Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), which has 140,000 members, has announced that New Zealander Sarah Petersen FCA has been elected chair of the CA ANZ board.
She succeeds John Palermo FCA, whose term as chair concludes following five “transformational” years for the organisation. Palermo will remain as a director on the board until his term finishes in December 2026.
The organisation says Petersen, who is based in Northland and Auckland, has been both a CA ANZ board director and member of the NZICA Regulatory Board since 2020, and chair of the People and Remuneration Committee since July 2023. She will step down as PARC chair to take up her new role “and focus on maintaining momentum to equip members for a future shaped by sustainability and AI”.
Sarah Petersen
Ainslie van Onselen, CA ANZ CEO, thanked Palermo for the integrity, vision, and dedication to the members that underpinned his leadership and said she looked forward to working with Peterson whose “extensive experience across public practice, not-for-profit, government, and property and infrastructure has already enriched our board.”
Petersen said in a statement she is thrilled to be elected chair “as CA ANZ continues its work to prepare our profession for its transformational future”.
Her priorities are to continue the strategic momentum created under the leadership of Palermo “maintain ethics and trust in our profession and equip members for the future with practical capabilities in areas like sustainability and AI”.
“I’m honoured to serve our global community of more than 140,000 members and will work closely with my exceptional board colleagues, councillors and the executive team to take our plan to 2030 forward.”
The organisation says Petersen’s appointment makes her the first woman to lead the board.
Petersen has more than 20 years’ experience in finance executive roles in telecommunications and international education consultancy, having started her career in public practice at Ernst and Young. She is an experienced non-executive director, with governance experience in not-for-profit, government, property and infrastructure investment and operations.
