Meet the first woman to lead KPMG’s Manchester office

KPMG has announced that Nicola Quayle has been appointed to lead the firm’s Manchester office from October 1.

Quayle, who has been with the firm for 21 years and a partner for nine, presently leads the firm’s audit practice across the North of England.

She is the first female to be appointed as Manchester office senior partner and takes over the role from Jonathan Holt, who was recently appointed to head up KPMG’s UK financial services practice.

Quayle also works with a number of growing owner-managed businesses within the North West, across a number of sectors including retail and property investment.

She has been a non-executive director on the board of KPMG UK and has also served as chair of KPMG’s audit and risk committee.

Additionally, Quayle was formerly a board member and chairman of Pro Manchester, the membership organisation whose aims are to promote and support the financial and professional services sector within Manchester.

She said: “Having played an active role in the business community of this fantastic city region for many years, it is such a privilege to be now given the opportunity to lead one of KPMG’s largest regional offices in the UK.

“We have a superb team of some 900 people here, who are all focussed on helping our clients, large and small, through their biggest challenges, during a time of unprecedented economic, geopolitical and technological change.

“Manchester’s standing as a vibrant, dynamic and forward-thinking city on both the national and international stage is ever-growing, and I am excited by the opportunity to be able to play a part in its future development.

“My priorities over the coming months will be to ensure that we continue to deliver best-in-class services to our clients across the region, while maintaining a keen focus on developing the skills of our people, ensuring we can recruit and retain the very best talent.”

Chris Hearld, North region chair for KPMG, added: “Nicola has outstanding credentials, having spent time working with the boards of some of the region’s biggest and most entrepreneurial businesses.

“She is passionate about our people, and in particular their skills and development, and is a great advocate for the financial and professional services community at large. I know that she will lead the Manchester office with drive and enthusiasm, building on the success we have achieved in recent years.”

The firm has also announced that Mick Davies will replace Quayle as head of audit in the North.

Davies has spent 20 years at KPMG, dealing with clients both in the UK and internationally, across a range of sectors. Previously based in London, he has spent the past 13 years working with clients in the North of England including a number of the region’s best known PLCs. His current client base includes a number of businesses that have successfully used technology to disrupt their markets.

He said: “While audit remains the cornerstone of our business, there’s no doubt that it is undergoing a period of enormous change and opportunity as increasing use of data and analytics transforms the audit process and regulatory reform prompts great swathes of tendering activity. My focus as head of audit for the North will be on quality and on harnessing new technology to help grow our market share across the region.”

Chris Hearld added: “With audit quality now an issue on the agenda of every board and audit committee, the role of ‘head of audit’ has never been more important. Mick has a great track record and as auditor to some of the region’s highest ranking FTSE250 businesses, is very much at the sharp end of the modern audit environment.”