Bucharest, 1st of September 2014
René Schöbis the new Country Managing Partner of Mazars
Starting today, René Schöb is the new Country Managing Partner of Mazars Romania. He succeedsJean-Pierre Vigroux, following his decision to retire from the professional life in the audit industry and focus on his own business activities. René Schöb was Tax Partner and has been leading the Tax Advisory Department since September 2013, following the merger between Mazars and Adevaris, the firm that he represented as Managing Partner and co-founder. Thanks to the merger Mazars has strengthened its position in the top five players specializing in audit, tax,accounting, payrolland advisoryin Romania.
René Schöb: "It is an honour, a responsibility and a challenge for me to follow Jean-Pierre’s leadership at Mazars. He is a landmark of the professional services’development in the last 20 years in Romania.I thank Jean-Pierre and my partner colleagues for thetrustthey have in me. Expectations raised with regards to Mazars’ current stage of development in Romania are highas we continue to strengthen our market position following the recent merger. I am convinced that today’s changing economic environmentcreates many opportunities for us that we aim to take. Companies need integrated,complex and diverse advisory solutions to respond adequately to the continuous changes. It will be our role to provide sustainable high-quality services toour clientsirrespective of their business’ size or stage of development."
Following the merger with Mazars, when he took over the lead of the Tax Advisory Department, René Schöb has reshaped and strengthened this line of business. During this period, Tax Advisory services increasedsignificantlythanksto theclient portfolio’sexpansion in sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, real estate, logistics, FMCG, pharma,etc., as well as to the diversification in serviceoffering. The team hasalso beenenlarged with a new TaxPartner following the arrival of Edwin Warmerdam, who is also heading the Mazars Dutch Desk, the new service launched for assisting the Dutch business community.
Jean-Pierre Vigroux: "Mazars gave me the opportunity to come back to Romania six years ago and I am extremely grateful to this firm for this return to my country of adoption. The achievements I believe I can be proud of andobviously owe them to the whole Mazars team are theimprovement of the service quality and market position. Mazars is seen today as a top quality firm, which was hardly the case in 2008. This statement is not the expression of some form of subjective self-satisfaction, but a fact proven every day by our clients’ feedback and our competitors’ respect. Wehave won our placein the First League of the audit and consulting industry - a good reason to feel recognized and respected. With over 150 professional staff, Mazars is now a strong player in all its core businesses: audit, accounting and tax advisory and provides specialized supportto investors from the two major economies of the EU, the German and the French ones. This makes a sound basis to which René has already brought his invaluable contribution and on which he will continue to grow the firm with his vision, energy and enthusiasm.”
René Schöb boasts over 16 years of professional experience in finance, of which 8 years as a tax and financial advisor in Romania. His field of expertise encompasses the Romanian and international taxation, with an emphasis on direct taxation, M&A and corporate finance. He is a Swiss national, graduate of the University of Applied Sciences in St.Gallen, Switzerland. In Romania, he is a well-known expert for foreign and particularly German-speaking investors. Since the start of his activity in Romania, he provided consulting support to well over 150 firms during the process of their market entry. René Schöb is Certified Tax Advisor and member of the Romanian Chamber of Tax Consultants (CCFR).In his career, he also worked as a Project Management Advisor with a “Big Four” firm and as a director in corporate planning and controlling with a Swiss stock listed company.
Jean-Pierre Vigroux boasts an over 30-year experience in transaction-related services and financial auditing, initially in Paris, then as founder (1991) and General Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Romania (followed by the supervision of PwC activities in the Balkans, 2004-2008). He is a French citizen, holder of a diploma issued by ESSEC, Franceand “Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur de la France” (Advisor for the promotion of the French Foreign Trade). He held the Managing Partner position with Mazars Romania since 2008. Jean-Pierre Vigroux is member of the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania (CAFR) and the Romanian Chartered and Certified Accountants Body (CECCAR) and was associate member of the Business Advisory Council of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe (2004-2007).
Jean - Pierre Vigroux decided to retire from the professional life in the audit industry and the Managing Partner position, while continuing to be close to Mazars by having an advisory role.
About Mazars
§ Mazars is an integrated, independent international organisation, specialising in audit, financial, accounting, payroll, tax and legal advisory services provided by more than 13,800 experts in 72 countries. In the 2012-2013 financial year, Mazars Group registered a turnover worth EUR 1,045.6mln, showing a 3.2% increase as to the previous financial year. Mazars is the only audit and consulting firm which, in the spirit of transparency, publishes consolidated accounts, audited in compliance with IFRS.
§ In Romania, Mazars started the activity in 1995. The local team comprises over 150 professionals specialised in audit, tax, accounting, payroll and advisory.