News

Meet Mark Taylor, our new International Tax leader

June 17, 2020

Liza RobbinsBy Liza Robbins.

About three months ago, Mark Taylor received a referral from a Kreston firm in North America.

“The client, in the healthcare industry, was a perfect match,” he told me last week. “It was a buzz to win business that way – where your colleagues have trusted you enough to put their clients in your hands.

“We need a lot more of that,” he concluded.

Now Mark, who is head of tax advisory services at Duncan Toplis in the UK, has a plan to make exactly this happen for firms throughout the Kreston network.

Perhaps you caught my announcement last week, that following a rigorous application process, Mark has just been appointed as the new head of our International Tax SIG.

Making the group more “commercially focused” is his top priority.

“We’re going to align the SIG with the Kreston strategic plan and deliver a lot more business opportunities to member firms,” he says.

Mark has been a member of the International Tax SIG himself for over five years, as well as being editor of the International Tax Bulletin.

The group has been “fantastic for meeting tax colleagues within the network and getting updates on international tax developments,” he says.

And he showers praise on his predecessor, Petra Uylen of Kreston Grip N.V., who “fought hard to put tax on Kreston’s agenda – and succeeded.”

He intends to build on her work, but the focus will shift somewhat. 

“I want to make it more about our clients – figuring out who needs our services and which clients in one country can we act for in other countries, as well.”

Referrals will be handled via the online referral system which Kreston will launch shortly, so that there will be complete transparency and every firm will be able to benefit. In addition, the SIG will draw up wishlists of clients to target.

Letting the market know about Kreston’s exceptional offering is part of the strategy.

“We’re going to increase awareness of our brand – communication is key to this,” he says.

If this sounds like a hefty job, it is!

“I can’t do it alone,” Mark laughs.

He’s planning to build a leadership team of “likeminded people”.

As part of his application to the Kreston Board, Mark produced a strategy, which outlined a formal leadership structure for the SIG.

In future, there will be a Technical Director and a Business Development Director.

And there will be Regional Directors in every jurisdiction in which we operate, in order to ensure geographical diversity and to help bring more international business opportunities to the table.

Candidates for these roles will go through a formal application process – in line with our efforts to professionalise and systematise the SIGs. And their goals and responsibilities have been clearly laid out in Mark’s strategy document, so there is full accountability.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for people who want to help generate more business and to shape the future of the network,” says Mark.

To help members systematically generate more business, the leadership team will meet more frequently than before – at least once every other month (“we’ll have online meetings,” Mark mentions).

Because of this the leadership team won’t need a separate meeting at Kreston conferences.

“We’ll have a leadership team responsible for driving the SIG’s agenda with the support of others in their region; everyone will be welcome at conferences,” says Mark. “I think there was a perception in the past that the KIT Group was an elite group – we need to change that.”

Ultimately, he says, he is energised by the task ahead.

“I’m a doer! If you want something done, ask a busy person…”