PwC announced Raymund Chao’s appointment as its new Greater China chairman yesterday.

Chao, who was PwC’s assurance leader for China and Asia Pacific, succeeds Silas Yang, who retired after 32 years with the firm.

As a core member of PwC’s global assurance executive team, Chao has played an important role in leading the company’s assurance business in China and APAC region over the past decade, with more than 30 years of experience in accounting.

Chao has provided audit and business advisory services to both private and public enterprises in Hong Kong, as well as state-owned and private enterprises in Mainland China.

He has been involved in a number of onshore and offshore initial public offerings, debt financing, corporate restructuring, and merger and acquisition transactions covering the manufacturing, retailing, media and entertainment, technology and energy sectors.

The number one item on Chao’s to-do list will be to help steer the firm through a fast-changing business environment.

“Our clients and the broader market place face a future of unprecedented change. Our firm will need to remain agile in order to capture new opportunities in China and across Asia.  PwC will continue to invest in our people with the aim of building trust and solving important problems in society,” he said.

“We can achieve this by delivering timely solutions that help companies transform their business models, grow through innovation and technology, and stay ahead of global mega trends,” he added.

Chao also joins PwC’s global Network Leadership Team as one of five senior partners, and the only Asian representative, playing a vital role in setting the overall strategy for the PwC network and the standards to which the firm agrees to adhere.

Photo: provided