New York — Indian American Punit Renjen was appointed the next CEO of U.S.-based accounting giant Deloitte’s global operations, becoming the first person of Indian origin to head a “Big-Four” audit firm.
Renjen joins a growing list of persons of Indian origin like Indira Nooyi, Satya Nadella and Anshu Jain, who have made it to the top posts at multi-billion dollar global corporations like PepsiCo, Microsoft and Deutsche Bank, respectively.
Deloitte, which is present across 150 countries, including India, and employs over 200,000 people, is one of the four largest audit firms in the world and competes with PwC, KPMG and EY.
Hailing from Rohtak, Haryana, Renjen will assume his new role of Deloitte Global Chief Executive Officer from June 1. He will succeed Barry Salzberg in this role and is currently serving as U.S. business chairman and CEO of the group.
“I am honored to have been elected as Deloitte Global’s next CEO,” Renjen said in a statement.
“Renjen’s leadership appointment is part of a rigorous and comprehensive nomination and member firm partner ratification process that occurs every four years and includes all member firms of the Deloitte worldwide network,” Deloitte said.
Renjen, who has been with Deloitte for over 27 years, grew up in India and holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and a master’s degree in management from Willamette University.
Renjen did his schooling at Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh, after which he left for the U.S. to pursue higher studies.
He has held a number of leadership positions, including chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP. In addition to being chairman of Deloitte LLP, he currently also serves as a member of the board of directors of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global), and as chairman of the Deloitte Foundation board of directors.
His new role would begin on the first day of Deloitte’s new fiscal year on June 1, 2015.
An earlier India-West report added that revenue at Deloitte, which seeks to expand in emerging markets like India, South America and Africa, grew 6.5% to $34.2 billion in the financial year ended May 31, led by a double-digit increase in consulting income.
The Indian arm of Deloitte, according to India-based LiveMint, has been one of the fastest growing divisions, posting a double-digit increase in revenue in the last financial year. Deloitte’s network includes 47 member firms operating in 150 countries and 200,000 employees.
Renjen was named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Consultants” by Consulting magazine in 2007.
Source: India West