Grant Thornton LLP, one of America’s largest providers of audit
and assurance, tax and advisory services, has announced a new
leader for the Chicago market. Arla Lach, an Audit and Assurance
partner who has been with Grant Thornton nearly 25 years, will
succeed Mark Sullivan. Sullivan is retiring after a successful,
decades-long career, including more than 14 years with the
firm.
Lach and Sullivan are working closely to ensure a seamless
transition, and Lach’s term as market managing partner will
officially begin on June 1. Between Grant Thornton’s Chicago and
Downers Grove offices, she will lead nearly 1,000 professionals,
helping them provide personalized, high-quality service to the
firm’s clients across the country.
She assumes this new role at an exciting time for the firm:
Grant Thornton will celebrate its 100-year anniversary this
summer.
David Platt, Grant Thornton’s Central region managing partner,
looks forward to working alongside Lach as the firm builds on
multiple years of record-breaking growth and the momentum of its
upcoming centennial.
“Arla has been an integral part of Grant Thornton’s growth in
Chicago, and she knows how to build and strengthen high-performing
teams,” Platt said. “It’s extremely rare for businesses to reach
100 years, and it only happens if they have people like her moving
the team forward. I know she’ll be a catalyst for even more growth
in the years ahead.”
Nichole Jordan, the firm’s national managing partner of
Geography, adds that Lach is “the right leader at the right
time.”
“From her unparalleled client service to her knack for mentoring
and motivating our people, Arla has made a tremendous impact on our
firm and our Chicago headquarters,” Jordan said. “I’m looking
forward to working alongside her as we drive more growth in the
Chicago market and provide truly distinctive experiences to our
clients across all industries.”
Lach joined the firm in 1999 and has spent her entire career at
Grant Thornton. She has served in a succession of leadership roles,
including a two-year appointment as chief of staff to the CEO,
during which time she worked alongside the chief executive and
other senior leaders to grow the firm’s business.
She also served as the Audit practice leader for the Chicago
office, and most recently, she was the firm’s Midwest Geography
leader, overseeing audit work for all clients served by the firm’s
teams in Chicago, Minneapolis and Wisconsin. In this role, she
helped the firm attain multiple years of record revenues while
helping clients successfully navigate the challenges posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain crisis.
Her accomplishments in these major leadership roles helped Lach
win a 2022 Notable Gen X Leader in Accounting award from Crain’s
Chicago Business. Lach’s appointment also makes her the first woman
to lead Grant Thornton’s Chicago office — advancing the firm’s
recent DE&I progress. Forty percent of Grant Thornton’s
partners, principals and managing directors are now women or come
from diverse demographics, including people of color, LGBTQ+
people, individuals with disabilities, and veterans or military
spouses.
Lastly, Lach’s industry experience spans an array of sectors,
including manufacturing, distribution, technology, life sciences
and professional services. Sullivan has seen firsthand how this
industry knowledge benefits Lach’s colleagues and the firm’s
clients.
“As part of my Chicagoland leadership team, Arla has spent the
last three years epitomizing what it means to be a professional
services leader in the new era of our industry,” Sullivan said.
“She has the invaluable ability to translate industry knowledge
into strong and effective strategies, and just as importantly, she
is the kind of compassionate, people-focused leader that
professionals love to work with.”
In turn, Lach is eager to praise Sullivan, who previously served
on the firm’s Partnership Board and spent decades helping
businesses navigate complex regulatory matters.
“Mark and our incredible Chicago team have helped Grant Thornton
expand our footprint in both Chicago and across the country, and
we’re going to continue what we’ve started,” Lach said.
She concluded: “As a lifelong Chicagoan, I take immense pride in
providing our city’s businesses a level of service they can’t get
anywhere else. That’s why I’m eager to help our talented
professionals exceed our clients’ expectations in every way
possible.”
Lach earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
About Grant Thornton LLP Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is
one of America’s largest providers of audit and assurance, tax and
advisory services — and the U.S. member firm of the Grant Thornton
International Ltd global network. We go beyond the expected to make
business more personal and build trust into every result. With
revenues of $2.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended July 31,
2023, and almost 50 offices nationwide, Grant Thornton is a
community of more than 8,000 problem solvers who value
relationships and are ready to help organizations of all sizes and
industries create more confident futures. Because, for us, how we
serve matters as much as what we do.
“Grant Thornton” refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member
firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the
member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are
delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not
agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for
one another’s acts or omissions.
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