Judd Caplain named head of KPMG's global financial services practice

Judd Caplain has been appointed head of the global financial services practice at KPMG, effective April 1. He is based in New York.

Caplain succeeds Jim Liddy, who retires after holding the role since 2017. Liddy spent more than 35 years at KPMG, previously serving as Americas leader for financial services and vice chair of audit at KPMG US.

“I am proud to have served in this role, working with incredible clients and colleagues to focus on those issues that matter most to the Financial Services industry,” said Liddy. “I am confident that Judd will take the community forward with purpose, focus, and commitment.”

Caplain will take over KPMG’s largest industry practice, with more than 50,000 partners and professionals across 146 countries and territories. The practice delivers audit, tax, and advisory services to clients in asset management, banking and capital markets, insurance, and fintech – helping them deal with challenges and opportunities in digitization, globalization, regulatory change, and cost reduction.

Caplain has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, and has been a partner at KPMG since 2001. He has deep expertise advising banks and insurance firms on strategy, transformation, risk, and regulatory and governance. He previously served as global head of banking & capital markets, and before that was national advisory industry leader for banking at KPMG US. Caplain has also been the global lead partner for a large American financial institution.

Prior to joining KPMG, Caplain worked at Mitchell Madison Group, a financial services management consultancy, and JPMorgan Chase. He holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in finance from Syracuse University.

Gary Reader, global head of clients and markets at KPMG, said, “Today's business environment is incredibly challenging and being able to build cross-border teams that offer diverse perspectives while encouraging the development of outcome-focused solutions for clients is exactly what is needed. I am confident that Judd will build on Jim's legacy to ensure KPMG firms remain innovative and work together to stay ahead of clients' needs.”

Caplain added, “I am very excited to build on the success of our global practice and will to continue to position KPMG firms as the premier professional services providers in Financial Services.”

KPMG International is the fourth-largest accounting and consulting network in the world, with 227,000 professionals and annual revenue of $29.22 billion.

The network last year re-elected Bill Thomas as chairman and global CEO.