KPMG in India announced the election of Arun M. Kumar as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm for a five-year term, beginning February 5, 2017.

Arun Kumar succeeds Richard Rekhy, who led the firm as CEO for over four years. Arun Kumar was elected by the KPMG India Board and ratified by the India Partners. The firm executed a well-defined governance process for the selection of the CEO that aligns with the objective of building on its success as well as attracting the best talent available for this role.

Arun Kumar brings a wealth of international leadership experience to KPMG India, including his tenure in public service in the United States for the last three years as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of US and Foreign Commercial Service in the Obama Administration. In that role, he led a global organization of senior professionals present in 78 countries and all the 50 states in the US and served with distinction. On behalf of the US Government, Arun also worked to strengthen commercial ties between India and the United States and played a key role in establishing the India-US Strategic & Commercial Dialogue and a renewed India-US CEO Forum.

Arun spent the majority of his career with KPMG in the US, including serving on the KPMG US and KPMG Americas Boards from 2008-2013. He led Management Consulting / Finance Management, for the West region of KPMG, US from 2005 to 2013. He has also served on KPMG’s Global Management Consulting leadership team.

On his appointment, Arun Kumar said: “I am honored to have been elected as the Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India. I have worked closely with the people of KPMG India for many years and have always been impressed by their world class talent. I am excited to have this opportunity to work with the KPMG team in India to continue to build an organization that is recognized for their quality and for the impact they have on our clients, our people and the community in general.”

John Veihmeyer, Chairman, KPMG International said: “Our global clients recognize the increasing significance of India as the fastest growing major economy in the world. I am delighted to welcome Arun back to KPMG. He is a trusted leader, who is recognized for his integrity, strategic vision and enduring relationships and I am confident that under Arun’s leadership, KPMG India will continue to provide exceptional service to our clients, enhance our brand and further strengthen our reputation for the highest quality”.