Grant Thornton appoints new COO and CFO
Grant Thornton US has appointed Elliott Findlay as chief operating officer and Rick Surett as chief financial officer.
Findlay, who is based in the firm’s Chicago headquarters, has been at Grant Thornton for 25 years. After spending the first five years of his career at Grant Thornton UK, he transferred to the US member firm, where he has held increasingly senior roles in the transaction advisory practice.
Findlay has extensive domestic and international experience advising public and private companies on M&A, recapitalizations, divestitures, and capital raises.
Findlay most recently served as national managing principal of transaction advisory services.
He has bachelor’s degrees in electronic engineering and marketing from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.
"Elliot’s deep expertise, global perspective, and unwavering leadership make him the ideal choice to be our chief operating officer,” said Jim Peko, Grant Thornton’s CEO. “His unique blend of skills will not only strengthen our platform but also reinforce our position as a world-class platform and the premier destination for both clients and top-tier professionals.”
Surett joins Grant Thornton’s New York office. A seasoned financial executive, Surrett has nearly 30 years of experience in financial planning and analysis, M&A, capital markets, restructuring and turnaround, and private equity.
He was previously CFO of Transportation Equipment Network and Ports America. Before that, Surett was a director of corporate development at Avaya and an investment banker at Citi. He began his career as an accountant at Arthur Place & Co.
Surett has an MBA from the State University of New York at Albany and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Siena College.
“Rick brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective that will help us continue driving value for our clients and our people — especially now, as we expand our multinational platform from America across Europe and into the Middle East,” Peko said.
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; in April added Grant Thornton UAE, Grant Thornton Luxembourg, and Grant Thornton (Cayman); and in May added Grant Thornton Netherlands.
The multinational platform has a team of approximately 13,000 people.
