On July 1, when Lynne Doughtie takes on her new role as Chair and CEO of KPMG, she will become the first woman to be both Chair and CEO of a Big Four accounting firm. This follows another first when, several months ago, Cathy Englebert became the first chief executive of a Big Four firm – in her case, Deloitte.
Doughtie spoke recently at the inaugural KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit held in conjunction with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship One of the study’s major findings is: “A woman’s perception of leadership begins not with collegiate academic success, her first big break or when she’s named to a position of power. The trajectory to female leadership starts much earlier and is defined by key influences throughout life.” The report, which also emphasizes the important of confidence and connections, was undertaken to support KPMG’s stated goal of moving women into the C-suite. Read study
About Doughtie’s new role as Chair and CEO, John Veihmeyer, who currently holds those positions, said “Lynne Doughtie is an incredibly innovative, thoughtful and inspiring leader,who has the exact qualities needed to lead our firm and our people in a time of increasing complexity and change. She has been a key member of our management team during a period in which we have built a strong culture within KPMG, that promotes integrity, high performance, and diversity and inclusion, and I know Lynne will continue to champion these values.”