KPMG announces new partners

This is a supplied media release.

Nick McKay, Jesse Philips, Laura Youdan, Sonia Isaac and Tony Evans are appointed partners at KPMG.

Nick McKay
KPMG has appointed Nick McKay as a new mergers & acquisitions partner. Mr McKay becomes the firms’ second M&A partner in the New Zealand business, alongside Gary Ivory.

He joined KPMG in 2013 following eight years of corporate finance and investment banking experience based in Sydney with Barclays and Merrill Lynch. During Mr McKay's time in Sydney, he was primarily responsible for M&A coverage of the private equity, healthcare and consumer/retail sectors. Mr McKay’s advised on a variety of complex cross-border buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions, and since joining KPMG has led the execution of a variety of private sale transactions as well as advisory mandates for NZX listed companies.

Major M&A mandates Mr McKay has led at KPMG include advising provincial education on its recent transaction with Waterman Capital, BP on the merger of McFall Fuel and Rural Fuel, Macpac on its sale to Champ Ventures, BCS on its sale to Daifuku, Juice Products New Zealand on its sale to Sumitomo Corporation, National Tertiary Education Consortium on its sale to Aspire2 (Archer Capital) and Acurity Health on its sale to Evolution Healthcare.

Jesse Philips
KPMG New Zealand has appointed Jesse Phillips as partner in the deal advisory team.

Mr Philips provides commercial and financial advice particularly in the infrastructure and housing sectors and will lead the growth of KPMG’s debt advisory offering. He has a wealth of experience in structuring and closing large scale infrastructure projects as a financial advisor, bank debt arranger and bond underwriter in the transport, social infrastructure, water and waste sectors and has led a number of acquisitions/concession of infrastructure assets and related businesses.

Mr Philips also has a comprehensive understanding of capital markets and bank debt fundamentals and has advised a range of organisations on their financing and refinancing options, borrowing capacity assessments and led negotiation with lenders.

He rejoined KPMG New Zealand in 2013 after 10 years in London and New York with RBC Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Since returning to New Zealand he has worked on a number of recent domestic infrastructure and debt advisory projects. Mr Philip’s clients have included government and local authorities, private equity funds, construction and civil engineering firms.

Most recent mandates include:

• lead commercial advisor to the NZ Treasury on the Social Housing transfers;
• financial advisor to a government department on the refinancing of a large infrastructure project;
• financial advisor to a private investor and Community Housing Provider in relation to the acquisition of a council owned housing portfolio;
• secondment to one of the equity sponsors in the Transmission Gully PPP project;
• inancial advisor on a large hydro power project financing in the Pacific; and
• a range of debt advisory roles, including refinancing, funding option and credit analysis assessments.

Laura Youdan
Laura Youdan specialises in assurance services including financial and non financial audit, regulatory compliance and other assurance. She has a breadth of experience across agriculture, utilities and manufacturing clients. She is skilled at applying the latest techniques in data and analytics to effectively meet her clients needs. 

Sonia Isaac
Sonia Isaac is a new audit partner at KPMG Wellington. She has over 15 years’ experience at KPMG including a three year assignment to KPMG Canada.

While specialising in financial statement audit, she also supports organisations by providing guidance on accounting policies, internal controls and other assurance services.

Ms Isaac has worked with a diverse range of organisations including a number of New Zealand’s largest companies, public sector entities and those operating in the not-for-profit sector.

Tony Evans
KPMG has appointed Tony Evans as partner leading the firm’s technology advisory practice for Wellington and the public sector.

Mr Evans provides advice, independent assessment and implementation services in technology and transformation programmes. He also advises CIOs, CTOs and boards on innovation and operation of effective IT functions within organisations.

He is a knowledgeable technology consultant with over 25 years’ of experience and an established track record of large transformation programme delivery and technology advice in both the public and private sector. He has a strong understanding of technology use in the context of the Wellington public sector, and across wider New Zealand.

Most recently he was partner information technology practice with EY Wellington and prior to that, a commercial director with Accenture in Sydney with APAC responsibility for commercial and contractual aspects of complex technology initiatives. Mr Evans has delivered technology programmes and provided technology-focussed advice to wide range of local and international clients focussing on emerging technologies; cloud computing and complex implementation and outsourcing engagements.