News

New VP For Americas Region

DFK International has seen a changing of the guard for the Americas region.

Nigel Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Taylor Leibow LLP Accountants and Advisors, based in Ontario, Canada, has taken the reins as the new Vice President of the Americas region.

An extremely active member of DFK International, Nigel has been a DFK Canada board member on behalf of his firm for the last 15 years and was elected as DFK Canada Vice President in 2014 before becoming President in 2018.

He succeeds Paul Panabaker, Senior Partner at Davis Martindale LLP, based in Ontario, Canada, who served as Vice President of the Americas for two terms, and is set to focus on ensuring member firms across the region have the resources they need to succeed.

Nigel said: “I am very excited to begin my term as Vice President of the Americas region. It is made up of some very strong national groups and has had a number of excellent Vice Presidents over the years.

“It is an opportunity for me to give back again particularly in view of the positive impact DFK has had on the ongoing longevity and success that Taylor Leibow has experienced, and I will be looking to support member firms in their efforts to be both successful and sustainable.

“DFK is an extremely valuable association that allows firms to compete globally through their ability to provide services to their clients across the globe while also giving members firms the opportunity to share best practices and learn from each other.

“We will be looking at what else our members need and will endeavour to provide the resources to support these needs.  I also have strong governance experience which I can use effectively at the International Executive Board and I also hope to share this with firms who require assistance in this area during these challenging times.

“We will also be focusing on leadership development, through building on some of the fantastic programmes that we already have in place for our young leaders.

“Our firms are fiercely independent, so we want to assist them to remain independent by supporting them through succession and helping them to develop emerging leaders who will ultimately become the leadership of our member firms and by extension DFK.

“We will also be looking to continue to support our members in critical areas such as technology. It is something that continues to change rapidly, and firms must adapt to ensure they remain relevant and sustainable.

“As a result of the pandemic, human resources will be another key area as members try to navigate their way around the concept of a hybrid working model and what offices will look like post-pandemic.

“It will be an excellent opportunity to share ideas and best practices, and with so many exceptional people to connect with our members will be able to put policies in place which are most appropriate for their firms.”

Martin Sharp, Executive Director of DFK, said “I look forward to working with Nigel, whom I know well from his time previous time on the board as chair of DFK Canada. Nigel brings deep strategic insights and diligent business rigour to the role, and he will be a great asset for the members in the Americas Region and around the world.  I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Nigel’s predecessor, Paul Panabaker, who has devoted tremendous energy and commitment to the role, spending time to meet members from across the region.”

DFK International is one of the world’s leading associations of independent accounting, tax and business advisory firms that brings together strong national firms of public accountants to enable them to provide services of the highest professional standards to their clients. The association has been helping its Member Firms meet the needs of clients with international business interests for more than 50 years. Member Firms are chosen for the quality of service they provide in terms of both technical competence and service delivery. Members of the association that include DFK in their firm's name are classified as Network Firms in compliance with EU and IFAC requirements.

For more information please visit: www.dfk.com