We now know who will lead Deloitte LLP as Joseph “Joe” Ucuzoglu and Janet Foutty were elected to the respective roles of CEO and chairwoman of the board, effective June 2. They succeed CEO Catherine Engelbert and Chairman Mike Fucci, who are rounding out their four-year terms.
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- Joseph Ucuzoglu
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- Janet Foutty
Washington-based Ucuzoglu has been chairman and CEO of Deloitte & Touche LLP, the firm’s audit and assurance practice, since 2015. He also serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ucuzoglu’s connections to the government world do not end there. Before joining Deloitte as its national managing partner of government, regulatory and professional matters, Ucuzoglu was at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he was a professional accounting fellow before becoming a senior advisor to the chief accountant.
Foutty, based in Chicago, has been chairwoman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP — the first woman to hold that role — since 2016. Previously, she was leader of Deloitte’s federal government practice, as well as of Deloitte Consulting’s technology practice, helping to launch Deloitte Digital.
While it is typical for Deloitte’s leaders to only serve one four-year term, the Wall Street Journal reported in June that the firm’s partners were quite surprised to learn that Engelbert would not be re-nominated for another stint. Deloitte’s annual revenues have grown every year of her tenure, reaching $19,897 million in 2018. Engelbert is also a barrier-breaker in the accounting world. Upon being named CEO of Deloitte in 2015, she became the first woman to ever head up one of the Big Four accounting firms. Two of the other four have since followed suit: Lynne Doughtie ascended to the top post of KPMG LLP shortly after Engelbert, while Kelly Grier was appointed to leader of EY in July.
Whatever the reason for Engelbert’s handoff, it’s now up to Ucuzoglu and Foutty to continue the upward trend of the firm set by their predecessors.
