Former CEO of Deloitte Consulting John Kerr joins Kin + Carta

Digital marketing firm Kin + Carta has appointed the ex-CEO of Deloitte Consulting as its new Chair. John Kerr was at the heart of creating Deloitte Digital, making Deloitte the first of the Big Four to create a dedicated digital consulting wing.

Formerly a printing business based in St Ives, Kin + Carta has spent recent times undergoing an ambitious transformation programme, to become a digital marketing business. The firm has offices across the UK, Europe, the US, South America, and Asia, and a global team of some 1,500 technologists, strategists and creatives. Over the last year, the group has further specialised by pushing into digital transformation services, providing advice that applies creativity, data, and technology to help clients invent, market, and operate new digital products and services.

As the firm bids to further fuse its three specialisms of strategy, innovation, and communications, it has pulled off something of a coup with the appointment of John Kerr. The former Global CEO and Vice Chair of Deloitte Consulting not only brings considerable experience from the top job of the Big Four firm’s advisory wing, but also significant know-how from the world of digital transformation. In 2012, he led the creation of Deloitte Digital, the first dedicated digital consulting business of a major firm, which eventually grew to a $4 billion operation spread across 30 countries.

Kerr will take on the role of Chair at Kin + Carta following the firm’s Annual General Meeting in November 2019. At that point, he will succeed Richard Stillwell, who announced he would step down in a planned succession process which began a year ago. He joins Non-Executive Directors David Bell and Michele Maher, as well as CFO Chris Kutsor (formerly finance director within Motorola Solutions) as part of a recent refresh of the firm’s Board.

Richard Stillwell commented, “John is the ideal candidate for this role. He created and led what is now one of the world’s biggest and most successful digital consultancies, Deloitte Digital, the first dedicated digital consulting business. This, combined with his decades of experience advising global companies on transformation, puts him in a great position to support Kin + Carta for the next phase of its growth. It’s been a great pleasure and a privilege to serve as Chairman of this Company and I am pleased to be able to hand over to such a well-qualified successor.”

John Kerr added, “I have spent my entire career advising global businesses on how best to position themselves for growth. Latterly, at Deloitte Digital we created the world’s leading digital transformation brand. Kin + Carta is extremely well-positioned to be a leader in this market and I’m excited to be joining such an agile and dynamic business. I look forward to working with the new leadership team and the rest of the Board as we move forward with this strategy.”