Chris Horne has been appointed deputy chief executive officer and will support chief executive officer Dawn Marriott on the development and expansion of the business across Europe and the UK.

Chris Horne was managing partner for Azets in Scotland and Northern England and had previously led the Scottish firm Campbell Dallas through a period of rapid organic growth and the acquisition of six leading independent firms in Scotland.

Campbell Dallas had expanded to 50 partners, 500 staff and 8 offices when the business rebranded to Azets in September 2020. Chris Horne is a passionate advocate of staff development.

Peter Gallanagh has been promoted to chief executive officer for Scotland and the North and was previously regional managing partner for Azets in Glasgow where he worked closely with Chris Horne on the expansion and development of the business. In this new role he will oversee the development and growth of the Azets brand across Scotland and the North of England. He advises a wide range of owner managed businesses and is a specialist in the aquaculture, construction, and pharmacy sectors.

Greig McKnight has been appointed as the new regional managing partner of Azets Glasgow office. Greig McKnight undertakes external audits for a wide range of clients and is an expert in complex technical accounting issues. He will be replaced by Bernadette Higgins, promoted to head of external audit in Scotland who has extensive experience leading the external audits for a portfolio of commercial, engineering and large public sector clients.

Commenting on the appointments, Dawn Marriot, chief executive officer, said: “On behalf of the business I would like to congratulate Chris, Peter, Greig and Bernadette on their promotions. They bring considerable experience in the development of a fast-growing accountancy firm and will play a key role as we expand Azets both internationally and across the UK.”

Newly appointed deputy chief executive officer Chris Horne, added: “We are all delighted to have been appointed to these exciting new roles with Azets and are looking forward to helping lead the growth of the business.

“Azets is already the largest regional adviser to SME’s in the UK and provider of outsourced accounting in the Nordics and we are well-known as a leading provider of digitally-led accounting and advisory services. We have a clear goal to consolidate that reputation whilst driving the expansion of the client base. We are very much looking forward to the challenge.”