EY has today announced its Head of Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) in Scotland, Ally Scott, will take over as the firm’s new Managing Partner for Scotland. The news comes as EY confirms its plan to increase its Scottish headcount by 25% in the next 12 months.
Ally, who joined EY in September 2016, will take over from incumbent Managing Partner, Mark Harvey, on 1 July 2019. In his current role, Ally has led the firm’s Scottish TAS practice to 15% and 21% growth in its last two financial years, helping secure deals for prominent Scottish clients such as Simon Howie Group, QTS Group and Weir Group.
Ally said: “It’s a real honour to take up the role of managing partner. Under Mark’s leadership EY has enjoyed significant growth in Scotland, securing notable client wins across all service lines and investing in our product offering to support a broader range of businesses.
“Our ambition to increase headcount to 1,250 staff across all levels in the next 12 months is a strong signal of our intent to build on that momentum. It’s an exciting time to be part of our business. Our continued investment in technology and automation has resulted in our Edinburgh office becoming EY’s UK Centre of Excellence in Data Analytics and provides our clients with an exceptional level of strategic insight and clarity in decision making.
“The Scottish market is brimming with ambitious and talented individuals who want to work with a diverse range of clients from owner-managed scale ups seeking on the ground support with funding and people strategy, through to established blue-chip brands with global operations.
“I am really looking forward to working with Sue Dawe, EY’s Head of Financial Services in Scotland, and my colleagues across our business to bring our new services to market and offer our clients an exceptional service based right here in Scotland.”
Mark Harvey will remain in the business as a Partner based in the firm’s Glasgow office before leaving in April 2020 to join Arnold Clark as Chief Financial Officer later in the year. Since taking on the Scotland Managing Partner role in 2015, Mark has steered EY to annual revenue of £170m, up from £100m. The firm now works with 75% of Scotland’s 100 largest businesses, while investing in a growing Private Mid-Market platform. Mark has also been instrumental in championing the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion programme and 62% of all new Scottish Equity Partners since 2015 have been female.
Steve Varley, Chairman of EY in UK and Ireland, said: “Mark has been an integral part of our business for more than two decades, including 13 years as a Partner. I’d personally like to thank him for the huge strides the Scottish business has taken under his leadership.
“I’m also really pleased to welcome Ally to the role of Managing Partner for Scotland. His profile and experience in the Scottish market from his time as Managing Director and Country Head at Barclays and his successful leadership of our Scottish TAS practice are attributes which will help us realise our aspirations in Scotland in the coming years. This certainly is an exciting time for EY in Scotland and I look forward to working with Ally and the team to build on our success so far.”