Anna Marks to become Deloitte's Global Chair

Deloitte Global’s board of directors has nominated Anna Marks as its new Chair. A long-standing Audit Partner in the firm’s UK wing, Marks will take on the role from June 2023.

The CEO of a company is the top senior executive over management, while the board’s Chair leads its board of directors. The CEO is the top decision-maker for the company and the person who oversees the daily operations and logistics. Meanwhile, Deloitte’s Global Chair is a role which focuses on evolving the firm’s governance model in support of its global strategic ambitions, and positioning its Board to stay ahead of complex challenges such as digitalisation, the continued fallout from the pandemic, and the world’s economic downturn.

That role has been fulfilled by Sharon Thorne since 2019. Thorne was an Audit Partner in Deloitte’s UK wing, before taking on the global role – and over the course of her tenure as Chair, she has overseen Deloitte’s ‘Respond, Recover, and Thrive’ strategy in the wake of the world’s Covid-19 lockdowns. At the end of May 2023, however, she will step down from the role, having completed her four-year term.

Stepping into Thorne’s shoes then will be Anna Marks – another Audit Partner from Deloitte UK. Since joining the company in 2002, she has risen to serve as a member of the Deloitte Global board, as well as sitting on the Deloitte North and South Europe board, and is a Deloitte UK Vice Chair; all experiences which will have prepared her well for the challenges ahead.

Speaking on being confirmed as Deloitte’s Global Chair Designate, Marks stated, “As Global Chair, my vision is to lead a high-performing, purpose-led board, building on the exceptional work of the past four years to govern in a collaborative, anticipatory, and impactful way and driving even greater cohesiveness throughout our global organisation. I am thrilled and deeply honoured to be taking up this role and look forward to working with the global board and global executive, embodying Deloitte’s purpose and values in all that we do.”

According to Deloitte, due to “her personal experiences and early career working with families with children with learning disabilities,” Marks is also a passionate advocate for diversity, and keen to help the firm build an “inclusive culture where everyone feels they can thrive.” To that end, she remains the Sponsoring Chair of the Deloitte UK Ethnicity Council.

Marks’ selection is the second major appointment announced at the top of Deloitte, since November 2022. After a vote by Deloitte partners worldwide, former Deloitte US head Joe Ucuzoglu was ratified as the firm’s Global CEO at the turn of the year. He succeeded Punit Renjen, who retired after serving as CEO since 2015.

On the news of Marks’ designation, Ucuzoglu added, “The role of governance is vital to a high-performing organization, and I am confident Anna’s experience and leadership attributes position her well to successfully step into the Global Board Chair role. I am looking forward to working collaboratively with Anna to ensure our organisation continues delivering with excellence for all of our stakeholders in a highly complex and dynamic global environment.

Ucuzoglu also thanked incumbent Chair Thorne for her “extraordinary contributions over the past four years”. He noted that her leadership had “been instrumental to the positive impact Deloitte is making on our clients, people, and communities.”