PwC announces new partners and directors as part of a record 709 promotions being made in Northern Ireland this July

The new partners and directors are part of the overall 709 promotions being made across Northern Ireland this July, reflecting PwC’s continued investment in the region.

The new additions to the partnership include Christopher Neill in tax, Deborah Stevenson in operate and Michael Willis in deals.

The newly promoted directors at PwC NI are Michael Walkingshaw in the consulting practice, Connor Bailey and Darren McCarroll in the deals practice, Mari McLarnon in the tax practice and Sarah Cole, James Davidson, Celesta Forte and Simon Gowdy in operate.

Caitroina McCusker, regional market leader for Northern Ireland, said: “It is wonderful to welcome Christopher, Deborah and Michael to the partnership. They each bring a huge wealth of experience and talent to our leadership in Northern Ireland and I extend my warmest congratulations to them. They will have an important role to play in delivering our strategy and helping our clients navigate challenges and find opportunities in areas like climate change and rapidly evolving technology like Artificial Intelligence.

“I also want to congratulate all of our people who are celebrating promotions this July, including our eight new directors. This is a testament to their continued hard work and the value they bring to PwC and our clients.

“We are proud to employ over 3,700 people in Northern Ireland, and are committed to investing in our community of talented, innovative and creative solvers. I am excited by what we can achieve together for our people, for our firm, for our local communities and for our clients.”

Across the UK, PwC will promote 69 directors to its partnership this summer, and admit five further direct partner hires. In addition, the firm welcomed 33 direct partner hires over the past financial year, bringing the size of the UK partnership to 1,057 at 1 July 2023. All PwC UK partners are equity partners.

42% of the July cohort are women (up from 39% last year) and 19% are from an ethnic minority background (up from 14%), moving the firm closer to its 2025 gender and ethnicity representation targets at partner level of 30% and 15% respectively.

As PwC continues to invest in growth outside London, 38% of the new partners are based in regional offices including Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, up from 30% last year. This takes the total percentage of PwC UK partners based outside London to 27.6%.