Nhlamu Dlomu to step down as Chief Executive at KPMG South Africa
In the latest of several drastic moves to help restore its reputation in South Africa, global professional services firm KPMG has announced that its CEO Nhlamu Dlomu will vacate her position at the helm of the firm. She was appointed to the position after scandal broke out at the firm last year.
Dlomu will continue to be employed at KPMG, but will switch to a global role specialising in ethics in leadership and transformation of company culture. The position has reportedly been created specifically for Dlomu, who will continue to contribute to the firm’s reputational restorations.
Last year, KPMG found itself involved in the infamous Gupta scandal – alongside fellow global consulting firm McKinsey & Company – wherein high ranking political contacts were allegedly leveraged to win lucrative contracts. The firm immediately went into damage control, replacing its entire senior leadership team by November.
Dlomu was appointed as the new CEO at the time, alongside a new Head of Auditing, Head of advisory and a new Head of People, among a number of other appointments. Since the start of this year, however, the firm has begun to lose a stream of business, which has prompted further drastic action.
The firm announced in June that it was going to cut back operations in four key financial centres – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth – resulting in the release of over 400 employees in the country. In addition, leaders from KPMG across the globe were flown in to support with the restoration.
Since then, the firm has closed down the low-priority aspects of its operations. Now, Dlomu will step down from her position at the helm in order to completely change the firm’s image in the country. In keeping with this objective, the firm has also decided that the new CEO will be recruited externally.
As explained by KPMG in a statement, “Given the scale of the reputational challenges facing both KPMG and the industry, the board has decided that a new chief executive from outside the firm, with strong industry experience, will optimise prospects of rebuilding trust. “
The outward approach is different from that employed when appointing Dlomu at the helm last year. Prior to ascending to the CEO role, Dlomu was already an established professional at the firm, heading its Human Resources division, in addition to leading the People and Change Skills Group in the firm’s Management Consulting practice.
