How EY’s Strategy and Transactions practice is identifying the next generation of leaders

The end of May is always an exciting time at the EY organization, when our firm announces promotions to partner, principal, executive director and director. It’s also something of a report card on our efforts to build the future of our practice—one reflecting not only our ability to innovate how we serve clients but also the breadth of our talent.

I am happy to report that EY’s Strategy and Transactions (SaT) practice in the Americas, which I lead, received an especially glowing report card. The firm selected the largest ever “class” of Americas SaT colleagues for promotion—a threefold increase from five years ago. (During this period, headcount in our practice did grow considerably but less than twofold.) These individuals hail from across our regions—from the US and Canada, to Central and Latin America.

The diversity was not just geographic. Among partners and principals in particular—the highest ranks in our practice—the percentage of women promoted has nearly doubled over the last half-decade; and just over one-third of our promotees are ethnic minorities. The effort to diversify our leadership ranks is mission-critical, and while I am heartened by the progress we have made, we are hardly declaring victory. Building and retaining our ranks of women and underrepresented minorities is the longest of long-term projects—an effort we increased our focus on years ago, that is now bearing fruit. We will not be satisfied until we achieve a partnership that’s closer to parity on gender and with a much greater percentage of people of color. But the trajectory is definitely heading in the right direction, which only inspires me and the rest of the SaT leadership team to work that much harder.

What is especially gratifying about this large class of promoted colleagues is the way they stepped up amid the challenges of COVID?19. The markets provided headwinds in both directions—a major dive in dealmaking early in the pandemic, followed by a massive rebound to record levels of deals. This tested our ability to work with clients in more innovative ways, largely remotely. Throw into the mix a historic war for talent in 2020 and 2021, with increased turnover across the professional services industry. Simply put, this class of promotees has experienced the most tumultuous professional environment any of our SaT colleagues has faced. That they not only stuck it out but grew the ranks of our SaT promotions is a testament to their character.

To my mind, this investment by the EY organization in our SaT practice affirms what can happen when we combine innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. It gives us a tremendous—and tremendously diverse—foundation to build upon, furthering our mission to be the premier strategy and transaction advisory provider in the marketplace. Congratulations to all of our promoted colleagues: This professional milestone for you is an achievement for all of us.

The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Ernst & Young LLP or other members of the global EY organization.