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Marie Guillemot

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Marie Guillemot
BornApril 1968
NationalityFrench
EducationEDHEC Business School; INSEAD (executive programme)
OccupationAuditor, chartered accountant, business executive
CompanyKPMG France
TitleChair of the Management Board (Présidente du Directoire) and Country Senior Partner

Marie Guillemot (born April 1968) is a French auditor and business executive who has chaired the management board of KPMG in France, the French member firm of the KPMG audit and advisory network, since May 2021. She was the first woman to lead one of the "Big Four" accounting firms in France, and she also sits on the Global Board of KPMG International.[1][2]

Guillemot qualified as a statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes) and chartered accountant (expert-comptable), graduated from EDHEC Business School and joined the firm in 2005, after which she built a practice serving large international groups in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. She ran the firm's large-accounts market and joined its executive committee in 2017, four years before partners chose her to lead the French firm.[2]

Her tenure has been marked by three large changes. In May 2022 the partners voted to give the firm the legal status of a société à mission (mission-driven company), which made it the first of the Big Four in France to adopt the status. In June 2025 the firm completed the carve-out of its accounting, payroll and legal business for small and medium-sized companies, which was sold to its own partners and the private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners and now trades as RYDGE Conseil. The French firm has since concentrated on large corporations and mid-sized companies.[3][4]

The third change came in July 2026. According to reporting by La Lettre, relayed by the consulting trade publication Consultor, the firm's supervisory board removed two of the five members of the management board, who had reportedly questioned the strategy of the firm and of Guillemot. The removals came days after the international network announced an audit of the governance of its French entities. Guillemot remained in post and named a new team to the executive committee the same month. As of November 2026 she continues to sign the French firm's announcements as chair of the management board.[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Guillemot was born in April 1968 and is a French national, according to her filings as a director with the UK registrar Companies House.[8] Her registered full name is Marie Lénaïck Anne Amélie Louise Guillemot.[8] No published source retrieved for this article describes her family background or upbringing.

Guillemot graduated from EDHEC Business School and later completed an executive programme at INSEAD. Guillemot holds the two French professional qualifications for audit and accounting: she is registered as a commissaire aux comptes (statutory auditor) and as an expert-comptable (chartered accountant).[2]

Career

Early career in audit and consulting

Guillemot's official biography states that she has worked for more than 30 years with large international groups, in both audit and consulting.[2] The biography does not name her employers before 2005, and no other retrieved source does.

KPMG France, 2005 to 2021

Guillemot joined KPMG in France in 2005. Her work there centred on the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, and she led open innovation initiatives built around a programme called HelloOpenWorld, which later became KPMG Innovation.[2]

Guillemot was then given responsibility for strategy and development of the firm's large-accounts market, the unit serving its biggest corporate clients. In 2017 Guillemot became a member of the firm's executive committee.[2]

Chair of the management board, 2021 to present

In May 2021 Guillemot became chair of the management board (Présidente du Directoire) of KPMG in France. The trade site Dogfinance reported on May 10, 2021 that she was the first woman to lead one of the Big Four firms in France. The new management board took office that month, with Axel Rebaudières and Jérôme Kieffer as managing directors (directeurs généraux) alongside her.[1] Le Figaro also dates her election as chair of the management board to May 2021.[9] French company records list her as chair of the management board of KPMG Associés, the holding company of the French partnership, from May 26, 2021.[10] Her title in the firm's communications is Présidente du Directoire, Country Senior Partner, together with membership of the Global Board of KPMG International.[2]

Her appointment to the boards of the international network's UK companies came in the same period. Companies House records show her appointed a director of KPMG International Limited, KPMG International Services Limited and KPMG International Development Limited on April 29, 2021, and of KPMG Delivery Network Ltd on June 30, 2021.[8]

Guillemot described the strategic programme she launched in 2021 as an attempt to make the firm "the leader of responsible transformation" for its clients in France, and to "reconcile growth and impact" both in the way the firm operates and in its work for large companies, mid-sized companies (ETI) and small businesses.[9] The firm's own description of her mandate places it "under the sign of responsible growth", with human, social and environmental commitments at the centre of its strategy.[2]

Mission-driven company status

In May 2022 the firm announced at the ChangeNOW conference that it would adopt the status of société à mission, a legal form created by France's 2019 Pacte law that requires a company to write a purpose and social and environmental objectives into its articles. According to the firm, 94 percent of partners voted to adopt the purpose and five mission commitments, covering talent, prosperity, the planet, civic engagement and governance. This made it the first Big Four firm in France to take the status.[3] Guillemot told Le Figaro that the firm became a mission-driven company in 2022 "to lead this change".[9]

Measures the firm presented under these commitments included a four-day week for new parents, an "impact academy" to train all staff on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, gender-balanced co-option of new partners, an ESG Centre of Excellence of more than 100 experts in France, partnerships with 35 associations and educational bodies, and up to six days of skills-based volunteering per employee.[3]

In July 2023 the firm set up the mission committee required by the status. It has eight members and is chaired by Pascal Demurger, chief executive of the mutual insurer MAIF. Its external members included Bertrand Badré, HEC Paris dean Eloïc Peyrache and Blandine Mulliez of the Fondation Entreprendre.[11]

Growth and acquisitions, 2021 to 2024

In the first years of Guillemot's mandate the firm made a series of technology acquisitions to strengthen its consulting arm. They included Silverprod (Microsoft technologies), Censio Karamba (SAP) and iCom Cloud (Salesforce), followed by Finexfi, a sustainability specialist.[12][13]

The partnership also grew. In September 2023 the firm named 46 new partners, bringing the total to nearly 600, and stated that the new class was gender-balanced, in line with the parity commitment linked to its mission status. Guillemot said the class fitted "the trajectory of parity decided by our firm".[14]

In April 2024 Guillemot announced the appointment of Damien Allo, a partner who had run the Deal Strategy practice, to the executive committee to lead the Advisory business. She said he had been "chosen at the end of a collaborative and in-depth process" and had the management board's "full confidence".[15] In the summer of 2024 the firm sold its restructuring practice, of about 100 professionals, to the British firm Interpath, according to CFNEWS.[16]

Separation of the small-business accounting arm

The largest structural decision of Guillemot's tenure was the separation of the French firm's accounting and payroll business for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises (TPE-PME), a historic line of work for KPMG in France. On December 20, 2024 the firm announced exclusive negotiations with TowerBrook Capital Partners, which agreed to acquire the business together with its partners, along with the related legal practice.[17] The business had about 250 partners, 4,500 staff and more than 100,000 clients.[17] CFNEWS put its revenue at €400 million.[16]

In a joint statement with Axel Rebaudières, Guillemot described the deal as "a decisive step" in the firm's "strategic decision" to make the small-business accounting activity autonomous and to "reinvest strongly" in its historic businesses of audit, consulting and tax and legal.[17]

The sale to the partners and TowerBrook closed on June 26, 2025, and the business took the name RYDGE Conseil. The firm said the operation carried out "the strategic repositioning undertaken by the management board of KPMG in France, chaired by Marie Guillemot, and decided with the partners". Guillemot called it "one of the largest carve-out operations of professional services ever carried out in France", creating two firms that each led their market: one serving large companies and mid-sized firms, the other advising entrepreneurs.[4] Lazard and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised the seller.[4] Jérôme Kieffer, formerly a managing director on Guillemot's management board, went on to chair RYDGE Conseil.[17][18] French company records list Guillemot as president of the entity RYDGE Conseil from September 23, 2021 to November 13, 2025.[10]

Refocusing on large companies, 2025 to 2026

After the separation, Guillemot reorganised the remaining firm around large corporations and mid-sized companies. In March 2025 it set out a structure of seven regions and 45 offices, with more than 2,000 staff outside Paris.[19] In July 2025 it named 12 new partners and gave its headcount as 7,200 in France and French-speaking Africa.[20] In December 2025 Guillemot appointed or confirmed 16 sector leaders, arguing that the firm's model was "founded on a fine understanding of industrial dynamics and competitive issues".[21]

In January 2026 the French firm launched the network's global brand campaign "Make The Difference", which it presented as supporting its repositioning towards large companies and mid-sized firms.[22] In March 2026 it created KPMG Strategy, a unit of 150 people combining strategy consulting and operational transaction work, run by partner Ines Omri under the supervision of Allo, who by then sat on the management board.[23] The same month Guillemot named Antoine Desjars co-head of Clients and Markets, reporting to the management board.[24]

Management board crisis, July 2026

In late July 2026 the firm went through what Consultor, citing La Lettre, called "a serious governance crisis". The supervisory board, chaired by Vincent de Becquevort, met at 7 a.m. on July 22, 2026 and decided to remove Allo, who led the Advisory business and the artificial intelligence strategy, and the head of audit. According to the report, they were two of the five members of the management board and had "questioned" the strategy of the firm and of Guillemot. Both were placed on suspension (mise à pied), and when they arrived at the firm's headquarters at La Défense they found their access badges had been deactivated.[5]

The same report said the decision came a few days after KPMG International announced an audit of the governance of the French entities, to run over the summer. Citing La Lettre, it said the audit followed several reports made to the network's ethics line, and that the French firm faced "serious shareholder disputes". It linked the decision to internal tensions and disappointing results in the Advisory business. The people involved did not respond to Consultor's requests for comment.[5] In a follow-up article, Consultor reported, again citing La Lettre, that the Advisory branch had needed an emergency recapitalisation at the end of January 2026 after accumulating €68 million in losses, and that about 20 Advisory partners had left. The firm did not confirm the partner departures to Consultor.[25]

On July 27, 2026, five days after the removals, Guillemot announced three appointments to the executive committee: Valérie Besson as head of Audit, Mathieu Schohn as head of Deal Advisory and Laurent Choain as head of Consulting and Tech. She said the appointments showed the firm's "ambition to carry higher the benefit of our multidisciplinary model".[6] KPMG Strategy was moved under Schohn.[25] On July 29, 2026 the firm named 21 new partners effective October 1, 2026, which it said brought the total to 36 new partners since the June 2025 refocusing.[26]

As of November 2026 the firm's governance page lists a management board of three: Guillemot as chair, Axel Rebaudières as managing director in charge of operations, and Mustapha Oussedrat, president of KPMG Avocats.[27] On November 10, 2026 Guillemot, as chair of the management board, announced the appointment of Jacques Cornic as head of the insurance sector from December 2026.[7]

Leadership and management style

The firm's biography of Guillemot names professional excellence and a management model "encouraging initiative and team spirit" as the main parts of her leadership, and cites the network's values (Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, For Better) as her daily inspiration.[2]

In a December 2023 interview with Le Figaro, headlined with her view that "the classic pyramid model is no longer suited", she discussed the management implications of the mission-driven status. She described the firm's priority since 2021 as reconciling growth and impact.[9] In a January 2026 podcast interview for the series La Story, produced for the firm, Guillemot spoke about leadership amid overlapping crises, artificial intelligence and economic tension. The episode summary describes her view of leadership as founded on "discernment, adaptability and confidence in the collective".[28]

Guillemot's approach to the partnership has included targets on gender balance. The firm committed to gender-balanced co-option of new partners as part of its mission objectives, and Guillemot presented the 2023 partner class as in line with that "trajectory of parity".[3][14] When making appointments Guillemot has stressed the firm's multidisciplinary model, which combines audit, consulting and tax and legal work. She returned to that theme in the sector-leadership changes of December 2025 and the executive committee appointments of July 2026.[21][6]

Major deals and strategic decisions

  • Mission-driven company status (May 2022): adoption of the société à mission status after a vote by 94 percent of partners.[3]
  • Technology acquisitions (2022 to 2024): purchase of Silverprod, Censio Karamba, iCom Cloud and Finexfi to build Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce and sustainability capabilities.[12][13]
  • Sale of the restructuring practice (2024): disposal of a team of about 100 to Interpath.[16]
  • Carve-out of RYDGE Conseil (December 2024 to June 2025): sale of the small-business accounting, payroll and related legal business, with about €400 million in revenue according to CFNEWS, to its partners and TowerBrook Capital Partners.[17][16][4]
  • KPMG Strategy (March 2026): creation of a combined strategy and transactions unit of 150 people.[23]
  • Management board changes (July 2026): removal of two management board members by the supervisory board and appointment of new heads of Audit, Deal Advisory and Consulting.[5][6]

Financial and market performance

The French firm is a partnership and is not listed, so there is no share price. It publishes revenue for fiscal years ending on September 30.

  • Fiscal year 2022: revenue of €1.37 billion, up 7 percent, with about 11,000 staff and 200 offices, according to Le Figaro.[9]
  • Fiscal year 2023: revenue of €1.47 billion, up 7 percent. Consulting grew 14.1 percent to €482 million, audit 3.4 percent to €431 million, small-business accounting and payroll 3 percent to €415 million, and tax and legal 7.7 percent to €139 million. By market, large accounts grew 6.1 percent and mid-sized companies 12.9 percent.[12]
  • Fiscal year 2024: revenue of €1.55 billion, up 5.6 percent. Consulting reached €502 million (up 5.7 percent), audit €463 million (up 7.3 percent), small-business accounting and payroll €432 million (up 4.3 percent), and tax and legal €151 million (up 4 percent). Guillemot called 2024 "a solid year" with "sustained growth in all its businesses and all its markets".[13]
  • After the carve-out: the firm gives its revenue as €1.1 billion excluding the small-business activity sold in June 2025, with about 8,000 staff, 6,600 of them in France, and 45 offices.[27]

No retrieved source gives results for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025.

Board memberships and outside roles

  • Guillemot is a member of the Global Board of KPMG International.[2]
  • Director of KPMG International Limited, KPMG International Services Limited, KPMG International Development Limited and 5678 Limited since April 29, 2021, and of KPMG Delivery Network Ltd since June 30, 2021 (UK companies).[8]
  • Chair of the management board of KPMG Associés since May 26, 2021. Since April 28, 2023 she has also been chair of the board of directors and chief executive of KPMG SA, after serving as chair of its management board from May 26, 2021. She has also been president of several French subsidiaries, including KPMG Expertise et Conseil (since March 11, 2025) and K.P.M.G. Corporate Finance (since August 11, 2026), according to company records.[10]
  • Former president of KPMG Advisory (October 1, 2021 to December 16, 2025) and former managing director of KPMG Interprofessions (June 2, 2021 to January 21, 2026).[10]

Controversies

The removal of two management board members in July 2026 drew coverage in the French trade press. Consultor, citing La Lettre, reported that the two had questioned the strategy of the firm and of Guillemot, that the decision came days after KPMG International opened an audit of the French entities' governance following reports to its ethics line, and that the firm faced shareholder disputes. These were press reports. No retrieved source records a finding against Guillemot or the firm from that audit.[5][25]

Personal life

No retrieved source describes Guillemot's family or private life. Her official profile describes her as "passionate about innovation".[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Marie Guillemot devient Présidente de KPMG France". Dogfinance. May 10, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 "Marie Guillemot". KPMG en France. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "KPMG, entreprise à mission depuis 1 an". KPMG en France. May 11, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "KPMG en France se recentre sur ses clients Grands Comptes et ETI". KPMG en France. June 26, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "KPMG : éviction du directoire pour le pilote des activités Advisory qui supervise KPMG Strategy". Consultor. July 25, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Nomination de Valérie Besson, Mathieu Schohn et Laurent Choain à la tête des métiers de l'Audit et du Conseil". KPMG en France. July 27, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "KPMG en France nomme Jacques Cornic à la tête du secteur Assurance". KPMG en France. November 10, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Marie Lénaïck Anne Amélie Louise GUILLEMOT: personal appointments". Companies House. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Bodescot, Anne."Marie Guillemot (KPMG): «Le modèle pyramidal classique n'est plus adapté»". December 3, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Madame Marie GUILLEMOT". Societe.com. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Comité de mission KPMG : Composition". KPMG en France. July 4, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Résultats KPMG en France : focus Tech & ESG 2023". KPMG en France. January 16, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Des résultats solides pour KPMG en France". KPMG en France. January 28, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "KPMG nomme 46 nouveaux associés en France". KPMG en France. September 15, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Damien Allo nommé au Comité Exécutif de KPMG en France". KPMG en France. April 5, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Mangeret, Anne-Gabrielle."KPMG spin-off ses activités aux TPE/PME". CFNEWS. December 20, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 "KPMG France en négociations exclusives avec TowerBrook". KPMG en France. December 20, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  18. ↑ "De Roland Berger à Rydge Conseil : portrait de Grégory Morel". Consultor. January 7, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  19. ↑ "KPMG France renforce ses compétences pluridisciplinaires". KPMG en France. March 20, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  20. ↑ "KPMG en France nomme 12 nouveaux Associés". KPMG en France. July 24, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "KPMG renforce son leadership sectoriel pour accompagner le développement des grandes entreprises et ETI". KPMG en France. December 11, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  22. ↑ "MAKE THE DIFFERENCE : KPMG affirme son repositionnement stratégique et son identité avec sa nouvelle campagne de marque". KPMG en France. January 15, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "KPMG France renforce son conseil en stratégie et transactions opérationnelles". KPMG en France. March 13, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  24. ↑ "KPMG annonce la nomination d'Antoine Desjars". KPMG en France. March 26, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "KPMG renouvelle son état-major après l'éviction des patrons du conseil et de l'audit". Consultor. July 29, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  26. ↑ "21 nouveaux Associés rejoignent le partnership de KPMG en France". KPMG en France. July 29, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "KPMG, Cabinet à mission". KPMG en France. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Hors-série KPMG: Entretien avec Marie Guillemot (1/2): Leadership sous haute tension". La Story, Acast. January 25, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
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