EY makes seven appointments in Australian leadership team

Professional services firm Ernst & Young has shuffled its Australian leadership team, including the appointment of new state and office managing partners in Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.

With almost seven decades worth of collective company experience, Clare Sporle takes over as NSW managing partner, Linzi Carr assumes the top role in South Australia, and Louise MacDonald becomes Canberra office managing partner.

Meanwhile, deputy CEO Jenelle McMaster will now head up people & culture, with Selina Short taking over her former markets leadership duties and Megan Wilson stepping up in turn. Ryan Fisk also takes over as head of assurance.

Clare Sporle
An assurance partner with a focus on banking and funds management clients, Spore has been with Ernst & Young for close to thirty years, originally joining in London before transferring to Sydney in 2000. Also a diversity & inclusion leader within the firm, Sporle takes over from Andrew Price, who has served as NSW managing partner for the past seven years.

Linzi Carr
EY’s new SA managing partner Linzi Carr has likewise been with the firm for more than two and a half decades after originally joining in the UK, before then migrating to Adelaide in 2006. An audit partner working with heavy industries clients, Carr is the global firm’s long-term IFRS leader for the oil & gas sector, and also currently serves as SA & NT space & innovation leader.

Louise MacDonald
A member of EY’s health & human services consulting practice, MacDonald joined the firm in 2010 following an MBA with the Melbourne Business School, and now takes over from Todd Willis as Canberra office leader after being admitted to the partnership in just 2020. In addition to her new role, MacDonald serves as lead client partner for the Department of Social Services.

Ryan Fisk
Replacing company veteran Glenn Carmody after six years in the role, Fisk steps up as assurance national managing partner, having led the NSW practice since 2018 following an earlier stint as Oceania assurance leader for the energy sector. While ASIC has now ceased reporting on Big Four audit quality, EY has consistently ranked at the top of the tree in recent years.

Jenelle McMaster
Regional deputy CEO since 2021, McMaster has meanwhile switched out her markets portfolio to lead EY’s people & culture function, replacing Kate Hillman after six, often challenging years. Recently appointed as a director of the Champions of Change coalition, McMaster previously led EY’s people advisory services performance improvement practice for the Asia Pacific.

McMaster is replaced by former Sydney-based built environment & resources national managing partner and fellow executive team member Selina Short, with senior partner and office colleague Megan Wilson now taking on that role. Wilson’s previous positions include Oceania real estate and US capital market leader, and she also currently co-leads EY’s Sustainability Disclosure Hub.