Spear’s Review

The first woman to permanently run a Big Four firm in the UK, Anna Anthony is the regional managing partner for the UK and Ireland at EY, leading a business of more than 20,000 people.

The Cambridge alumna and qualified chartered accountant took on the role at a difficult time: EY has faced sluggish profits – a challenge facing many of the world’s largest consulting firms – and is still dealing with the fallout from a $600 million plan to split its audit and advisory divisions that was abandoned in 2023.

Anthony has held a number of senior leadership roles at EY since joining in 2004, including serving as head of the firm’s UK financial services division. As EY’s UK business is the firm’s second-largest operation after the US, Anthony will no doubt be an influential player in the firm’s future in the UK and further afield. 

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