Mike Baird to join KPMG board in move to increase independence

The former NSW premier and current chair of Cricket Australia will join the national board of KPMG Australia in a bid to strengthen governance.

Mike Baird. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Former NSW premier and current chair of Cricket Australia, Mike Baird, will join the national board of KPMG Australia in a bid to strengthen governance as the Big Four professional services firms remain under pressure to be more accountable.

Mr Baird’s appointment was announced to staff on Wednesday morning along with that of Jane Hemstritch, a long-time non-executive director.

They will join current board member Patty Akopiantz, co-founder of investment entity, Assembly Climate Capital, to bring to three the number of independent directors at KPMG and total numbers on the board to 12.

The move puts KPMG well ahead of rivals such as PwC which is still to honour a commitment made last year to appoint independent directors to its governance board in the wake of the tax scandal.

KPMG appointed its first independent director, Martin Dalgleish, six years ago. He will retire next month.

Mr Baird served as NSW Liberal premier from 2014 to 2017 after holding senior roles at NAB, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.

Post politics he held senior executive roles at NAB and more recently has been CEO of aged care group, HammondCare, but has announced he will step down this year.

He is chair of the philanthropic organisation Future Generation Australia and patron of several charitable organisations.

Jane Hemstritch

Ms Hemstritch has had extensive senior executive experience in accounting, IT and change management, across the telecommunications, energy and finance sectors.

She is a former managing director Asia Pacific for Accenture Limited and has held directorships on several ASX50 companies including Commonwealth Bank and Telstra and has been recognised for her work in philanthropy.

KPMG national chairman, Martin Sheppard, said Ms Hemstritch had had an outstanding career at senior executive and board level of large public companies, spanning industries across Australia and Asia-Pacific.

He said Mr Baird’s career across the public and private sector positioned him to provide the board with unique insight and challenge.

“His government expertise, understanding of regulatory drivers and parliamentary processes is a valuable addition to the board,” Mr Sheppard said.

“Together, the three independent directors will ensure we have contemporary skills around the board table to enhance governance and provide the agility required to respond to a rapidly changing environment.”

Ms Akopiantz has held ASX director roles across the health, financial services and retail sectors and has been on the board of numerous not-for-profit organisations.

She is the co-founder of Assembly Climate Capital which invests in companies that impact climate change and is active in a broad range of climate initiatives and organisations.

Also on the KPMG board are chief executive Andrew Yates, and partners Brett Mitchell, Kim Lawry, Minh Dao, Carmel Mortell, Michael Hiller, Andrew O’Connor and Corrina Bertram.