She would be the first woman to head PwC’s German company.
(Photo: PwC / Frank Rumpenhorst)
Dusseldorf When PwC chose the new German leadership, there was a big surprise. According to information from corporate circles, the challenger Petra Justenhoven narrowly prevailed against the previous incumbent Ulrich Störk. The 54-year-old was able to win 51 percent of the votes of the more than 600 partners, according to circles close to the management.
PwC did not want to confirm or deny the information on Monday evening. The election process for the new top German leaders ended on Monday, and the result is to be announced on Tuesday morning at the company’s annual press conference.
The appointment of Justenhagen as the new spokesperson for the management is remarkable in several ways: She will be the first woman to head PwC’s German company. With a turnover of around 2.3 billion euros, the company is the examination market leader in Germany. So far, Justenhoven has headed the assurance area within the management, i.e. the classic business of auditing companies.
In addition, it is unusual for PwC’s partners to initiate a change in management in Germany after just four years. Störk, 52, was elected to office in 2018 and was currently standing for re-election. The head of PwC usually remains in office for two four-year periods, as was the case with Störk’s predecessor Norbert Winkeljohann.
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But at least in the opinion of his critics, Störk was unable to build on the leadership and charisma of Winkeljohann in-house. In September, his management colleague Justenhoven announced that she wanted to challenge him in the upcoming election.
Now the auditor and tax advisor is facing victory in the company’s internal power struggle. The term of office of the new German leadership begins on July 1st next year. On the PwC website, on which the current management is presented, Justenhoven can be quoted as saying: “Who, if not us? When, if not now? What if not together? “
In fact, the manager at PwC would not face an easy integration task, because with only 51 percent of the partner votes, the election result is extremely close. In addition, the current allegations against PwC for tax evasion should still be on the agenda when she takes office.
PwC has been shaken by serious allegations from the tax authorities since last week. The company is said to have billed consulting services via Switzerland, although they were provided in Germany. Eight current and former employees are charged with tax evasion. Last Tuesday, a large number of public prosecutors, police officers and tax officials came to raids on several German PwC locations.
More: Public prosecutor searches PwC: suspected serious tax evasion