EY plans to develop its monetary companies enterprise in EMEIA
EY’s financial services business is expected to add 3,000 jobs in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. According to the new department head, the rapid recruitment surge will take place in the next three years.
At the turn of the year it was confirmed that Omar Ali will leave his position as head of EY’s UK financial services business and take on a new intercontinental role. As Managing Partner for Client Services for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) of the Big Four company, he was responsible for market activities in the banking, insurance and asset and asset management sectors for 18 countries, including the UK. At that time, Ali went to LinkedIn to post his own feelings on the go and found that he was looking forward to the new challenge his next role would bring, “especially one critical for FS companies across Europe Time”.
Just a few months later, Ali was asked to take on the role of EY’s EMEIA Managing Partner for the broader financial services sector and to take over from Marcel Van Loo in early July. As EY wants to position itself as an indispensable partner for financial services customers in the post-pandemic recovery, it has already announced big plans in this regard. Ali expects the practice to add another 3,000 new jobs in just three years.
Speaking to Financial News, he said: “[The new roles] are all in areas where we see a lot of market dislocation where customers are often asked big questions about their future, ”Omar Ali, the new head of EMEIA’s 14,000-strong financial services business, told Financial News. Of the 3,000 new positions, around 150 roles will be at partner level. “
The announcement follows the recent promotion of a new head of financial services advisory for EY’s UK business. Regarding Alex Birkin’s promotion, Ali said he brings “the ideal combination of leadership and industry expertise to help our FS customers transform and grow their businesses in a more complex world.”
EY is expected to help its customers face a variety of challenges in the years to come and having more boots on-site will be a key factor in meeting that demand. In June, an EY survey of chief executives in the financial services sector found that cost management is a top priority for 52% of respondents over the next three years amid the Covid-19 recession.
Alongside the pandemic, however, a rapidly changing sustainability agenda in response to the acceleration of climate change poses a major challenge and opportunity for the industry. At the same time, Ali Financial News warned of an increasing risk of fragmentation in European financial services due to the seismic geopolitical changes affecting the continent still concern. He warned that doing so could increase the friction, costs and risk that could lead to financial jobs moving to the US or Asia.
He added: “After Brexit we saw a large number of financial services companies create EU hubs, but there is no city, no jurisdiction where one prevails over all others.”
