Bishop Fleming appoints Giles Derry as inaugural non-executive chair

Bishop Fleming has appointed Giles Derry as its first non-executive chair. As the consultancy looks to grow following an injection of funds from private equity firm Synova, this newly created role will support the firm’s leadership and partner group, as Bishop Fleming looks to grow through M&A activity.

Andrew Sandiford, CEO and managing partner, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Giles as our first Non‑Executive Chair. His track record of scaling people-focussed, professional services businesses, and working with private‑equity‑backed organisations, brings valuable breadth of experience to our Board. As we execute our growth plans, Giles’s perspective will help ensure we continue to deliver the trusted, personal service our clients expect, while scaling our business for the long term.”

Bishop Fleming is a UK-based audit, tax, accountancy and advisory firm. In 2025, it announced it had taken a minority private equity investment from Synova that backing has uniquely enabled the firm to remain partner-owned and led, but with the additional firepower, resources and corporate approach, to pursue its ambitious growth plans. It now has plans to expand rapidly on the national stage through a combination of organic growth and strategic M&A activity.

As the firm’s first ever non-executive chair, Derry will support the firm’s leadership and partner group as Bishop Fleming accelerates its ‘Better Growth’ business strategy, including M&A activity.

A chartered accountant himself, Derry brings extensive leadership and investment experience having held senior executive roles at Kroll, the global financial and risk advisory firm, most recently serving on the global executive team as President of the Risk Advisory business. This followed Kroll’s acquisition of Blackrock Expert Services Group, where he was CEO. During his four years of leadership at the firm, the company also used private equity support to experience significant growth, tripling in size through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. 

Earlier in his career, Derry also spent over 15 years as a private equity investor. This included time as a partner at Dunedin, with a focus on scaling technology‑enabled and business services companies.

Derry added, “I’m delighted to be joining Bishop Fleming at this pivotal juncture in their growth. Bishop Fleming is a firm with strong values, impressive momentum and clear ambition. I’m excited to support Andrew and the leadership team as the business grows, deepens its capabilities and extends its reach. I look forward to working with the Partners and colleagues across the firm to help shape the next chapter in the firm’s ambitious journey.”