KPMG and PwC welcome new chief executives in New Zealand

The Big Four in New Zealand is in a period of transition, with Jason Doherty this month becoming CEO of KPMG and Andrew Holmes set to take over at PwC, both replacing seven-year incumbents.

The New Zealand branch of professional services firm KPMG has welcomed Jason Doherty as its new CEO, with former chief executive Godfrey Boyce retiring after more than seven years in the role and altogether four decades at the firm.

The succession at KPMG coincides with the appointment of Andrew Holmes to take over from Mark Averill as PwC New Zealand’s CEO from April of next year, with the latter also set to retire.

Appointed in August, former KPMG New Zealand strategy & investments national managing partner Jason Doherty has from the start of this month stepped into his new role as CEO, having first joined the firm as an auditor in 1993. Since returning from a stint with KPMG’s UK branch, Doherty has held a number of local senior leadership roles, including as People, Performance & Culture lead partner and most recently as head of deal advisory.

“It is a great privilege to be stepping into the role of CEO and lead our outstanding talented people,” Doherty stated. “I’m committed to driving further progress and supporting our people promise which is based on all of our people believing that they belong, that they can thrive and grow with us, and that they’re doing work that matters. I’m excited for the opportunities ahead, and thank Godfrey Boyce for seven-plus years of tremendous leadership.”

In a mirror of the multiple Big Four CEO handovers in Australia in the early part of 2021, PwC New Zealand chief Mark Averill is also set to exit after seven years in the role, with risk services managing partner Andrew Holmes to assume the top job for an initial four-year term from April. Holmes also currently serves as PwC’s Data Assurance leader for the Asia Pacific, and has spent time with the firm in the US, UK and South Africa.

“I am humbled to lead PwC New Zealand and thrilled to have this opportunity,” Holmes stated. “It means leading a talented and diverse team as they work alongside New Zealand businesses to solve some of their most complex problems and help them thrive in an environment of disruption. Many of the changes our firm and our clients will face will be caused and resolved by technology. Our role is to help our communities face this change and prosper.”

Averill will retire from the firm after more than two decades as a partner, with PwC New Zealand chair Keren Blakey praising his outstanding leadership during a time of significant change and disruption; “I am excited for this next phase of leadership at the firm,” she stated. “It comes at a time when Aotearoa leans into a new era of change, with rising stakeholder expectations and converging mega-trends reshaping the way we do things.”