Deloitte kicks off selection process for new India CEO

Deloitte has kicked off the selection process to elect its new CEO, with a number of senior partners within the firm in pole position to land the top role.

Having served as CEO for eight years and set to reach the maximum terms in office, current country boss N Venkatram is set to be replaced starting April 1, 2023.

Two special committees – a selection committee and nomination committee – are currently being setup to oversee the process, which will culminate in the appointment of the new CEO towards the end of the year.

The process will see partners suggest a name (or even pitch their own candidacy) to the committee. The committee then assesses all candidates, drafts a shortlist and gauges what partners think of the finalists. If there is no unanimous favourite for the top role, the committee then tries to form a consensus for a single candidate who has the best credentials to run Deloitte’s Indian organisation.

Departing boss N Venkatram will likely look back at a successful period at the helm. He has grown Deloitte into the fastest growing Big Four in India, transitioned the company from an audit-heavy player into a diversified professional services group, and closed several acquisitions during his tenure including a 300-strong team hire from KPMG (2016), the purchase of BMR Advisors (2017), and the bolt-on of 750-strong HashedIn (2021).

Before taking the reins, N Venkatram was Head of Audit at Deloitte. He succeeded Udayan Sen, who similarly completed the maximum of two terms in office.

According to reporting by Economic Times, two senior partners are in pole position for the prestigious role. Romal Shetty is Head of Consulting and oversees the firm’s Deloitte Consulting (management consulting), Monitor Deloitte (strategy consulting) and Deloitte Digital (digital transformation and technology) outfits.

Rohit Mahajan is Head of Risk Advisory, and the former leader of the Forensic practice in India.

In India, Deloitte has around 90,000 staff, which represents a staggering one fifth of the firm’s total worldwide workforce. During his visit to India earlier this year, Deloitte’s global CEO Punit Renjen said that “India is central to our growth strategy” and that he expects the firm to break through 100,000 employees in the coming years.