Deloitte Announces Plans for EMEA Firm

Deloitte has announced plans to launch an EMEA segment of its global business.

The EMEA firm has been established to help strengthen global collaboration among 16 participating firms within the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, with each being responsible for the services it provides within its own market. 

The participating firms operate in more than 80 countries – led by 6,000 partners and employing 132,000 professionals – with reported revenues of €20bn (US$23.3bn).

Deloitte says the purpose of this announcement is to serve the EMEA market at even greater scale through strategic alignment across participating firms.

Discussing the announcement, Deloitte Global CEO Joe Ucuzoglu says: “Today marks a historic moment for Deloitte.

“The EMEA region forms a critical component of the global economy – home to many of the world’s most influential companies, and a key market for multinationals headquartered around the globe.”

Incremental investment in AI, cloud and sector solutions

The EMEA segment will help accelerate the shared priorities of connected firms through regional investment in innovation, technology and talent development.

Over the next four years, Deloitte EMEA expects to deploy more than €1.5bn (US$1.7bn) of incremental investment in areas including Gen AI, sovereign cloud capability, sector-specific solutions and technologies designed to support clients navigating rapidly changing markets.

Richard Houston, currently CEO of Deloitte North and South Europe and Deloitte UK, will become CEO of Deloitte EMEA.

Volker Krug, the CEO of Deloitte in Germany, will take on the position of Deputy CEO.

Sami Rahal, CEO of Deloitte Central Europe, will serve as Chair, while Liesbeth Mol, Chair of Deloitte North and South Europe, will act as Deputy Chair.

Richard says: “Deloitte EMEA uniquely strengthens our ability to invest at scale across borders to accelerate innovation in areas that matter most to our clients. 

“It builds on our market-leading local partnerships while supporting collaboration at a regional level.”

Mirroring Richard’s points on scaling investments, Volker adds: “Greater alignment within the EMEA region enables us to scale our capabilities, share expertise efficiently, and deliver even more value for our clients, our people and the markets we serve.”

Global partnership networks

The establishment of Deloitte’s EMEA group builds on several years of collaboration across the region, including the establishment of Deloitte North and South Europe, the Middle East business affiliating with the UK business and several regional investment initiatives in areas such as banking and energy transition. 

Like other global large accounting and consulting firms, Deloitte traditionally operates as a network of national partnerships separately owned and managed by the partners in each country. 

However, that model – which also is used by peers EY, KPMG and PwC – has become increasingly strained due to demand for integrated cross-border services expected by multinational clients and the need for substantial technology investments.

Regarding the benefits of the company model, Joe adds: “Our clients expect leading expertise wherever it is based, alongside seamless cross-border and technology-enabled delivery at speed. 

“The creation of Deloitte EMEA will enhance our ability to deliver the very best capabilities to the world’s leading companies.”