PwC US today announced the appointment of Doug Thomas as east regional tax leader, effective immediately. Additionally, Shelley Giberson succeeds Thomas as greater Atlanta tax leader. Both partners are based in the professional service firm’s Atlanta office.
“Doug and Shelley are seasoned tax professionals who are passionate about client service and building highly effective teams that bring the best the firm has to offer to our clients,” said Gary Price, Managing Partner of PwC’s Atlanta office. “With a wide breadth of experience, these two highly qualified partners further demonstrate our commitment to our clients, the advancement of our people and our place in Atlanta.”
Doug Thomas has assumed responsibility as east regional tax leader, which encompasses six PwC markets in the eastern US, including greater Boston, New York, Washington DC, the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. Thomas was the Greater Atlanta Tax Leader for three years after having served as the Tax Leader for the Carolinas Market. He brings more than 23 years of experience providing tax and business consulting services to multinational clients. Thomas has worked across multiple industries and provides clients with advice on a variety of issues, including mergers and acquisitions, tax compliance, international and state tax planning. He also has experience in the management of controversy proceedings with both federal and state taxing authorities. Thomas has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the states of Georgia and Michigan. In addition, he is active in the Atlanta community, working closely with the United Way of Greater Atlanta.
Shelley Giberson succeeds Doug Thomas as greater Atlanta tax leader. Prior to this appointment, Giberson led PwC Atlanta’s tax specialist practices. She has extensive experience building teams that provide clients with the full complement and highest levels of tax consulting services. Giberson brings 17 years of international tax experience, including helping clients navigate complex and fluid international tax rules, developing international expansion, cash redeployment, debt restructuring, tax attribute management and cash tax management strategies. In addition to planning and consulting with her clients, Giberson has extensive experience with accounting for income taxes and helping companies meet their international tax compliance and reporting requirements. She has a bachelor’s degree and an MPA from the University of Texas at Austin. Giberson is a Certified Public Accountant in the states of Texas, Oregon and Georgia. She is active in the community, serving on the boards of the Atlanta History Center, CHRIS Kids and the Atlanta International School.
“We are excited for both Doug and Shelley and their leadership of our growing tax practice,” continued Price. “With their help, we will continue to drive high levels of client satisfaction in Atlanta and throughout the East Region. We are fortunate to have such strong leaders in our market.”
HMRC’s new top team has been finalised, with the appointment today of three Directors General, and following the recruitment of two Executive Committee members earlier this year.
It is the result of an extensive recruitment campaign that considered candidates from within the Department and the wider Civil Service, as well as the private sector and internationally.
The new appointments are:
Jennie Granger, currently Second Commissioner at the Australian Tax Office, appointed as HMRC’s new Director General (DG) for Enforcement & Compliance
Ruth Owen, currently Work Services Director and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions, appointed as DG for Personal Tax
Nick Lodge, currently Personal Tax Change Director and HMRC Change Director, appointed as DG for Benefits & Credits for the next 15 months
Earlier this month, Edward Troup was named as HMRC’s Tax Assurance Commissioner, and Jim Harra took over as DG for Business Tax in February 2012.
The creation of the new Executive team has seen two internal promotions, two appointments from elsewhere in the Civil Service and one international recruitment. It means that HMRC’s top team now has four members with deep tax knowledge and another with experience of large-scale customer service operations. This is in addition to the experience and expertise that remains with the Corporate Function Directors General.
It is expected that all five recruits to the Executive Committee will serve as HMRC Commissioners, which means they will be responsible for providing leadership to the Department as a whole, and for delivering the objectives and targets set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
HMRC Chief Executive Lin Homer said: “I’m delighted to have completed the important task of assembling a new top team. Jennie Granger, Ruth Owen and Nick Lodge are exceptionally-experienced and expert public servants and it’s a pleasure to welcome them on to ExCom.
“The new top team strikes an ideal balance between a fresh, outside perspective and deep understanding of tax and experience of HMRC’s work.
“The appointments made this year fill critical roles in succession to Dave Hartnett, Mike Eland, Stephen Banyard and Steve Lamey, and we are planning a handover that will capture the knowledge, skills and experience of our retiring DGs.”
Jim Harra is already in post, Nick Lodge will take up his new role in early August, Edward Troup in late August, Ruth Owen will join HMRC in early September and Jennie Granger is expected to be in post by October.
More detailed bios are shown below:
Jennie Granger
Jennie has been a Second Commissioner (currently Law) with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for ten years. Most of her career has been in a range of senior positions within the ATO and Australian Civil Service, previously serving on secondment as Deputy Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and for seven years as Second Commissioner Compliance.
Jennie has wide experience and is regarded as an expert in both domestic and international tax administration and is a member of the International Monetary Fund Panel of Tax Administration Experts. In 2009 she was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal for ‘outstanding public service in administration of taxation in Australia and internationally’, in part for bringing greater openness and transparency to ATO compliance activities.
Jennie is also a part-time member of the Clean Energy Regulator and, as part of the Australian Public Service’s Top 200, contributes to the strategic leadership of the APS through a range of committee memberships and activities. She is also a member of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Law School Advisory Committee.
Ruth Owen
Ruth is currently Work Services Director and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the DWP. She was previously Chief Operating Officer in Jobcentre Plus and has operated at Board level for more than seven years, balancing both strategic and delivery roles. Ruth started her career in the civil service as a National Insurance Inspector and has wide-ranging experience within DWP on policy, projects and Minister’s private office. She has spent two spells in the private sector on secondment, most recently in PC World in 2005-6. Ruth has spent the last year as Head of Profession for Operational Delivery in DWP.
Nick Lodge
Nick is currently Personal Tax Change Director and HMRC Change Director and has held a range of other senior management and project roles within HMRC, including Director for Debt Management & Banking, Programme Director for Tax Credits and Child Benefit and Director of Customer Contact. In his early years, he worked in policy, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. He joined the Inland Revenue in 1990 after ten years in retail banking.
Coutts has announced the appointment of Armando Rosselli as Executive Director, Head of Tax & Wealth Structuring (TWS) International, effective 2 July 2012. Mr Rosselli will be London-based and will report to Steve Griffiths, Managing Director and Head of Tax & Wealth Structuring, who joined Coutts to manage the team last month.
In this newly-created role, Mr Rosselli will be responsible for the leadership and development of the TWS International teams focusing on markets including Asia, Russia and the Middle East. He will also lead on enhancing the products and solutions suite, reviewing how these services are delivered to international clients.
Mr Rosselli has over 15 years’ experience in private banking and as a senior executive in wealth planning and structuring for international clients. He joins Coutts from Credit Suisse, where, most recently, he was Head of Wealth Planning. Prior to this, Mr Rosselli held a number of wealth planning roles at UBS, both in Switzerland and the UK, including Deputy Head of UK Wealth Planning.
Steve Griffiths, Managing Director, Head of Tax & Wealth Structuring, said: “Tax & Wealth Structuring is a key area of development for Coutts, especially as our clients’ requirements in tax, fiduciary & estate planning become increasingly important in international markets. Armando’s appointment is a milestone in building the TWS global strategy and he will work very closely with me in developing and executing this.
“This further demonstrates our continued growth plans and complements the recent hires in the Products & Services team, both in the UK and Asia. Providing our clients with exceptional wealth management that meet their evolving needs is a key driver in our strategy for growth.”
Minter Ellison today announced that William (Bill) Thompson has been appointed the new Manag
ing Partner of the firm’s Brisbane office. He takes over from Ross Landsberg, who returns to full-time practice as a major projects and construction lawyer.
Mr Thompson commenced with the firm as an Articled Clerk and was appointed a partner in 1982. He has led the Taxation practice in Brisbane for more than 20 years and is recognised as one of Australia’s leading tax advisers. He will continue to practise during his term as Managing Partner, retaining also the position of Queensland Tax practice head.
Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive Partner John Weber said Bill Thompson was well qualified to take over the management of one of Minter Ellison’s key offices. “Bill is a Queenslander born and bred. He understands the local market and knows the business of the firm in Brisbane very well, having worked in his capacity as a tax advisor with clients across all practice areas of the firm.
“Importantly, he has an astute understanding of what clients want and how to deliver value. These skills will stand us in good stead. I look forward to working with him as part of Minter Ellison’s management team,” Mr Weber said.
Mr Thompson, who assumes his new position on 1 July 2012,said he was delighted to take the reins of a firm voted by clients this year as Queensland’s Best Professional Services Firm. “Our firm has been an integral part of the Queensland business community for almost 120 years. We’ve worked with clients in this market through the good times and the lean times, always innovating in those industry sectors that are key to Queensland’s strong economic growth – infrastructure, energy and resources, financial services, health and aged care, and property development, ” he said.
John Weber also paid tribute to Ross Landsberg’s significant contribution during his five-year term as Brisbane Managing Partner. “Ross steps down at a time of record performance in Brisbane. He has overseen a period of tremendous growth and development for the Brisbane office. The partnership acknowledges and thanks him for the very important role he has played and for his contribution to the firm more broadly through his membership of the Board and of the management team.”
Mr Thompson was educated at the University of Queensland and the London School of Economics – BCom (Queensland, 1976), LLB (Hons) (Queensland, 1979) , LLM (LSE, 1981). He is a past Chairman of the Taxation Institute of Australia (Queensland Division), a former National Chairman of the Law Council of Australia’s Tax Committee, a past member of the Executive of the International Bar Association’s Taxes Section, and a former member of the Minter Ellison Board.
He has been a trusted advisor to the Queensland coal industry since the late 1980s, advising on the creation of the Queensland Resources Council, the Queensland Coal Industry Super Fund, the Queensland Mines Rescue Service and, in recent years, the Coal 21 Fund.
After having successfully led Deloitte Luxembourg’s tax practice since 2008, Georges Deitz’s term as tax leader ended in May 2012.
Raymond Krawczykowski, tax partner and current tax co-leader, was appointed and officially took up the position as head of the tax practice on 1 June 2012.
Yves Francis, Managing Partner at Deloitte Luxembourg, states: “I am very pleased to have a talented Partner such as Raymond to lead our tax practice and further build on our leadership position in Luxembourg, as recently highlighted by our awards as ‘Best Tax firm of the Year’ in Luxembourg and ‘European Transfer Pricing firm of the Year’ by the International Tax Review.”
Raymond Krawczykowski joined Deloitte Luxembourg as a tax partner in 2004 and has since then played an instrumental role in the significant growth of the tax practice. He has been a member of the tax leadership team since 2008 and was appointed to the firm’s Executive Committee in 2009.
Deloitte US has selected Nathan Andrews to lead its tax management consulting (TMC) practice. Andrews, a partner with Deloitte Tax LLP, helped form the TMC practice and serves as a specialist in tax department design and automation.
Deloitte’s TMC practice provides value to clients by transforming tax departments domestically and globally through integration with the broader corporate enterprise, process change and automation in the areas of direct and indirect taxes and workflow.
Andrews succeeds Nick Gonnella, who was instrumental in the formation of TMC and will take on the roles of expanding Deloitte’s services in the area of global compliance and reporting, and tax data analytics.
“Nathan is an excellent choice to build on Deloitte’s success in our tax management consulting practice,” said Carl Allegretti, chairman and chief executive officer, Deloitte Tax LLP. “He brings tremendous client service and leadership experience to the role and a stellar reputation in the tax community having served on IRS working committees for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and electronic filing matters. In addition, Nathan has been a featured speaker with a variety of tax organizations on tax transformation topics.”
Prior to his leadership with TMC, Andrews was a founder and practice leader of Deloitte’s tax accounting services practice. He began his career with Deloitte’s business tax services practice in 1992, advancing steadily to become a respected national leader and subject matter specialist in U.S. taxation and accounting for income taxes, and also leading the national IFRS strategic initiative for Deloitte’s tax practice. He currently works with corporate tax departments in the areas of global organizational design and tax systems.
“I’m thrilled with the opportunity to lead Deloitte’s TMC practice and build on the vision set by Nick Gonnella,” said Andrews. “Deloitte has a rich history in helping tax departments operate at the highest levels, and I look forward to working with our outstanding TMC leaders and professionals to assist our clients with achieving their operational goals.”
Andrews is a member of the board of directors for the Deloitte Foundation. He is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Andrews received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Deloitte’s lead university partner to his alma mater.
KPMG International has announced that John Q. McGowan has been appointed to the new role of Chief Information Officer, Global Tax.
McGowan is a 19-year veteran of KPMG and previously served as leader of the Tax Technology practice for KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. He brings to his new role extensive knowledge of tax technology as well as in-depth experience with KPMG’s network of member firms — in particular, the firm’s U.S. Tax practice, where he served for many years as a client-facing Tax professional before focusing on the use of technology to help drive efficiency in tax processes.
McGowan’s chief responsibility will be to help ensure that KPMG addresses the varied tax needs of its member firms’ clients using the latest technology.
“John understands the needs of our clients, having worked with some of the largest organizations around the world,” said Rick Smith, head of Global Delivery for KPMG International. “He knows how complex tax is and that it is getting more so each day. It’s great to have John on the team, helping our clients cut through that complexity, using technology to meet their needs in the most efficient and effective way.”
In recognition of KPMG’s Tax technology advances, KPMG’s International Executive Services practice was recently awarded “Most Innovative Use of Technology in Global Mobility” (Program Management) and “Highly Commended Best Vendor Partnership” at the Expatriate Management and Mobility Awards (EMMAs).
“These awards underscore that our firm’s technology is highly regarded by industry professionals and clients,” said McGowan. “In my new global role, I look forward to continuing to work with my KPMG colleagues to advance innovation in our Tax technology tools around the world that can deliver strategic value for our multinational clients.”
McGowan has been with KPMG LLP since 1993 and has led the U.S. firm’s Tax Technology practice since 2004. He is a certified public accountant licensed in the District of Columbia and North Carolina, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He holds both a master of accounting degree and bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Lawyer reported today that Fred Gander, a highly respected tax partner and the former head of legacy firm Dewey Ballantine, is joining KPMG as head of its US tax practice for Europe and the Middle East.
Gander has been resident at Dewey & LeBoeuf London since 1991 and is chairman of the firm’s European supervisory committee.
Full article here: http://www.thelawyer.com/former-dewey-ballantine-chief-quits-dewey-for-kpmg/1012296.article
