By Lars Mucklejohn
PwC is understood to have picked its international advisory head Mohamed Kande to become the accountancy firm’s next global chair, taking over from Bob Moritz who has held the post since 2016.
PwC and the rest of the Big Four – Deloitte, KPMG and EY – audit major companies while providing consultancy services and tax advice.
It is understood that his appointment needs to be signed off by global partners in the coming weeks, on which PwC is expected to issue a statement in November when the ratification process concludes.
His appointment marks a break from the firm’s pattern of choosing its US head to become a global chair.
The appointment of the new chair has been reported by the Financial Times and Financial News.
Kande holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Montreal and the ESIGELEC in France.
In his early career, the Ivory Coast-born naturalised American worked for Motorola in Chicago and DTI Telecom in Canada, where he was responsible for launching telecommunications networks in the USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Before joining PwC in 2011, Kande was a managing partner at PRTM, one of the firm’s subsidiaries.
He became PwC’s US and global advisory leader for the technology, media, telecoms and hospitality industries in 2019.
Kande then became the firm’s global advisory leader in 2021; he also serves as vice-chair of its US consulting division.
“His expertise spans the areas of operational strategy, technology development, mergers and acquisitions, and operations management,” the company’s website says.
PwC’s latest revenue figures show it fell short of its Big Four rivals in the most recent financial year.
The professional services sector has felt the impact of increased economic uncertainty in recent months, with major firms experiencing a decline in consulting and deal advisory work that has led to job cuts and pay freezes.
Bob Moritz, who is set to retire as global chair next June, told the Financial Times pressure on profits would continue amid a tougher economic environment, with clients taking longer to sign deals and opting for shorter-term contracts.
Sources told the Financial Times that every candidate to take over from Moritz supported keeping PwC’s audit and consulting businesses together.
Moritz had reportedly dismissed splitting them after regulators in the US, UK and Europe raised concerns over whether large accounting firms could fairly audit clients who they consult with.
