued colleague over so many years.”

Announced in September, Hinchliffe has also taken up her board position at BHP as of the 1st of March, following in the footsteps of former KPMG Australia chairman David Crawford, who was a director for two decades to 2014, and former CEO Lindsay Maxsted, who stepped down in 2020. According to figures from the Financial Times, BHP spent over $250 million in audit and other services with KPMG between 2003 and 2019.

“Michelle will be an excellent addition to the BHP board and we are delighted to welcome Michelle as we continue our process of board renewal,” commented BHP chair Ken MacKenzie. “Her extensive experience in financial risk management and her broad international perspective will further strengthen the BHP board and complement the expertise of existing directors.”