Sam Maruca, Michael Danilack, Richard McAlonan and Diana Wollman all left the Service within a short time of each other in the first half of the year. EY also changed their global head of tax, Jay Nibbe replacing David Holtze, who took up another role in the big 4 firm.
The OECD brought off a coup in hiring David Bradbury, the former Australian Assistant Treasurer, as head of tax policy and statistics within the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. He will have an important role in the coming year in attempting to achieve consensus on Action 11 of the BEPS Action Plan on establishing methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it.
Michael Olesnick stepped down as head of Baker & McKenzie's tax practice in Hong Kong and joined KPMG.
Among the firms, Ryan made a big move into transfer pricing with its purchase of the Altus International practice, an old name, much-loved by the practitioners who worked there, made its return after WTAS rebranded itself as Andersen Tax and VMW Taxand became Taxand Netherlands.
Below is a selection of the some of the biggest moves:
Tax disputes
Michael Danilack joins PwC’s Washington transfer pricing practice
Majority of Maddocks’ tax team to move to Minter Ellison
Dan Rosen leaves IRS for Baker & McKenzie in New York
Skadden counsel Cary Pugh nominated to US Tax Court
Indirect tax
Asquith joins Avalara as VP Global Tax
Eversheds announces Vanderspar as new head of London tax team
FTI Consulting hires Richard Baxter as new head of indirect taxation
Ryan hires Jean-Paul Ouaksel to lead its new Paris office
Leading names in UK tax bar form new chambers
Taxand appoints Alain Recoules as new global indirect tax leader
Aurélia de Viry launches King & Spalding’s French tax practice
Corporate tax
Bradley made new head of corporate tax at BLP
Jason Lester is EY’s new UK and Ireland head of tax
EY appoints Jay Nibbe as new global head of tax
Green to head financial services and tax practice at Squire Patton Boggs
Tax lawyer to chair Loyens’ executive board
Ex-Dupont Brazil CFO joins Hirashima & Associados
Miscellaneous
Bradbury to head OECD’s tax policy unit
Vitor Gaspar joins IMF as head of fiscal affairs
Ryan adds transfer pricing with purchase of Altus International