{"id":8519,"date":"2026-10-27T14:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/?p=8519"},"modified":"2026-10-27T15:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T15:05:37","slug":"azets-reveals-uk-and-ireland-leadership-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/news\/8519-azets-reveals-uk-and-ireland-leadership-change","title":{"rendered":"Azets reveals UK and Ireland leadership change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Azets has announced that Peter Gallanagh is stepping down from his role as UK and Ireland chief executive at the end of the year, with current UK and Ireland chief financial officer David Aikman appointed to succeed him as managing director.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement follows a planned succession process at the accountancy and advisory firm, with Gallanagh moving into an advisory role in the new year.<\/p>\n<p>Group chief executive Chris Horne said: \u201cPeter has made an exceptional contribution to Azets and the development of our UK business, he has led with determination and commitment through a period of significant growth and change, helping to shape the business we are today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe fully respect Peter&#8217;s decision to step down and are delighted that he will remain involved in an advisory capacity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDavid is exceptionally well placed to take the business forward,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe has a deep understanding of Azets, our people and our clients, and his appointment provides important continuity as we look to the next stage of our growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5441\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5441\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Azets' current UK and Ireland chief executive Peter Gallanagh\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/jul_26\/Peter-Gallanagh-Azets-UK-Chief-Executive_1800x1200-e1793110523633.jpg 1638w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5441\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Azets&#8217; current UK and Ireland chief executive Peter Gallanagh<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Gallanagh commented: \u201cI&#8217;m immensely proud of what we&#8217;ve achieved together and the strong business we&#8217;ve built.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving been closely involved in planning the next chapter, I believe this is the right time for me to step back from the day-to-day leadership of the business, and I and have every confidence in David&#8217;s ability to lead Azets forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aikman added: \u201cHaving worked closely with Peter over the past few years, I have seen first-hand the impact of his leadership and the strength of the business he has helped build.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy focus will be on turning those opportunities into sustainable growth, delivering consistently for our clients and supporting our people to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Succession plan will see finance boss promoted, while incumbent leader becomes and advisor in 2027<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":8520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58124],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-8519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professionals","tag-featured-story","tag-national","tag-scotland"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Azets reveals UK and Ireland leadership 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