Blake Adlem (Financial Services Assurance, based in Edinburgh), Blair Hopkins (People Advisory Services, based in Glasgow) and Scott Kenyon (Consulting, based in Glasgow) have been promoted to equity partner.

EY Scotland also welcomes Susan Hunter (People Advisory Services, based in Glasgow) who is joining the practice as a partner from APM Terminal Bahrain, and Colin Tait (Financial Service Strategy and Transactions, based in Edinburgh) who joins as an associate partner from Deloitte. The appointments reinforce the EY’s commitment to nurturing talent and strengthening its sector expertise.

Blake Adlem is a Partner in EY’s Financial Services practice, providing audit and assurance services to regional, national and international financial services clients, and has spent the last fourteen years working with some of the most high profile financial services businesses. Blake joined EY in 2017 in Manchester, having previously worked and qualified at PwC, and relocated to Edinburgh in 2020 to lead the Banking audit practice in Scotland.

Blair Hopkins leads EY’s Organisation and Workforce Transformation practice. He helps clients drive value from their workforce through delivering data driven services in strategic workforce planning, people analytics and organisation design. His client experience extends across the public and private sector, including clients in health, human services, aviation, power & utilities, life sciences, defence, public transportation, emergency services, FMCG, resources, financial services and manufacturing.

Susan Hunter joins EY’s Change Experience competency in Workforce Advisory after 13 years of living and working in the Middle East, where most recently she was CEO of APM Terminal Bahrain. Susan has extensive experience of corporate strategy implementation, business transformation and operations in the global shipping and integrated logistics industry. She has held senior management positions with APM Terminals (Bahrain and UAE) and Maersk, focusing on business transformation, growth and development.

Scott Kenyon has over 20 years’ experience leading large technology enabled transformation programmes, across a broad spectrum of industries (with a focus on Government and Infrastructure) in his career, working with large global organisations. Scott has been promoted to Partner in the EY’s Technology Consulting practice, which demonstrates EY’s commitment to building a strong technology consulting business. Scott will continue to lead his UK&I remit, however he will also be focusing on expanding EY’s technology footprint in Scotland.

Ally Scott, managing partner for EY in Scotland, said: “These promotions reflect the continued investment in our Scotland business as well as the hard work and talent of our people to reach these significant career milestones. Our colleagues will bring valuable insights to our clients across the market, from entrepreneurial and mid-market private businesses to some of the largest listed and multi-national corporates based in Scotland.

“Our EY people – from graduates and apprentices to our Partner team – will continue to help clients navigate the ongoing uncertainty, prepare for future growth, and build a vibrant, resilient business community as we transition to a green economy and continue to attract foreign investment to Scotland.”

Sue Dawe, financial services managing partner for EY Scotland, added: “Underlining EY’s commitment to growing our business in Scotland, we’ve continued to invest in top talent despite the challenging economic backdrop. According to our recent FS Attractiveness Survey, Scotland continues a decade-long stretch of being the number one location outside London for foreign direct investment, and our new appointments will bring a wealth of experience to our clients in that market.

“Through the market obstacles and headwinds, financial services will continue to support consumers, businesses, communities and the wider economy through the pandemic and beyond, so we are making sure EY is equipped to continue as leading advisors to the sector.”