Grant Thornton appoints three new leaders in its industry practice
Grant Thornton US has appointed new leaders for asset management, energy, and healthcare within its multinational industry practice.
Shona O’Hea, an advisory services partner based in Dublin, Ireland, has been named the head of asset management; Tyler Jones, an audit and assurance services partner based in Dallas, has been named the head of energy; and Scott McGurl, a business consulting principal based in Tampa, Florida, has been named the head of healthcare.
“Shona, Tyler and Scott all have a track record of bringing fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the firm’s international client base, while seamlessly delivering high-quality services. They are the right leaders to help our clients thrive across these important industry sectors,” said Martin Shanahan, who was named head of industry earlier this year.
O’Hea will lead Grant Thornton’s asset management professionals in creating solutions to support clients in the industry. She will also serve as global head of asset management at Grant Thornton International.
O’Hea has over 20 years of experience providing financial function and operations solutions to asset and wealth managers and asset servicers. She has extensive expertise in outsourced accounting, financial reporting, compliance activities, financial systems, and process improvement.
O’Hea has been at Grant Thornton since 2009. Before that, she was a senior regulator in the consumer protection unit of the Central Bank of Ireland and worked in the hedge fund administration division of Citi Hedge Fund Services (Ireland).
O’Hea has a bachelor’s degree from Dublin City University in Ireland and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a diploma of internal audit from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Jones will lead a team advising domestic and multinational energy clients. He has two decades of public accounting experience, with expertise supporting SEC registrants on IPOs, short form registration statements, SEC comment letter responses, and routine public filing requirements.
Jones has been at Grant Thornton for the last 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
As head of healthcare, McGurl will leverage his extensive experience in helping healthcare and life sciences firms achieve organic and inorganic growth. He has nearly 30 years of experience advising clients on strategic growth agendas and executing roadmaps that improve operating margins, enhance access to care, and drive greater workforce effectiveness.
McGurl has been at Grant Thornton since 2021. Before that he spent 19 years with EY, where he was a global consulting partner and consulting market leader for the Upper Midwest region.
He also spent six years at Siemens, where he was VP and GM for industry solutions.
McGurl has a master’s degree in finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Bonaventure University.
The last year has been one of significant change for the Grant Thornton US organization. New Mountain Capital in May 2024 completed its acquisition of the mid-market accountancy, splitting it into an alternative practice structure with separate attest and non-attest businesses.
In January, New Mountain bolted on Grant Thornton Ireland, a 2,800-person firm, and in April added Grant Thornton UAE, Grant Thornton Luxembourg, and Grant Thornton (Cayman). All four bolt-ons are jurisdictions commonly held to be tax havens.
The enlarged, private equity-owned Grant Thornton US has more than 13,000 professionals and $2.7 billion in revenue.
