PwC considers first woman for UK CEO role

03 April 2024 Consultancy.uk

As PwC’s UK CEO Kevin Ellis prepares to step down, the race to replace him is heating up. In what is understood to be a three-horse race, PwC could be on the brink of appointing a woman to the role for the first time – with Hemione Hudson and Laura Hinton standing for election alongside Marco Amitrano.

Since 2016, PwC’s UK arm has been headed up by Kevin Ellis. Re-elected as senior partner for the UK and Middle East in 2020, Ellis has now spent eight years in the role, during which time he has helped the company navigate Brexit, the Covid-19 lockdown, and a sustained period of economic turbulence – as well as facing mounting scrutiny from accounting watchdogs relating to a number of Big Four audit scandals.

2024 looks set to be another challenging year for the PwC and the rest of the consulting industry. With revenue growth forecast to flatline by Source Global Research, clients contending with inflation and falling sales look set to downsize their spending on external expertise. But while PwC and its Big Four rivals are putting plans in place to protect their bottom-lines in the coming months, this looks to be one set of problems the firm will navigate without Ellis’ oversight.

PwC considers first woman for UK CEO role

Ellis is stepping down from the role of senior partner in June – and the race is already underway to fill his shoes. And in response to a rapidly changing business environment, it looks as though the company may be in line to take an unprecedented step of its own: PwC may see out the year with a woman as its CEO for the first time. 

The candidates

The firm has already broken with convention with the process for appointing Ellis’ successor – previously only men have ever been nominated for the top job. Bucking that trend, according to reports from the Financial Times, are Laura Hinton, head of tax; and Hemione Hudson, head of audit.

Hinton has led the firm’s UK tax division since 2022. She previously spent five years as PwC’s chief people officer, and devised the firm’s post-pandemic flexible working policy. Meanwhile, Hudson has led PwC’s audit practice since 2019, before which she was head of assurance.

Of course, there is no guarantee that either of those candidates will triumph. Marco Amitrano, managing partner and head of clients and markets, has also thrown his hat into the ring – and the 30-year PwC veteran will have no shortage of allies at the firm, having previously led the firm’s consulting business across the UK, Europe and Middle East, as well as its global risk assurance business.

All three candidates will be seen as viable contenders, meanwhile, as Marissa Thomas – PwC’s UK chief operating officer – is not on the shortlist, despite having been earlier seen as a favourite to win the race.

A supervisory board of PwC partners decides which nominees should be included on the final candidate list. Looking ahead, the hopeful contenders will now present their vision to partners as part of a hustings process – followed by an audience Q&A.

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