Deloitte appoints new Aberdeen office head

Deloitte’s Graham Hollis has been appointed senior partner at the firm’s Aberdeen office, ahead of the retirement of longstanding practice lead, Derek Henderson.

Mr Hollis moved to the city when he became a partner with the firm in June 2008. Prior to this he spent 13 years with Deloitte’s oil and gas team in London.

He leads Deloitte’s upstream audit and advisory practice in Scotland, its international practice for Scotland and the north of England and has over 20 years’ experience working with the oil and gas and oilfield service industries, both in the UK and internationally.

Mr Henderson retires at the end of this month after two decades as a corporate tax partner with Deloitte.

He became senior partner of the Aberdeen office in 2000, after being promoted to partner in 1997.

The Big Four firm said that he leaves the office tax team in “great shape” following the promotion of three colleagues to director in the last 24 months, bringing the total number of directors in Aberdeen to six.

The firm has a history of investment in the city and this has continued over the last two years, despite the challenges facing the North East economy.

It has reiterated its commitment to the oil and gas industry by sponsoring Oil & Gas UK’s Aberdeen Business Breakfasts until the end of 2017, and last year was headline sponsor of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Granite production.

In 2015, the firm also launched its annual UKCS Upstream Supply Chain Collaboration Survey in partnership with Oil & Gas UK, now in its third year. This looks at behaviours towards supply chain collaboration, and investigates how operators and suppliers can work together more effectively to help drive change and efficiency within the industry. Deloitte also continues to work closely with Aberdeen’s universities to attract more graduate talent to the firm, as well as developing school leavers through its BrightStart programme.

Mr Hollis said: “Aberdeen has an important role to play for Deloitte and we are continuing to invest in our practice here – particularly as we combine our depth and breadth of capabilities with eight market leading member firms, including Norway, as our North West Europe firm takes shape. Most recently, our commitment to the city has been encapsulated by our sponsorship of Granite and Oil & Gas UK’s breakfast events, an important forum for bringing the industry together.

“Derek has made a significant impact on Deloitte’s presence in Aberdeen, providing strong leadership to over 100 staff in the city, as well as advice to our clients during periods of great change and complexity for the North Sea industry. We believe the industry has turned a corner in 2017 and many businesses in the North East are well-placed to make the most of the opportunities that undoubtedly remain in the UK Continental Shelf.”

Mr Henderson added: “In my time at Deloitte the oil and gas industry has been through a great deal of change, which has brought with it both substantial opportunities for the North Sea and a variety of challenges. It has been an honour to work with some of the world’s leading energy companies and support them through the past two decades.

“I know that I’m leaving the Aberdeen practice in safe hands – Graham has been with the firm for a long time and knows the industry, the city, and our office, exceptionally well. I wish him and the entire team all the best for the future.”