Janet Truncale, a 53-year-old American, has been appointed global chief executive of EY, making her the first woman to helm a Big Four audit firm.
Truncale, who has been with EY for 30 years, will succeed current EY Global Chair and CEO Carmine Di Sibio, who was elected in 2019 and is stepping down a year earlier than initially planned.
How Truncale decides to drive EY when she takes over next July will be crucial to EY’s future but will also provide an important point of comparison for its three competitors, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC.
Di Sibio led the development of NextWave, a global strategy focused on creating long-term value for all stakeholders—EY employees, partners, clients, and society—and that led to a compounded annual growth rate of 9.5% and additional $13 billion in revenue over his tenure. But he also backed Project Everest, a plan to split EY in two, dividing auditing from consulting, that failed earlier this year. The project was aimed at removing the conflict-of-interest rules that prevent the consulting group from working with EY’s audit clients, including some of the world’s largest tech companies.
Project Everest was considered a move that could have reshaped the entire accounting industry. However, it was reportedly opposed by executives in the US who feared the split would weaken the audit business. It will now be up to Truncale to chart a new course.
“Janet is an exceptional leader, with a strong foundation in serving clients across all EY’s businesses.” Di Sibio said in announcing her selection. “She is a great choice to lead our organization through the next chapter of its history.”
Truncale, a mother of three, currently serves as regional managing partner, EY Americas Financial Services Organization, in which role she leads a team of more than 14,000 professionals throughout the Americas. “It will truly be an honor to lead this amazing organization,” she said. “The work we do in creating opportunity for our people and clients, as well as our role in the capital markets, defines EY as an organization, and I couldn’t be prouder to have the opportunity.”
