Grant Thornton announces five additions to senior leadership team
Grant Thornton US, the seventh-largest accounting and consulting firm in the country, has elevated five people to its senior leadership team.
The Chicago-based company said the appointments are focused on “firm transformation and advancing strategy development.”
Enzo Santilli is Grant Thornton’s new chief transformation officer. In the role, he will drive enterprise-wide transformation initiatives and oversee the company’s technology systems and platform integration, business process excellence, and product innovation portfolio management.
Santilli has been at Grant Thornton since 2013 and previously served as national managing partner of transformation services within the advisory business and as office managing partner for Pittsburgh. He previously was president and COO of private equity firm MarketSphere Consulting and spent a decade at Arthur Andersen, where he was latterly a director.
Chris Smith will take on the newly created role of chief strategy officer, wherein he will help shape the design and implementation of the company’s strategy and will advise Grant Thornton’s leaders on adapting strategic priorities in response to shifting market dynamics.
Smith has been at Grant Thornton since 2016 and previously was national leader of the strategy practice within the advisory business. Smith previously founded and ran Arryve, a growth strategy consultancy that was acquired by Grant Thornton. Before that he worked at Hitachi Consulting and Perficient.
“Accelerating our growth trajectory and transforming our firm with innovation are critical as we advance Grant Thornton’s standing in the marketplace, while also delivering sustained growth, strong revenues, and differentiated value to clients,” said Seth Siegel, CEO at Grant Thornton. “Enzo’s proven experience in the transformation space will empower our firm to capitalize on cutting-edge systems, processes, and platforms; and Chris’s strategic mindset and expertise position him to drive the continuous evolution of our enterprise strategy.”
Nichole Jordan will step into the newly created role of national managing partner of geography. She will coordinate strategy execution at the geography level and will drive results in the areas of growth, talent engagement, and culture.
Jordan has been at the firm since 2003 and most recently served as managing partner of the Central region. She was previously national managing partner for markets, clients, and industry. Before joining Grant Thornton, Jordan worked at Arthur Andersen.
Wade Kruse will become national managing partner of advisory services, directly overseeing operations, financial performance, and quality.
He has been at the firm since 2003, most recently leading the strategy and transaction practice within the advisory business. Before Grant Thornton, Kruse worked at EY and PwC.
“Clients are facing dynamic challenges and opportunities that require forward-thinking approaches and a holistic firmwide delivery,” Siegel said. “Nichole and Wade are ideally suited to ensure we effectively offer and scale integrated capabilities that meet the needs of our clients today and drive value well into the future.”
Rashada Whitehead has been elevated to the senior leadership team, where she will continue to serve as national managing director of culture, immersion, and inclusion, a role she took on in 2021.
Whitehead joined the firm in 2019, serving as head of colleague experience and leading the firm’s DEI task force. She previously was CEO of KG Berry, a reputation management and culture transformation consultancy, and CEO of Flower Communications Group, a national public relations firm.
“Rashada’s efforts have had a tremendous impact on our firm as we build upon our culture of inclusion, while attracting, developing and retaining a diverse talent pool,” Siegel said. “Elevating her position ensures that our commitment to an inclusive talent engine and equitable community is infused in every decision our firm makes. Our goal is clear — to be the employer of choice.”
Grant Thornton achieved $2.3 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2022 on the back of impressive growth of over 16%.