Azets appoints a new CEO and two external members of the Board of Directors to accelerate growth

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Horn as CEO of the Azets Group. With 120,000 clients, Azets is one of the leading European providers of services in the areas of finance, payroll and business consultancy. Horn will take full responsibility for Azets and Blick Rothenberg, with more than 160 offices in the UK and the Nordic region.

We also welcome Aase Aamdal Lundgaard and Ian Smart as external board members to accelerate the group’s growth plans.

Chris became Azets Vice President in February 2021 and worked with former CEO Dawn Marriott, who will remain with Azets as a board member.

Chris has over 15 years of experience as a Senior Accounting Executive, first as a Managing Partner at Campbell Dallas – one of Scotland’s fastest growing accounting firms – and then in a number of senior positions at Azets. He assumed the position of CEO on June 1, 2021 with a mission to lead Azet’s ambitious growth plans. The goal is to provide customers with the best services and employees in an exciting workplace.

The Board of Directors will be further strengthened by external members Aase Aamdal Lundgaard and Ian Smart who will share responsibility for setting strategic objectives and providing the Board of Directors with expertise in entrepreneurial leadership.

Aase Aamdal Lundgaard is a state certified public accountant with extensive experience from a number of senior audit positions. She has held several senior positions at Deloitte, including CEO of Deloitte Norway, Head of Audit and Consulting Operations, and Board Member of Deloitte North & South Europe LLP. She is also a member of the Deloitte Audit and Risk Committee and the Transactions Committee. On March 5, 2020, the Ministry of Education and Research appointed Aase as Chair of the Board of the NHH Norwegian School of Management, where she has been a member of the Board of Directors since July 1, 2013.

Ian Smart works with a number of companies and individuals as a leadership consultant and coach. In July 2020, he launched Impact Central, which aims to help startups grow. Prior to that, he was a partner at Grant Thornton, where he held a number of leadership positions for over 20 years. In addition to being the managing partner of Grant Thornton’s London office, Ian was responsible for the agency’s work to build strategic and long-term relationships with key clients, and was also responsible for the agency’s retail operations.

Chris Horn, CEO of Azets says:

“I am very pleased to take on the role of CEO at an exciting time in our growth as we now enter the next phase of Azet development. I would like to thank Dawn for her support and guidance, and look forward to continuing to work with her as a member of our Board of Directors. Since we launched Azets in the UK in September 2020 We have continued to grow and have ambitious plans for the coming years. We have just recruited more than 200 undergraduates for our UK operations and hope to hire another 550 people next year.”

“We are constantly working actively to recruit good people into our team at all levels, and Aase and Ian are excellent examples of this. Aase and Ian both understand how important our people are to the business, and both will add a lot of knowledge and experience to our Board of Directors.”

Dawn Marriott, Azet Board Member says:

Chris’ promotion to CEO testifies that Azets is a company that cares about employee development and I wish him all the best in his new role. I will also continue to be involved in the company as a member of the board of directors, in this way I will support Chris and the company in collaboration with new employees, the two external members of the group’s board of directors, Asi Amdal Lundgaard and Ian Smart. Their knowledge of business management and extensive global experience are invaluable assets to Azets as we move forward and implement our strategy.”