HLB adds six partners in Oz as Norman Neill re-takes reins in Perth
Accounting and consulting firm HLB Mann Judd has made seven senior mid-year promotions in Australia – headlined by veteran Norman Neill, who takes over as managing partner in Perth.
Neill has been with HLB Mann Judd since joining as a graduate in 1992, and returns to the top role in Perth after previously serving as its managing partner for six years before handing over to Lucio Di Giallonardo in 2020.
HLB Mann Judd said the switch back reflected the firm’s policy of rotating positions within its partnership, with Di Giallonardo, who joined the firm in 1986, having also previously served in the role up until Neill first taking over in 2014.
The firm’s partnership has also welcomed six new members, five of them in Sydney, representing a 30 percent jump in the office to a total of 21. The spike in the number of local senior leaders follows the recent appointment of Peter Gardiner to a new corporate development executive role, with HLB’s Sydney branch aiming to eclipse $50 million in revenues within the next two years.
Georgina Ridhalgh joined HLB Mann Judd in 2003 after gaining her bachelor of commerce (accounting and finance) from the University of Sydney. She became a director in the business advisory division in 2021, specialising in family businesses and high net worth family groups. Ridhalgh is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
James Friend has over 15 years’ audit and advisory experience. He has been with HLB Mann Judd since 2009 and became a director in 2019. He holds a bachelor of commerce in accounting from Macquarie University and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Vanessa Abboud joined HLB Mann Judd in 2008 as a senior auditor before becoming a director in 2009. She also holds a bachelor of commerce from Macquarie University and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Peter Bardos is a tax specialist who joined HLB Mann Judd in 2009. He holds a bachelor of business, majoring in accounting and finance with the University of Technology Sydney, and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as well as a chartered tax adviser with The Tax Institute.
Matthew Levesque-Hocking has 15 years’ experience in business recovery and insolvency and is a registered liquidator. He joined HLB Mann Judd in 2005 and became a director in 2019. He holds a bachelor of commerce in accounting from the University of Adelaide and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
“The appointment of five partners in Sydney to support our growth is an important milestone,” said Australasian chair Tony Fittler. “The accounting profession is experiencing a quickly changing environment with all practices becoming more complex. At the same time, we are managing increased technological capability while remaining strong to our core focus of people and clients.”
Meanwhile, the sixth partnership promotion was made in Brisbane, with Dony Kurniadi stepping up in the firm’s audit and assurance division after first joining locally from Ernst & Young in 2015 following a career start at BDO in Jakarta in 2001 on the back of an economics degree from Indonesia’s Tarumanagara University, and then relocating with EY to Australia five years on.
