Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) today announces the appointment of two independent directors to its Board of Governors to provide greater diversity of thought and experience as it continues to develop its global strategy to build the next generation professional services network.

Aliza Knox, head of Asia Pacific region at Cloudflare Inc (one of the world’s largest cloud network platforms), assumed her role 1 June 2019. Aliza is a digital media and financial services executive with international marketing and management experience, including at Google and Twitter, and professional services experience, including roles at Boston Consulting Group, Charles Schwab and Bankers Trust.

Martin Geh, who starts 1 July 2019, is the managing director for hardware at Google Asia Pacific, where he is responsible for leading market development and growth strategies. In the past, Martin has worked for Apple, Intel, Logitech and Lucent.

Peter Bodin, CEO, GTIL, says: “We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of building the next generation professional services organisation. To truly transform ourselves we need to harness the best minds and immerse ourselves in the disruptive forces shaping the future of business and society. Both Aliza and Martin bring invaluable insights and experience gained in businesses that have led the way in transforming not only how business is done, but how we live and work today.

“With transforming our technology being one of our key strategic drivers, I can think of no one better to help shape our thinking, challenge us and drive better outcomes for our clients and our network. Aliza and Martin also bring a wealth of experience from the Asia Pacific region, which is home to several of our strategic growth markets. I would like to welcome them both to the board and we look forward to working with them.”

The appointments will increase regional diversity on the board with both new directors based in Singapore – one of Grant Thornton’s ‘strategic cities’ under the Strategic Growth Market programme announced by Peter Bodin last year. Singapore is a gateway for international trade and investment and plays a central role as a hub to the ASEAN economic block, which is projected to become the world’s largest by 2050. Asia Pacific was also one of Grant Thornton’s fastest growing regions last year, delivering stand-out growth of 18.7%.

Scott Barnes, chair of the board, GTIL, says: “Martin and Aliza will bring creativity and insights from outside the profession and provide a constructive challenge to the board. With the pace of change facing our industry we cannot afford to be complacent or pretend that we have all the answers ourselves. I look forward to the added stimulus these appointments will bring to our decision making.”

Martin and Aliza join Judith Sprieser as independent directors, taking the total number of board members to 17. The board is the principal and overriding authority in Grant Thornton and is responsible for approving the network’s strategic direction and policies and overseeing the implementation of the global strategy. Each appointment is for a term of three years.

Any media enquiries can be referred to Thor Bostelmann, Global Corporate Communications Manager at thor.bostelmann@gti.gt.com.