Six months after joining Grant Thornton, Matt Darby has been promoted to industry leader of the firm’s Retail & Consumer Products practice.
Darby joined the mid-tier accounting and consulting firm in February this year as a partner in its Management Consulting team, with a dedicated focus on the Retail & Consumer Products industry vertical.
He now steps up to the top industry role, and leads all of Grant Thornton’s audit, accounting, tax and consulting professionals nation-wide serving clients in the retail and consumer products landscape.
Darby takes over from Luke Ritchie, who held the national industry leader role for several years and has now decided to step down.
“The Retail & Consumer Products group is our number one priority industry at Grant Thornton and I am pleased that Matt is taking the reins,” said Iain Kemp, National Managing Partner of Industry at Grant Thornton.
Thanking Ritchie for his role in building out the practice, Kemp added, “Luke has worked extremely hard to build our profile in the retail market. Our reputation and client mix in the retail industry is highly regarded and has helped us to produce interesting and rewarding work alongside our clients.”
Darby brings around 25 years of experience in consulting to the role, including experience in similar leadership positions at his previous employers, KPMG (national sector lead for Retail in the Management Consulting practice) and Publicis Sapient (Retail & Products industry lead). Earlier in his career, he spent more than 20 years at Accenture.
“I am looking forward to working with the wider team and bringing my retail experience and knowledge to continue to position Grant Thornton in retail at the very top. I know I am supported by an incredibly strong and established national team,” said Darby.
Earlier this year, Grant Thornton was named one of Australia’s top retail consulting firms for 2022.