Press Release
Grant Thornton deepens investment in Financial Services through senior appointments
09 Jun 2025
Grant Thornton UK has bolstered its Financial Services Advisory offering with a series of senior internal promotions, including one new Partner and two new Directors. These promotions reflect the firm’s continued investment in the growth of its specialist financial services sector team and its focus on delivering high-quality, market-leading solutions to clients across the financial services market.
Klaas de Vries has been promoted to Partner in the firm’s Financial Services Advisory team, focusing on Actuarial and Risk. Klaas joined Grant Thornton in 2022 and has over 25 years of experience across insurance, investment management and banking. He has held senior roles both in professional services firms and the insurance industry. In his new role, Klaas is responsible for coordinating the firm’s risk management services for insurance clients, supporting them in navigating an increasingly complex global landscape.
He will lead the development of strategic frameworks to address risks stemming from geopolitical shifts, climate change, and regulatory change, while contributing to the continued growth of the team.
Paul Staples has been promoted to Director in the Financial Services Advisory team. Based in Bristol, Paul supports financial services clients across the UK in navigating complex and evolving regulatory requirements. With over 20 years at Grant Thornton, he brings deep sector experience spanning investment management, banking, payments and insurance.
In his new role, Paul will play a key part in expanding the firm’s regulatory advisory capabilities, helping clients align compliance efforts with strategic business goals. He also authors Grant Thornton’s weekly regulatory newsletter, which supports thousands of firms in staying ahead of emerging regulations in the dynamic financial services space.
Sophie Williams has been promoted to Audit Director in the Financial Services Audit team. Based in London, Sophie joined Grant Thornton in 2010. Having qualified in 2015, she has steadily progressed through the team and will now be leading audit engagements and signing audit opinions, while playing a key role in growing the financial services audit business.
Alex Ellerton, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Grant Thornton UK, commented,
“These well-deserved promotions are a great indication of the continuing growth of Grant Thornton’s financial services business. Sophie, Paul and Klaas work with our clients on the most important and innovative areas, right across our Banking, Capital Markets, Payments, Insurance and Asset Management sub-sectors. As key leaders within our practice of over 1,500 experts, I know they will all be excited to continue to help our clients to grow UK financial services through an era of unprecedented change.”
