BrazilHungarian Nick Kós succeeds Olga Grygier-Siddons as CEO of PwC CEE
PwC’s Central and Eastern Europe division has a new CEO at its helm. Per the 1st of July, Nick Kós, the CEO of PwC Hungary, has succeeded Olga Grygier-Siddons, the former CEO of PwC Poland who has taken a one-year sabbatical.
The Central and Eastern Europe business of PwC employs more than 10,000 people across offices in twelve countries. For the past four years the division was led by Olga Grygier-Siddons, a partner in the firm’s Polish member firm. Grygier-Siddons joined PwC in 1991, working for the Corporate Finance team in London. In 2004 she moved to Poland, where she ascended the ranks, appointed CEO of PwC Poland in 2009, after which she landed the top CEE role in 2014.
Commenting on her departure, she said, “It has been an honour. I’m particularly proud of all the work we are doing with our clients and stakeholders to make our countries and the region of Central and Eastern Europe more competitive and prominent in the global economy. My warm thanks to our clients for engaging with us, and to all of our people across the region for their hard work in helping to build trust, solve important problems and make a real difference in the societies in which we operate.”
Following 25+ years working uninterrupted at PwC, one of the world's largest accounting and consulting firms, Grygier-Siddons has decided to take a year-off. “During the months ahead I look forward to recharging, reflecting, and examining a number of exciting options for my next chapter.”
Her successor, Nick Kós, is a 49 year-old Hungarian national who has been with PwC for 27 years, 24 of them based in the CEE region and 18 as an Assurance partner. He is currently Country Managing Partner of the Hungarian firm, and previously he held the leadership positions of Assurance Leader for the Western Region, Consumer and Industrial Products Assurance Leader in Poland, and Assurance Leader for Russia and the Eastern Region. Kós worked for major clients in the region, including Nokia, MOL and Diageo.
Grygier-Siddons: “My congratulations to Nick Kós. I am and will remain a confident supporter of the development of our region leadership – and a firm believer in the power of responsible leadership to foster innovation and sustainable business success.” The departing CEO has worked closely with Kós in recent months to “ensure a smooth and successful transition”.
Commenting on his new role, Kós said, “This is an exciting time for PwC in Central and Eastern Europe and it is a privilege to lead our team as we work together to take our firm from strength to strength. I will remain focused on delivering the best of PwC to our clients while continuing to invest in our people, skills and technology – all of which are key to our future success. Helping our clients respond to the challenges and opportunities of the current market climate by giving them access to high quality teams and services is vital. I look forward to working with our Partners across the region to maximize our relationships with clients and continue to bring value to our clients and wider stakeholders.”
PwC Central and Eastern Europe
PwC’s footprint in Central and Eastern Europe has seen growth under Grygier-Siddons’s tenure. PwC Hungary, which was established in 1989, added several senior professionals this year, including Szabolcs Mezei and Balint Gombkoto, and Farkas Bársony and Zsolt Wermeser. Meanwhile, the firm’s research arm found that, despite the economic challenges ahead, Hungarian CEOs are optimistic about the future.
In neighbouring Ukraine, PwC Ukraine is in the process of hiring 350 new professionals to staff its new Shared Delivery Centre in Lviv, its first in Ukraine and third in CEE. PwC Poland, with around 4,500 professionals the firm’s largest organisation in the CEE region, has announced that it will relocate its Krakow operation to a larger office to accommodate for growth. In Poland, PwC has locales in eight cities: in Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Lodz, Poznan, Rzeszow, Wroclaw and Warsaw.
* The CEE region comprises of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the three Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
