With effect from 18 March 2019 PKF International welcomes a new CEO.

As part of PKF International’s ongoing succession planning, the board took the hard decision last year to look for a new CEO. It’s incredibly difficult to think about PKF without thinking about John Sim as he has shown incredible commitment and energy throughout his 6 years as CEO.

We are delighted to announce that John will be succeeded by James Hickey.

James is an inspirational leader with a wealth of expertise in achieving high growth within mid-tier accounting and law firms around the world. With nearly 20 years of experience, James has a range of skills encompassing sales, marketing, finance, talent management and multi-jurisdictional client relationship management.

A self-confessed challenger and a strong champion of raising the visibility of mid-sized companies – James has been hand-picked to take PKF to greatness. And he’s certainly no stranger to the network setup, having served as CEO of the Alliot Group since November 2012.

At the Alliot Group - itself an alliance of independent accounting and law firms – James did great work positioning it as a market disrupter creating opportunities and options for its members built on reputation, and a “firm of choice” mentality.  His noticeable empathy for the client-centric approach that we believe in so strongly makes him a solid cultural match for us.

With James at the helm of PKF International we see great potential for aligning to and leading innovative change.

When asked about his understanding of the changing dynamics in the accounting world, James said, “Those firms that think like accountants and lawyers when they strategise for their tomorrow will simply not have a tomorrow. Whether it be AI, mergers, changes in regulations or any of the other market disrupters, professional service firms need to be open minded to new delivery models to maintain a relevance within their respective markets.” He continued, “At the core of PKFI’s tomorrow has to be the right digital strategy. But this must represent an extension of who we are. If we adapt with integrity always preserving our belief that ours is a network of trusted business advisors and build strategic digital value into this offering – then the potential for expansion and deeper relationships will be phenomenal.”