By Dipo Olowookere
Urbane and well-connected economist and accountant, Mr Kunle Elebute, has been appointed Chairman for KPMG Africa.
With this new appointment, Mr Elebute is now a member of the KPMG Global Board and continues to sit on the KPMG Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMA) Board.
Mr Elebute, who has over three decades of working experience, is presently the National Senior Partner (NSP) for KPMG in Nigeria, a position he will combine with his new appointment.
KPMG is a leading auditing firm in the world, though its South African arm is presently in a big mess, over its role in the Gupta family business, which has made some firms in the former apartheid country to stop the services of the auditing company.
With his new appointment, Mr Elebute is expected to bring his outstanding client service and leadership credentials, alongside in-depth knowledge of the African market and business environment into KPMG Africa.
He is a respected economist and accountant in Africa and his deep knowledge of the terrain is expected to be a huge addition to the firm.
Commenting, Mr Elebute said, “With 33 offices servicing 54 countries, KPMG is well represented across the African continent.
“The firm’s extensive network of practices enables KPMG to ensure that our clients have access to a blend of professionals who are well versed with local conditions, giving them access to skilled resources, no matter where they are in Africa.
“I am honoured to take on this position of leadership for KPMG in Africa. As Africa continues to record an interesting interplay of rapid development across many economic sectors with disruption, rapid change and technological evolution; our commitment to inspire confidence and empower change in all we do for clients is one thing that unifies all the KPMG member Firms on the continent.
“We recognize that our commitment comes with a huge responsibility to many organizations across the continent and that is why everything we do is underpinned by a shared set of values that guide our every action, none more so than our focus on integrity.”
Mr Elebute qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1986 and has led various strategic and transformational projects for local & global clients.
He was admitted as a Partner in 1996 and over the years, he has shown exemplary leadership, heading various functions and sectors including the Financial Services Audit Practice, Financial Advisory Services, the Financial Services Industry (FSI) and ‘Infrastructure, Government & Healthcare’ (IGH).
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale