Deloitte appoints first woman to lead its financial services arm

Monica O’Reilly is the new leader of Deloitte’s financial services division. The first woman to hold this role in Deloitte’s 175-year history, O’Reilly leads the firm’s largest industry vertical in headcount and revenue.

After serving Deloitte for 27 years, company veteran Kenny Smith recently retired from the Big Four firm, vacating the role of US financial services industry leader. Now appointed to fill his shoes is Monica O’Reilly, another longstanding Deloitter – she has been with Deloitte since the turn of the century, and previously worked at Arthur Andersen (parts of which were acquired by Deloitte in 2002).

During her tenure at the accounting and consulting giant, O’Reilly has held several leadership positions, particularly in the firm’s financial services vertical. In 2012, she was named chief talent officer for the risk and financial advisory business; in 2016 she was appointed the banking and capital markets practice leader for the wing; and most recently she served as the financial services industry leader for the unit.

In her new role, O’Reilly leads a team of accountants, advisors, consultants and technologists that serve the banking, capital markets, investment management, insurance, payments, private equity, and real estate sectors. She will lead the overall strategic direction of the industry group, its go-to-market strategies and account management, as well as internal practice development and resourcing.

Client wise, O’Reilly specializes in risk management, regulatory compliance, and controls consulting. “I am thrilled to be named the leader of such a talented team, especially at such an important inflection point in the industry as we help our clients navigate the path forward,” she said.

With over 100,000 employees in the US, Deloitte is one of the largest professional services groups of the country, a position it also holds worldwide. Its financial services practice helps clients – which includes 94% of the financial services companies on the Fortune 500 list last year – in any conceivable business domain, from strategy (provided by Monitor Deloitte) and regulatory compliance, cyber and human capital to audit, assurance, tax, and mergers & acquisitions.

Seema Pajula, vice chairman of Deloitte in the US, said, “Monica’s deep understanding of the industry and business issues that impact financial services has positioned them as leaders among our distinguished clients, colleagues and across the industry."

O’Reilly will work closely with other leaders in Deloitte’s industry vertical, including Mark Shilling (head of the banking & capital Markets practice), Gary Shaw (head of the insurance practice), Patrick Henry (head of the investment management practice). Globally, the financial services division is led by US-based partner Bob Contri.