KPMG in the UK has confirmed that following a partnership vote, Jon Holt has been elected with “overwhelming support” as the firm’s new Chief Executive. He will start in role immediately and will serve until the end of September 2025.

Holt takes over from chairman Bill Murphy, who resigned after he became the centre of a media storm for telling staff in a Zoom meeting to ‘stop moaning’. Since Murphy’s departure his role has been split creating a chairman and chief executive.

Since joining the firm in 1994, Holt has led several of KPMG’s largest business units, and most recently held the role of Head of Audit overseeing 7,000 people.

Holt said: “Now is the time to challenge ways of working and use what we’ve learnt during the pandemic to really drive positive action. This is the moment for leaders to adapt their operations, reduce their environmental footprint and recruit diverse talent right across the UK.  I am passionate about driving this change. There must be no limit in business to where talent, achievement and hard work can take you, whoever you are and whatever your background.”