Deloitte appoints senior leaders Pete Forrester and Paul Rehder

Professional services firm Deloitte has made two changes to its senior Australian leadership team, with Pete Forrester taking on the role of Chief Commercial Officer and Paul Rehder appointed to fill his former role as national managing partner for Clients, Industries & Markets.

Having first joined the firm in Sydney upon graduation in 1989, Forrester has been a partner at Deloitte before most of its current graduate crop were likely born, earning the rank way back in 1999.

Since then, he has held numerous leadership roles, including as a managing partner for Western Sydney and Canberra and member of the national executive. He has overseen the clients and markets managing partner brief since 2016.

“Reflecting on the past seven years, I have an overwhelming feeling of great pride,” Forrester stated on LinkedIn. “Throughout my time as Managing Partner for Clients, Industries & Markets, I’ve worked with an extraordinary group of leaders who are focused on creating exceptional experiences for our clients. It has been a period of great growth momentum for the firm and without a doubt, it has been the most rewarding time of my career.”

In his new role, Forrester will be focused on three key areas: core profit improvement across Deloitte’s various businesses, creating diversified income streams, and leading the firm’s commercial excellence program. The latter aspect of the role, which he states is a passion, will see Forrester coaching and mentoring Deloitte’s young and emerging practice leaders in the areas of business performance and commercial excellence.

Meanwhile, Rehder takes on Forrester’s former mantle, stepping up from the Clients lead role he has held for the past two years in addition to serving as national relationship lead for Deloitte’s Non-Executive Director program, where he supports the careers of aspiring and current directors.

He has also served as Victoria managing partner and national banking lead, after previously spending over a decade in financial services strategy at Accenture.

Rehder previously took over the Victoria managing partner role in 2018 from Jeremy Cooper, who Forrester now replaces as Chief Commercial Officer after Cooper’s appointment at the end of 2020 following a two-and-half-year stint as CFO – although there has been no public word as to if Cooper will continue on at the firm.

In his new role, Rehder will be responsible for Deloitte’s go-to market strategy across industries, sectors, clients and markets.

Described as energetic, tenacious and market-focused by former Deloitte boss Richard Deutsch, who stepped down in 2021, Rehder said he was humbled to be taking on the new role and excited by the prospect of greater collaboration with his Asia Pacific colleagues. “I’m really looking forward to working more closely with our partners as we continue to deliver great solutions for our clients,” Rehder stated on LinkedIn.