Deloitte’s US branch has installed its first female chief executive, making it the first of the “big four” accounting and consulting firms to be led by a woman.
Cathy Engelbert has been the chairwoman and chief executive of the firm’s auditing division for several years and on Monday was elected by the board to be CEO of the company.
As the first female CEO of a big four firm in the US, Englebert will now take charge of Deloitte’s 65,000 employees and $15 billion in annual revenue.
“Cathy has a strong track record of advising some of the firm’s leading clients, and working with regulators,” Deloitte’s chairman Punkit Renjen said.
Engelbert studied accounting at Lehigh University and has been with the Deloitte for 19 years.
The newly-appointed CEO described the appointment as a “milestone”.
“This is a tangible demonstration of our commitment at Deloitte to the advancement of women,” she told Fortune.
“As you think about the workforce of the future, women and minorities are such an important part of that future.”
Engelbert also said she is proud to be leading Deloitte at a time when the company is making so much headway in terms of advancing women.
“Back in 1986, the public accounting profession was very male-dominated. As I think about the change, we have evolved enormously and [the number of] women in leadership ranks are up considerably. I am proud of that and part of that now.”
The CEO said the best career advice she has ever received is to take risks: “The people throughout my career who said, “Don’t stand still, take risks and take on new responsibilities and opportunities,” they were absolutely right.”
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants released a statement saying the appointment was a “momentous occasion for the profession”.
The appointment is an important step for an industry that is still heavily male-dominated: among accounting firms with 50 or more staff in the United States, women make up only 17% of partners.
In Australia the figures are similarly disheartening, with women making up 16.9% of partners in the top 100 accounting firms.
However late last year, Deloitte’s Australian branch also named its first female CEO, Cindy Hook.
This appointment also marked the first Australian arm of any of the big four accounting firms to install a woman in the top job.