Mike McGuire to Retire from Grant Thornton

Move caps 37-year career of singular leadership

CHICAGO — Mike McGuire, the former CEO of Grant Thornton LLP, will retire from the firm in February of this year, capping a 17-year career with Grant Thornton and 37 years in the accounting profession.

McGuire served as Grant Thornton’s CEO from 2014 to 2019, transitioning to the role of CEO emeritus last August. He was succeeded in the CEO post by Bradley J. Preber.

During his tenure as CEO, McGuire helped transform and grow Grant Thornton in numerous ways. Most notably, he built a distinctive and widely applauded firmwide culture and invested in an award-winning brand-development program. He also helped the firm deliver audit-quality results that are among the best in the accounting industry. And he added many large clients to Grant Thornton’s portfolio, while also driving record revenues for the firm.

“I am so pleased about the progress we’ve made growing our firm and serving clients’ needs during my time at Grant Thornton,” said McGuire. “Participating in this work as a teammate, partner and leader has been the greatest honor of my professional life.”

Current CEO Preber echoes this sentiment: “Mike has been an outstanding colleague and leader for our firm – and a good friend to all of us – for the past 17 years. Without his leadership, we would not be the firm we are today, with a clear opportunity to compete and win at the highest levels of our profession.”

Before taking the helm at Grant Thornton, McGuire served in several leadership posts, including national managing partner of Markets, Industry, People & Culture. He also served as managing partner of Grant Thornton’s Carolinas practice.

McGuire joined Grant Thornton in 2002 after 20 years at Arthur Andersen. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and management information systems from Bowling Green State University.

He is active with several civic and business groups and expects to increase these activities.

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