Two of the Big Four accounting and management consultancies, PwC and KPMG, have created new global communications and corporate affairs roles.
Former Tesco group communications director Jane Lawrie has joined KPMG International in the newly-created role of global head of corporate affairs.
Lawrie will sit on KPMG’s global management team and report to global chairman and chief executive Bill Thomas, who said: said: “I am delighted to welcome Jane into this newly created role. With over 25 years' experience in helping organizations protect and grow their reputation, Jane brings with her a wealth of experience in corporate, digital and employee communications, public policy and sustainability.”
She left Tesco in March this year and was replaced by Christine Heffernan, who had been director of corporate affairs for Tesco in Northern Ireland.
As a member of the Tesco Executive Committee from 2016 to 2019, Lawrie led the group communications function through its turnaround, including the acquisition of Booker. She also led the supermarket’s Corporate Responsibility Committee and established a new sustainability program. She previously The Coca-Cola’s Company’s public affairs and communications director for Europe for a decade.
Lawrie said: “KPMG is a strong, global brand with great people. I look forward to working with leaders across the organization to deliver on the commitments we have made to our people, our clients and the communities in which we live and work.”
Meanwhile, PwC has appointed Michael Stewart as global leader, corporate affairs and communications, and chair of its global public policy board.
Stewart, who left Edelman in February, had been global vice chair since 2017, and was previously the agency’s European CEO. Before that, he was in-house at McKinsey, as global head of communications.
Earlier in his career, Stewart was a senior executive in social sector organisations focussed on sustainability and corporate responsibility, including the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum.
He will report to PwC's global markets leader Richard Oldfield, who said: "We are delighted to welcome Michael to PwC’s leadership team. Michael brings a wealth of expertise and experience and a truly global perspective which will be hugely beneficial for our organisation as we work together on building the PwC of tomorrow.”
Stewart added: "I have always admired PwC's brand, its people and its commitment to being an organisation led by a clear purpose and a strong set of values", said Michael. "I am thrilled to join the PwC team and I look forward to working with my new colleagues and our stakeholders around the world."
Sourced from The Holmes Report - Written by Maja Pawinska Sims