William Buck transitions managing director roles in NSW and WA

A significant leadership transition has taken place at mid-market accounting and consulting network William Buck, with three of the firm’s founders and managing directors handing over so far this year.

Mid-market accounting and consulting firm William Buck has refreshed its senior leadership team with the appointments of Conley Manifis and Greg Travers and as its new managing directors in Western Australia and New South Wales, succeeding fellow company veterans Mark Collins and Nick Hatzistergos.

Their elevation will see the pair join the national board, which also recently welcomed newly-appointed New Zealand managing director Darren Wright.

The latest leadership shuffle means that William Buck has turned over half of its board – made up of the managing directors from each jurisdiction – since the beginning of the year, with its other locations being Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

Hatzistergos and Collins will meanwhile continue on as the executive chairs of their respective member firms in NSW and WA, with the founders having each served in the managing director role for more than thirty years.

Greg Travers takes over from Hatzistergos in NSW after spending the past two and a half decades at William Buck, having first joined the firm from KPMG in 1999 and now recognised as one of the nation’s leading tax advisors. Hatzistergos’ time at the firm meanwhile goes back to 1991, including a 13-year stint as William Buck’s national chair. In addition, the accounting veteran has served on the boards of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Bank of Sydney since the early 2000s.

“I’m very confident in Greg as both the future leader of William Buck NSW and as a leader in the national group,” Hatzistergos said. “Looking forward, our focus remains unchanged. Our growth aspirations in NSW are centred on developing our people and providing them with opportunities. Greg is the perfect person to steward the firm into its next stage of growth and support continual evolution. He has all the attributes and values of a true leader.”

Across the continent, Conley Manifis has also assumed the managing director mantle in Perth, with former boss Mark Collins handing over after leading the firm for almost 40 years dating back to its inception as Bradshaw Judd & Collins in 1986. Manifis, who has been serving as head of audit and assurance, joined William Buck in 2012 following a two-year stint at Deloitte, before which he spent over a decade and a half at fellow mid-market network PKF.

“Conley has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional results and driving positive change,” said Collins, who as executive chairman will continue to provide corporate finance and advisory to select clients. “I am confident that Conley will continue to drive the momentum built by previous leadership and leverage his strengths to provide direction that will ensure William Buck WA continues to provide outstanding client services.”

Earlier in the year, former PwC professional Darren Wright also took over from Clyde Young as managing partner of William’s Buck’s NZ branch, the latter who had likewise held the role for more than 30 years. The trio of new leaders join Lindsay Holloway (Victoria), Junaide Latif (Queensland), and group chairman Jamie McKeough (SA) on the William Buck board, who together oversee a combined business worth upwards of $135 million in annual revenues.