EY Reading make 10 senior appointments

Published by

Sam Pither

EY’s Reading office has announced the appointment of Gareth Anderson as Office Managing Partner along with nine further senior appointments.

Gareth, who joined EY in 2009, takes over management of the office from Richard Baker, who has completed his seven-year tenure and will continue to serve businesses as part of EY.

Gareth has led the tax practice in the Thames Valley since 2014, and also leads EY’s private growth strategy in the South East. In total he has 27 years’ experience advising companies.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be the new Office Managing Partner for EY’s Reading office. I’d like to thank Richard for the great work he has done in successfully developing the business over the last seven years.

“My aim is to build on the extraordinary growth we’ve seen in Reading and the Thames Valley and South East region, working with our thriving business community and building exceptional careers for our people.”

EY have also announced a further nine Partner appointments in their Reading office, furthering the firm’s presence in the town.

Earlier this year, EY announced internally that it would elevate Associate Partners to Partners to recognise the expertise, client delivery and leadership they carry out. EY now has 59 partners in the South East.

Simon O’Neill, EY’s Managing Partner for the Midlands and South, said: “These latest Partner appointments will help further strengthen our presence across the Thames Valley and South. They reflect the significant opportunity for our people and business as we seek to meet growing demand for our services.

“I’d also like to extend my congratulations to Gareth on his new role and know he will be a great asset to the region. And to Richard, thank you for your commitment and dedication to the Office Managing Partner role.”

The new partners cover a range of the firm’s interests, including auditing, technology consulting, EY-Parthenon, financial services, sustainability, energy and consumer products. The new appointments are Kate Allen, Laura Atkinson, Natalie Benjamin, Jess Giles, Marcus Haddrell, Richard Harrison, Sam Newall, Warren McQuillan and William Rose.

Kate Allen joined EY’s Audit practice in 2008. She has experience working across both large listed and privately owned businesses within consumer, diversified products and airline sectors, providing ongoing audit and assurance reporting services. She leads large and diverse teams on international engagements with shared service centre environments and delivers high quality audits for businesses across the South East.

Laura Atkinson joined EY in January 2022 from SAP where she held the post of UKI Chief Partner Officer. At EY, Laura is responsible for relations between EY, its clients and alliance businesses across the UK market sectors and service lines. She has more than 25 years of experience working with software companies including 15 years with Microsoft.

Natalie Benjamin joined EY in July 2021 as part of the acquisition of Lane4. She works with organisations to develop cultures which enable strategic agendas. She has a particular interest in the people side of transformation and developing leadership capabilities. Natalie is a former international athlete having competed for Great Britain and Wales over 1500m.

Jess Giles works in EY’s People Advisory Services team. Jess has 20 years of experience in global mobility, and helps companies solve the challenge of employees working across borders. She enables clients to realise the opportunities and benefits of cross-border working while managing the compliance and risk. She leads global mobility services to a portfolio of clients across the Thames Valley and South region, predominantly in the TMT sector.

Marcus Haddrell works in EY’s People Advisory Services and has been with EY since 2010. He currently leads PAS Workforce Advisory in the Energy sector and is passionate about helping his clients prepare for Net Zero and a sustainable future. Marcus’ experience centres around the business change elements of complex transformation programmes, as well as learning and reskilling. Marcus is based in Reading, having returned in 2017 from a two year stint in the Middle East; establishing and running EY’s Change management capability there.

Richard Harrison has worked for both EY’s Assurance and Business Services teams in the UK and US, having spent over ten years with the firm. He primarily works with multi-national businesses, leading complex audits under US and International Financial Reporting Standards (US GAAP and IFRS) and has also successfully advised companies on complex projects such as M&A activity, bond issues, separations, and GAAP conversions. He now focuses on the delivery of audits at EY.

Warren McQuillan joined EY in 2018 and has more than 16 years’ experience advising a broad range of clients on UK and global indirect tax issues. His clients span a number of sectors, with particular specialisms in Health Sciences and Wellness, and TMT.

Sam Newall joined EY in 2014 and supports fast growth, entrepreneurial businesses across the South. He works with a range of companies, including listed, private-equity backed and owner-managed businesses. He has experience working in the technology, engineering, construction, pharmaceutical, retail, aerospace and defence sectors.

William Rose has worked for EY in the Thames Valley and South region since 2008. He specialises in UK corporation tax and advises a broad range of domestic and international businesses on tax matters including cross-border tax structuring, planning, compliance, reporting and risk management.

Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset. A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise. Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.