On November 15, 2023, EY announced then-Regional Managing Partner, EY Americas Financial Services Organization (FSO) Janet Truncale would be taking the reins from departing EY Global Chair and CEO Carmine Di Sibio and the baton would be officially handed off July 1. As in today.
It was a given that Carmine, an enthusiastic promoter of the Project Everest plan to split audit and consulting practices, would probably make an exit after the much-hyped plan was shelved last April. What wasn’t known was who would slide in to take his place though Global Managing partner, Brit, and extreme Everest fanboy Andy Baldwin was considered a strong contender. This came as a shock to us as we expected him to shuffle off into the sunset or get shoved under the bus when Everest collapsed but no. Had he secured the role, he would have been the first non-American to lead the global firm.
“Andy is the favorite by a large margin, but things can get weird in a hurry,” said one person in the inside of the race to replace Carmine to Financial Times in August.
“The global executive [committee] has put the firm through the wringer and we need significant, maybe even wholesale, change,” said another to FT. “Andy needs to wear this debacle. He needs to be held accountable for pushing so hard and listening so little.”
“We need to reinstitute the ban on senior management retirement extensions that clog up the pipeline and hinder the development of future leaders,” said still another. 57 years old at the time, Baldwin griped about potential age discrimination were he to be passed up for the role. “Baldwin warned people involved in the selection process that UK discrimination laws bar taking age into consideration without a specific business reason, according to people familiar with the conversation. He was unhappy that age was considered so prominently in the process, they said,” wrote FT in a story about the leadership race published in November. Some people on the global executive committee expressed concern that Baldwin would reach mandatory retirement age of 60 before the end of the four-year CEO term. Plus they had a reason other than age to pass him by: the $500 million hole Everest burned in the global firm’s pocket.
Janet Truncale, meanwhile, is in her early 50s so she can squeeze out at least one term. In “Inside the race to lead EY after bungled break-up plan” (August 2023), FT threw her in toward the bottom as a highly unlikely contender:
Other mooted candidates included two Americans: Janet Truncale, who runs EY’s financial services business in the Americas, and Ryan Burke, who heads the firm’s practice serving private businesses. Truncale is seen as an ally of the global executive committee in its long-simmering tensions with other members of the US leadership, making it unclear if she could win Boland’s support, said several people familiar with the matter.
That’s then-EY US Chair Julie Boland, the person most likely to get thrown under the bus after Everest failed. See: EY Split Update: There’s a Battle Royale Going Down This Week. She was in support of the split as a concept but had concerns about the details and her dad was one of the many retirees holding up the split over concerns their pension payouts could be affected. See: Legal Liabilities and Pensions Are Holding Up the EY Split.
But none of that matters now. It’s a new era for the global EY organization and as of today, they have a new captain at the helm. Just days before her first official day she issued a proclamation that the ghost of Everest is to be exorcised from EY once and for all (sorry, Andy). At the same time, she introduced EY’s new catch phrase: All in.
Today we launched the new EY global strategy – All in – which sets out a bold ambition to create new value for EY clients, people and stakeholders.
All in is not just a business strategy, it captures an attitude and way of working – combining the multi-disciplinary skills of the 400,000 person strong EY workforce to anticipate and navigate a changing world – so that EY clients and EY people can shape the future with confidence.
Predictions for the next four years are welcome in the comments. Best of luck, Janet. And we don’t mean that in the assy “you’re inheriting a pile of hot garbage” way. We would have meant it that way if Baldwin got your spot though.
This All in strategy does not sound any different. All she is going to do is layoff people in the disguise of bogus PIPs. She will complete her 4 year term and will retire.
It’s not a down but start of downfall especially for advisory and consulting businesses
I would have capitalized the “I” in “in,” but that probably wouldn’t set well with the Brits, Europeans, et. al.
That bothered me too. Maybe it was an intentional choice to make it less of a slogan and more like a philosophy? I’m probably giving them too much credit.