William Buck admits record number into partnership

Accounting and advisory firm William Buck has made eleven mid-year partnership appointments, capping a defining year in which the firm’s overall tally rose by 28 to 145 across Australia.

The record cohort included six internal promotions, four professionals who become partner in Canberra as part of William Buck’s recent Link Capital merger, and PwC partnership recruit James Blackburn in Adelaide.

Additionally, William Buck elevated eight individuals to principal, the 14 senior promotions more than double its start-of-year intake and easily eclipsing the corresponding round last year at a time when the Big Four are pulling back.

A/NZ chair Jamie McKeough said the jump in senior leadership was a direct result of heightened demand for the firm’s services, along with its internal development program to support career progression. “Those whom we have welcomed into key leadership positions this year have shown a strong alignment with our CARE values and consistently delivered exceptional client service.”

One of eleven lateral partnership hires over the past year, Blackburn crosses to William Buck in Adelaide after spending the past decade as a member of PwC’s local partnership team, where he led its mid-market private clients division. Prior to joining the firm in Melbourne in 2010, Blackburn also served as an executive director at Ernst & Young during a business advisory career dating back to 1996.

William Buck’s Adelaide office also saw the promotion of two new partners, Alice Psevdos (business advisory) and Danielle Jones (wealth advisory), who both step up again after being named principal last year. Jones joined the firm in 2021 from an earlier career as a financial planner with Equity Trustees and Shadforth, while Psevdos came on board in 2006 as a graduate accountant.

Two new partners were also welcomed in Sydney; Daniel Creagan and Bryony Vandepeear, the latter who has been with the firm since 2008 and serves as national marketing manager and head of marketing for its NSW branch. Creagan meanwhile joined William Buck’s wealth advisory division in 2016 after three years at wealth management business StatePlus, now part of Aware Super.

Also a member of the firm’s wealth advisory division, Zeb Ashton has been made partner in Melbourne after joining the office from boutique strategy and investment advisory Giles Wade in mid-2018, while Deborah Chin becomes an audit & assurance partner in Perth after joining in 2011, having spent the three prior years at accountancy Sothertons (now UHY Haines Norton).

The other new partners are: Angus Kenyon, Ben Weber and Domenic De Marco (business advisory) and Greg Derlacz (tax services).