KPMG names Will Williams global COO in leadership shakeup

KPMG is putting a longtime operator at the center of its next phase. Will Williams will become global chief operating officer on Oct. 1, 2026, the same day Gary Wingrove takes over as global chairman and CEO, while the Americas region is getting new leadership in Tim Walsh and Atif Zaim.

The message inside the shakeup is less about titles than about how the firm wants to run. KPMG said Williams has already been heavily involved in strategy, regional integration, operational excellence, investment alignment, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including AI. That makes the COO role look like the nerve center for how the firm translates big promises on transformation into staffing, investment, and delivery decisions that partners and employees feel in audit, tax, and advisory.

The Americas changes sharpen that point. Walsh was elected chair of the Americas region, effective July 1, 2026, while remaining chair and CEO of KPMG LLP in the United States. Zaim was elected deputy chair of the Americas region and will join KPMG’s Global Board while continuing as U.S. deputy chair and managing principal. For a region that brought in $15.2 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue, up 4.2%, and had about 62,000 employees, the leadership handoff suggests KPMG wants closer coordination across its largest market and a clearer line from regional strategy to day-to-day execution.

That matters because KPMG is not making these moves from a position of retreat. The firm reported global revenue of $39.8 billion for the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, up 5.1% in local currency terms and 5.4% in U.S. dollars, with headcount rising 1.8% to 276,030. In practical terms, that kind of scale usually means more pressure to standardize delivery, push technology into more service lines, and decide where to place bets on growth, hiring, and partner advancement.

The succession also follows a planned chain already set in motion. KPMG announced on March 18, 2026, that Wingrove would become global chairman and CEO, succeeding Bill Thomas, who has led the firm since 2017. Wingrove is moving up from global COO and previously ran KPMG Australia from 2013 to 2021, where the firm said he oversaw major growth in revenue, profitability, and headcount. Williams was elected Americas chair in June 2025, effective July 1, 2025, so his move into the global COO seat extends a leadership pattern KPMG seems to favor: promote operators who already know the network, then use them to tighten accountability across member firms.

KPMG’s governance structure reinforces that reading. The Global Board is the principal oversight body, while the Global Council elects the chairperson and approves major board appointments. In a federation built on separate legal entities under one brand, the real signal is that the firm is pushing for more centralized execution without abandoning its regional structure.