Mumbai: The Big Four are facing a renewed wave of partner movements in India, marked by aggressive poaching to plug capability gaps, replacements of retiring or departing leaders, and reinforcing service lines with the highest client demand.
These professional services firms are undeterred by long notice periods of incoming partners, restrictive clauses, and the steep costs that make such transitions increasingly challenging. This comes even as overall industry hiring by the Big Four has surged to support strong business activity.
In the past three months alone, more than 60 partners have switched firms. EY added 20, split between 14 equity and six non-equity roles, from both rivals and industry while KPMG hired 14, and Deloitte picked up another 19. Between April and September 5, PwC has had 25 partners from other Big Four firms join the business. Small team movements are also ongoing. Recently, Deloitte poached four senior hires from EY—partners Yashendra Tayal, Subrahmanyam Oruganti, and Prateek Bhola from EY London, as well as director Hrishikesh Wattamwar, and brought over a big team of professionals in the process. In parallel, another four partners are set to join soon from EY and PwC, even as PwC itself has hired four partners and four directors from Deloitte, bringing in over 30 people through a similar raid.
Even KPMG, the smallest of the Big Four in India, is stepping up partner hiring after selling its 33% stake in KPMG Global Services.
Different Priorities
KPMG sold its stake in US and UK counterparts for $210 million this April.
“Over the next three years, we expect to add over 250 new partners (including promotions),” said Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO of KPMG in India, outlining plans to expand into mid-market clients, Tier 2 and 3 cities, and global capability centres (GCCs).
“As our businesses transform, we are committed to building diverse, future-ready teams that can help clients navigate change,” he said.
Each firm has its priorities. Deloitte, which built its tech consulting arm at speed over the past three years, is now hiring in deals, tax and areas such as cyber and GCCs.
While Deloitte’s pace has slowed recently, PwC and KPMG are the most aggressive recruiters, hiring in deals, tech consulting, cyber and tax.
EY is pulling talent aggressively from the IT industry and IT services firms into technology consulting business. From February 2023 to January 2025, the firm hired 75% of partners and EDs (PEDs) from outside the Big 4—while selectively hiring from rivals in management consulting and tax.
“There is a mix of capability building, capacity building, and backfilling (replacing exiting talent) at play, which is giving rise to opportunities for the top talent even after the massive expansion in partners and executive directors in the post-Covid boom years,” said Prashant Yadav, a partner at Amrop India. “Backfilling typically happens exclusively from the Big 4 and team movements or senior level movements leading to a chain reaction.”
TIGHTER EXIT CONDITIONS
Notably, hiring within the Big Four is getting harder as firms, responding to incessant partner poaching, have tightened exit conditions through 9- to 12-month notice periods or gardening leaves. Firms have also grown wary of the significant costs of such transfers including bonuses left behind and salaries during the leave, and the enforced restitution clauses that bar partners from working with former clients for a year.
The Big Four are expanding rapidly in India, and with firms shifting focus from traditional tax and audit to fast-growing advisory work, the race for top talent with deep sector expertise and a strong delivery track record has never been more intense.
The firms crossed Rs 45,000 crore in revenue in FY25, employ more than 3,100 partners and are growing at 17–23% annually.
The partner pyramids have swelled making it increasingly difficult to manage the ambitions of numerous partners given the limited number of leadership slots.
Further, internal politics and extremely generous offers are intensifying the churn. Once the undisputed paymaster, EY has in recent years been matched by Deloitte and PwC, with PwC emerging as the clear leader on partner compensation for the past three years.
As firms scale up practices, they have sweetened offers with generous pay packages and fast-tracked promotions, even dangling partnerships to lure directors. It seems the merry-go-round of partner moves in the Big Four is set to keep spinning.
These professional services firms are undeterred by long notice periods of incoming partners, restrictive clauses, and the steep costs that make such transitions increasingly challenging. This comes even as overall industry hiring by the Big Four has surged to support strong business activity.
In the past three months alone, more than 60 partners have switched firms. EY added 20, split between 14 equity and six non-equity roles, from both rivals and industry while KPMG hired 14, and Deloitte picked up another 19. Between April and September 5, PwC has had 25 partners from other Big Four firms join the business. Small team movements are also ongoing. Recently, Deloitte poached four senior hires from EY—partners Yashendra Tayal, Subrahmanyam Oruganti, and Prateek Bhola from EY London, as well as director Hrishikesh Wattamwar, and brought over a big team of professionals in the process. In parallel, another four partners are set to join soon from EY and PwC, even as PwC itself has hired four partners and four directors from Deloitte, bringing in over 30 people through a similar raid.
Even KPMG, the smallest of the Big Four in India, is stepping up partner hiring after selling its 33% stake in KPMG Global Services.
Different Priorities
KPMG sold its stake in US and UK counterparts for $210 million this April.
“Over the next three years, we expect to add over 250 new partners (including promotions),” said Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO of KPMG in India, outlining plans to expand into mid-market clients, Tier 2 and 3 cities, and global capability centres (GCCs).
“As our businesses transform, we are committed to building diverse, future-ready teams that can help clients navigate change,” he said.
Each firm has its priorities. Deloitte, which built its tech consulting arm at speed over the past three years, is now hiring in deals, tax and areas such as cyber and GCCs.
While Deloitte’s pace has slowed recently, PwC and KPMG are the most aggressive recruiters, hiring in deals, tech consulting, cyber and tax.
EY is pulling talent aggressively from the IT industry and IT services firms into technology consulting business. From February 2023 to January 2025, the firm hired 75% of partners and EDs (PEDs) from outside the Big 4—while selectively hiring from rivals in management consulting and tax.
“There is a mix of capability building, capacity building, and backfilling (replacing exiting talent) at play, which is giving rise to opportunities for the top talent even after the massive expansion in partners and executive directors in the post-Covid boom years,” said Prashant Yadav, a partner at Amrop India. “Backfilling typically happens exclusively from the Big 4 and team movements or senior level movements leading to a chain reaction.”
TIGHTER EXIT CONDITIONS
Notably, hiring within the Big Four is getting harder as firms, responding to incessant partner poaching, have tightened exit conditions through 9- to 12-month notice periods or gardening leaves. Firms have also grown wary of the significant costs of such transfers including bonuses left behind and salaries during the leave, and the enforced restitution clauses that bar partners from working with former clients for a year.
The Big Four are expanding rapidly in India, and with firms shifting focus from traditional tax and audit to fast-growing advisory work, the race for top talent with deep sector expertise and a strong delivery track record has never been more intense.
The firms crossed Rs 45,000 crore in revenue in FY25, employ more than 3,100 partners and are growing at 17–23% annually.
The partner pyramids have swelled making it increasingly difficult to manage the ambitions of numerous partners given the limited number of leadership slots.
Further, internal politics and extremely generous offers are intensifying the churn. Once the undisputed paymaster, EY has in recent years been matched by Deloitte and PwC, with PwC emerging as the clear leader on partner compensation for the past three years.
As firms scale up practices, they have sweetened offers with generous pay packages and fast-tracked promotions, even dangling partnerships to lure directors. It seems the merry-go-round of partner moves in the Big Four is set to keep spinning.
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