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Founder / Operator·Accounting Roll-Ups

Jim Peko

CEO, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC at Grant Thornton

New York, New York, USA

JP
LinkedIn
Why they matter

As CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors, Peko is executing the largest professional-services roll-up in 25+ years, directly relevant to any accounting/consulting consolidation thesis.

Background

Jim Peko is CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and CEO of the Americas region for its multinational platform, bringing nearly 30 years of financial advisory experience spanning transaction services and restructuring. He rose through the firm as national managing principal of Advisory Services and then chief operating officer before becoming CEO in 2025, and now leads the Executive Committee steering Grant Thornton's aggressive roll-up strategy following its 2024 recapitalization by New Mountain Capital.

Notable deals

  • 2026
    Led Grant Thornton Advisors' definitive agreement to acquire CBIZ for $5 billion enterprise value ($55.00/share cash), making Grant Thornton the 5th-largest U.S. professional services firm
  • 2026
    Announced acquisition of MCA Connect, a ~350-person Denver-based technology consulting firm, to expand AI- and tech-led advisory services
  • 2025
    Announced acquisition of Stax, a ~300-person Boston-based commercial due diligence and value-creation firm serving PE sponsors
  • 2025
    Announced acquisition of Auxis, a ~1,400-person Latin America-based business modernization and outsourcing provider

Call-prep brief

Background

  • CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (non-attest entity) and CEO of the Americas platform since 2025; previously COO and national managing principal of Advisory Services
  • ~30 years in financial advisory, transaction services, and restructuring; CFA and CIRA credentials
  • Operating under a PE-backed alternative practice structure since New Mountain Capital's May 2024 growth investment

Current Focus

  • Executing an aggressive roll-up: ~20 accounting/consulting firm transactions across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC since the New Mountain deal closed
  • Headline deal: $5B all-cash acquisition of CBIZ (announced July 2026), expected to close Q4 2026 and push Grant Thornton to ~$7.5B multinational revenue
  • Parallel build-out of tech/AI advisory (MCA Connect) and PE-diligence capabilities (Stax) and BPO/nearshore delivery (Auxis)

What He Cares About

  • Building a globally integrated, PE-capitalized alternative practice structure to compete with the Big 4
  • Expanding advisory/tech/AI service lines beyond traditional audit and tax
  • Speed of integration across a rapidly growing multinational platform (>34,500 professionals post-CBIZ)

Recent Moves

  • CBIZ acquisition ($5B, July 2026) — largest deal of its kind in 25+ years
  • MCA Connect acquisition (May 2026) — AI/tech consulting
  • Stax and Auxis acquisitions (2025) — PE diligence and BPO capabilities

Potential Sensitivities

  • Deal fatigue/integration risk given the sheer pace of acquisitions (~20+ deals under his tenure)
  • CBIZ deal not yet closed (targeted Q4 2026) — regulatory/shareholder approval still pending
  • New Mountain Capital's growing equity stake may create governance dynamics worth probing carefully

Questions to Ask

  1. How is integration capacity being prioritized across CBIZ, MCA Connect, Stax, and Auxis simultaneously?
  2. What criteria distinguish a target worth acquiring outright versus a partnership/referral relationship?
  3. How does the New Mountain Capital equity structure influence deal pace and target selection going forward?

Outreach draft

Subject
Grant Thornton's roll-up strategy — quick call?
Hi Jim, I've been following Grant Thornton Advisors' momentum — the CBIZ deal, plus Stax, Auxis, and MCA Connect all coming together into one platform is a remarkable pace of consolidation. We're doing work in the accounting/professional-services roll-up space and would value your perspective on what's actually driving integration success (or friction) at this scale. Would you be open to a 20-minute call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule, and glad to share what we're seeing across the broader market in exchange. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

Sources