PwC Channel Islands has strengthened its senior leadership team through the promotion of one Partner and a further six talented Directors, each of whom has the specialist skills and international experience required to further enhance the firm’s extensive capabilities in meeting clients’ needs.
Newly admitted Partner, Alex Burne, will play a vital role in shaping PwC’s strategic direction, with a particular focus on driving innovation and using technology to work smarter as he leads the technology transformation of the firm.
From day one, Alex has genuinely lived the PwC values, delivered exceptional quality and client service, innovated, and inspired those around him. Upon graduation from Bournemouth University, Alex relocated to Guernsey to take up a trainee role at PwC, qualifying as an auditor with the Guernsey office in 2003. He then completed a secondment to PwC in Sydney, where he flourished as part of the Australian firm’s fast-growing Financial Services audit team. He returned to Guernsey having accumulated a wealth of knowledge and very strong international connections within the wider PwC network, thanks to his remarkable ability to connect with people. As a Director, Alex has always played a vital role in PwC’s innovative resourcing strategy, as well as being the driving force behind the firm’s audit transformation.
Those recently promoted to Director are David Clare, Raymó Frewen, Abigail McDermott and Lawrence Musikavanhu based in the Jersey office, and Natalie Boes and Bruce Otto in Guernsey.
External Audit Director, David Clare, studied chemistry at the University of Warwick before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at PwC in Jersey, having joined the firm upon graduation in 2011. David has since gained vast experience working with global clients across the banking, private equity, trust, fund services, public and retail sectors. David currently leads audits in the listed closed-ended fund industry and specialises in providing assurance services to clients engaging in the digital asset space.
External Audit Director, Raymó Frewen, studied accounting at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa graduating in 2010, and completed her training contract in Stellenbosch from where she relocated to Jersey in 2014. Raymó has amassed wide-ranging client audit experience at the firm, including working extensively across the UK, Europe and America on various global client projects. In her Director role, Raymó specialises in the asset and wealth management arena, with her main focus on the private equity investment sector.
Marketing and Communications Director, Abigail McDermott, relocated from Dublin to Jersey in 2000 upon completion of her master’s degree in international marketing and languages. She acquired extensive international marketing experience working in the US, Germany, South Africa and Kenya, before joining PwC in 2013. Abigail’s key responsibilities at PwC are to lead on external market profile, to drive the firm’s CSR programme to include PwC’s Hive Hackers digital skillsets delivery to schoolchildren, to position PwC as the employer brand of choice and to oversee internal communications both locally and amongst the wider global PwC network.
External Audit Director, Lawrence Musikavanhu, studied Accounting and Finance at the University of Zimbabwe, before taking up a graduate trainee role at PwC in Zimbabwe in 2010. He relocated to the Jersey office in 2013 where he built up experience in various client sectors, mainly in banking and asset and wealth management. With a portfolio of global clients across a variety of sectors, Lawrence has a breadth of broader financial services industry experience and is also currently responsible for the management of the firm’s risk and independence procedures.
Advisory Director, Natalie Boes, originally qualified as an Accountant in 2009 with PwC Channel Islands, having joined the firm’s Guernsey office from school in 2005. She firstly gained extensive experience working in audit, before moving into an advisory role. Natalie leads the Guernsey Advisory business and in doing so supports the team across all propositions to deliver to clients. Her specialism is within the liquidation service offering, with her expertise in the wind-down of financial service companies. With her in-depth knowledge, having worked across a number of financial service sectors, Natalie has a proven ability to build trusted and collaborative relationships with her local and global clients.
Capital Markets Director, Bruce Otto, who relocated to Guernsey in 2017, originally qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC South Africa. He has spent time working in South Africa, the US and the UK across a wide range of services including external and internal audit, non-audit assurance, financial due diligence, accounting advisory services and London Stock Exchange capital market transactions. Bruce’s core focus now is leading the PwC Channel Islands’ Capital Markets team, servicing investment fund IPO and follow-on capital raise transactions.
Commenting on this series of milestone promotions, Senior Partner, Nick Vermeulen, said: “These latest promotions represent a massive success story for our firm, as we continue to invest in the most talented, experienced practitioners across key disciplines to support the increasingly complex needs of our clients.
“The diversity of these accomplished individuals from a cultural, gender and career experience perspective is something we are extremely proud of, with each new leader coming equipped with a wealth of experience of both PwC networks and the international marketplace. Our clients and our people certainly expect us to bring the most diverse outlook to a variety of business issues and we are confident these promotions will help us do just that. Each promotee deserves huge congratulations and I wish them every success in their new roles.”
These leadership appointments are among a total of 54 promotions announced this month by PwC across the Channel Islands, with 13 new Senior Managers and a further 34 Managers also reaching significant career milestones.
The main picture shows, from left to right, Alex Burne, Natalie Boes, Nick Vermeulen (Senior Partner), Evelyn Brady (Guernsey Managing Partner), Bruce Otto.
