For the first time in its 150-year history in the UK, KPMG has appointed two women as the company’s chair following the resignation of former chairman and senior partner Bill Michael.
While Bina Mehta has been appointed as the acting Chairwoman, Mary O’Connor, who is head of clients and markets will take over Michael’s responsibilities as senior partner.
Bill Michael announced that he was stepping down as chair last week after his comments were leaked out which included telling staff to “stop moaning” about long working hours during the pandemic.
Bina has over 20 years of experience in the international merger & acquisition and restructuring in the UK, USA and Canada acting for private equity houses, lenders and corporates. She is a Client Lead Partner, working with clients in the business services sector, large private and listed international clients, and manages some of KPMG’s key strategic relationships.
A strong advocate of diversity and inclusivity, in the recent past Bina has firm in stating that KPMG’s approach was based around “accountability, inclusive leadership and equal opportunity. I’m really proud of how far we’ve evolved, and we’ve got some way to go, and it’s all about speed now.”
Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK, Bina worked in India to support the establishment of KPMG India before returning to the Corporate Finance practice in the UK where led a sector team. She was subsequently seconded to the US to develop the Corporate Finance business with a focus on technology transactions. Bina joined the Restructuring team on her return to the UK leading complex restructuring situations across Europe before moving to Canada to lead their cash and working capital practice. Bina is a member of DIT’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group and the Professional Services Trade Advisory Group.
Bina is also a member of the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs which is co-sponsored by HM Treasury and BEIS and an Honorary Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Cambridge Judge Business School.
