STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kevin Pleiter has joined Grant Thornton LLP as a principal in its Financial Services Advisory practice. Pleiter will be responsible for shaping and driving Grant Thornton’s innovation efforts in financial services and will work out of the firm’s Stamford and New York offices.

Pleiter has more than 25 years of financial services experience. He spent the majority of his career advising global financial services firms across investment banking, asset management, wealth management, and custody businesses in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

“Kevin has deep knowledge of the financial services industry and understands how technology can solve business challenges,” said Nigel Smith, national Financial Services Advisory leader for Grant Thornton. “As fintech continues to transform traditional financial services firms, Kevin’s lens will help us guide enterprises toward adopting technology at a manageable pace, taking a holistic, long-term approach that positions them to thrive.”

Pleiter’s financial services business and consulting experience began at Deutsche Bank in London before his time at Salomon Brothers and a Toronto-based fintech company. He spent the majority of his global career at IBM, serving most recently as vice president and senior client partner in the firm’s Global Business Services unit. During his tenure at IBM, Pleiter also held a number of key global financial services industry-focused roles in London, Sydney, Boston, New York, and Tokyo, including global financial services blockchain leader and global financial markets leader with responsibility for business transformation at investment management, investment banking, custody, and wealth clients.

“Kevin excels at developing practical technology solutions that simplify business challenges – a posture that dovetails perfectly with how we think about innovation at Grant Thornton,” added Kevin Baril, Grant Thornton’s national managing principal of Innovation. “It starts with listening, understanding the objective, and designing a solution – often enabled by technology – that offers measurable return.”

Pleiter received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business law from Curtin University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut.

About Grant Thornton LLP

Founded in Chicago in 1924, Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms. Grant Thornton, which has revenues in excess of $1.8 billion and operates 59 offices, works with a broad range of dynamic publicly and privately held companies, government agencies, financial institutions, and civic and religious organizations.