KPMG to Launch Formal Election for Next Global Chair and CEO

KPMG International said it will begin a formal election to choose its next global chair and chief executive as Bill Thomas’s current term “runs to September 30 2026.” A KPMG International spokesperson added, “KPMG has an established process for electing a new global chairman and we expect to announce succession plans in spring 2026.”

Insiders familiar with partner discussions said the formal election itself is not expected to get under way until the first half of 2026, even as one business weekly reported the firm was launching a process with an announcement due by the end of the quarter. KPMG’s public comment framing a spring 2026 succession timeline sits alongside those reports; the firm has not released a detailed schedule or the rules that will govern nominations and voting.

Jon Holt, chief executive of KPMG UK since 2021, is being widely touted internally as a contender to succeed Mr Thomas. Holt was re-elected to a second term as KPMG UK chief executive last March and originally replaced Bill Michael; KPMG UK declined to comment on whether Holt would put himself forward for the global role, and Mr Holt could not be reached for comment.

Bill Thomas has led KPMG International since October 2017, and his tenure will conclude on 30 September 2026. Historically the global chair has been chosen by KPMG’s global council, which includes representation from member firms around the network, and previous holders of the global role - including Sir Mike Rake - have at times combined the international chair with leadership of their domestic firm. KPMG has not disclosed whether the next chair will combine global and domestic duties.

The next global chair will take charge of a network that has grown materially since 2017. One source records KPMG International revenue at $26.4bn in the 2017 financial year and reports the 2025 figure at $39.8bn with over 276,000 staff. KPMG’s own U.S. member firm put the global footprint at “142 countries and territories” with “more than 275,000 people” working in member firms around the world; another report cited 143 countries. Those tallies underline the scale of the role partners are preparing to fill.

Partners will hand the new leader a long strategic checklist: CityAM noted a surge of private equity interest in accountancy arms, testing conditions in consultancy practices, the rise of AI and pressure on profits. KPMG has “spent billions of pounds on AI, from investment in new tools to upskilling staff,” and the firm has faced major regulatory fines and audit failings in recent years, with the Carillion collapse cited as the most notorious case.

The succession process will unfold as KPMG’s U.S. member firm completes its own leadership transition: KPMG LLP elected Timothy J. Walsh as U.S. chair and CEO and Atif Zaim as deputy chair for five-year terms beginning July 1, 2025, succeeding Paul Knopp and Laura Newinski when their terms conclude on June 30, 2025. With Thomas’s term ending 30 September 2026 and succession plans slated for spring 2026, partners can expect formal nominations and balloting to follow in the first half of next year.