EY Managing Partner Contenders Emerge as US Leader to Retire

EY is poised to pick a new US leader in the coming months who will steer the Big Four firm as it grapples with AI technology set to disrupt the consulting and accounting industries.

Three firm leaders are vying for support of partners and principals to serve as Ernst & Young LLP’s next managing partner and succeed Julie Boland, who faces mandatory retirement next year. Her four-year term at the helm of the Big Four firm ends in June.

Boland is preparing to retire next year after she turns 60, EY said in a statement. She is “committed to supporting a smooth and successful transition for her eventual successor,” the statement said.

The firm’s assurance leader, an audit partner, and the leader of EY’s financial services practice are contenders for the role running EY’s US affiliate that brought in $21.8 billion in fees in 2024. The firm hasn’t reported 2025 revenue figures.

Dante D’Egidio, vice chair for assurance for EY Americas, is one of the names under consideration, according to a source familiar with the firm’s succession planning. D’Egidio runs a practice of 30,000 people and has previously led the firm’s audits of Hilton Worldwide.

Audit partner Alex Bender is another contender, the source said. Bender works with EY telecommunications clients and has led audits for Verizon Communications Inc. as well as Netflix Inc. and Workday Inc.

The shortlist also includes Shawn Smith, EY Americas’ financial services leader, the source said. Smith, who oversees a practice of 14,000 employees, stepped into the role in 2024 after his predecessor Janet Truncale was tapped to run EY’s global arm.

The firm’s governing board steers the nomination process but partners will ultimately vote on who will get the job, according to the source.

Boland, the second woman to hold the top role at the US firm, sits on the governing board along with 10 elected partners who oversee the firm’s finances and operational risks. The body was formed as part of a governance overhaul that handed more power to partners and principals in the wake of EY’s failed 2023 breakup.

Under Boland’s leadership, the US firm has pledged $1 billion to boost salaries of young recruits and expand its use of artificial intelligence. The firm said last week that it expected a sharp improvement in its audit quality marks.

EY, like its other Big Four peers, has invested heavily in artificial intelligence from generative AI to agents that can perform autonomous tasks to get ahead of client demand but also to help its employees adopt new powerful tools. The technology, however, threatens to reduce the need for roles like accountants and software developers that fill the ranks of the Big Four workforce.