KPMG’s new independent
Former NSW premier and current chair of Cricket Australia Mike Baird will join the national board of KPMG Australia to strengthen governance as the Big Four professional services firms remain under pressure to be more accountable.
Mr Baird’s appointment was announced to staff on Wednesday morning along with that of Jane Hemstritch, a long-time non-executive director. They will join current board member Patty Akopiantz, co-founder of investment entity Assembly Climate Capital to bring to three the number of independent directors at KPMG and total numbers on the board to 12.
It puts KPMG ahead of rivals such as PwC, which is yet to honour a commitment last year to appoint independent directors to its governance board in the wake of the tax scandal.
KPMG appointed its first independent director Martin Dalgleish, six years ago. He will retire next month.
Mr Baird served as NSW Liberal premier from 2014 to 2017 after senior roles at NAB, Deutsche Bank and HSBC. He has had senior executive roles at NAB and more recently was CEO of agedcare group HammondCare.
He is chair of the philanthropic organisation Future Generation Australia and patron of several charitable organisations.
Ms Hemstritch has had extensive senior executive experience in accounting, IT and change management, across telecommunications, energy and finance sectors. She was managing director Asia Pacific for Accenture Limited and held directorships on several ASX50 companies, including Commonwealth Bank and Telstra. She has been recognised for her work in philanthropy.