E&Y’s O’Connor is pick of the bunch
ERNST & Young high flyer Joe O’Connor has been named Accountant of the Year.
The 31-year-old, who is a director in the firm’s restructuring division, was last year appointed North West chief operating officer.
Brought up in Timperley, south Manchester, Joe – whose father Calvin has had a distinguished business career with British Vita and more recently Scapa – joined E&Y in 2002.
He was presented with the award at a ceremony in London hosted by comedian Rory Bremner.
Joe’s professional career has taken him across the UK and internationally, including spending most of 2009 working on a global restructuring project, involving managing a team of over 200 people from Ernst & Young across 19 countries.
He is currently leading a cross border restructuring throughout the UK, Kazakhstan and Russia.
North West senior partner, Simon Allport paid tribute to his protege: ““Joe demonstrated great leadership skills as North West COO.
“His presence in front of the region’s most senior business people, his energy for driving change and the respect he earned from both the market and within Ernst & Young has without doubt improved our position.”
Joe said: “I was delighted to be recognised by my profession. It is so important to do something in your career that you have a passion for.
“I’m looking forward to the future opportunities at Ernst & Young, I strongly believe I can add value to our clients, supporting them through the downturn and working with them to capitalise on the opportunities it brings.”
