SINGAPORE - Ernst & Young (EY) announced on Tuesday (Dec 4) that its global chairman and chief executive Mark Weinberger will leave the accounting and professional services giant at the start of the next financial year.

Mr Weinberger - who has served in the role since 2013 - will step down on July 1, 2019.

Pointing to "a well-defined succession process", EY said that it expects to appoint a replacement in January 2019, after vetting what it touted as a diverse slate of candidates.

Mr Weinberger, a former assistant secretary for tax policy at the United States Treasury under former US president George W. Bush, joined EY's global executive in 2008 after five years on the executive board for the Americas.

He started out at EY's US tax department in 1987, before moving on to several government positions, including chief of staff to then US President Bill Clinton's 1994 commission on tax reform. Later, his law advisory firm, Washington Counsel - which he co-founded in 1996 - was merged with an EY unit.

Mr Weinberger said in a media statement: "When I reflected on the massive changes we have navigated over the last seven years and the strong position we command to enable EY to excel in the years ahead, I realised that the time is right for me to step aside."

Among the changes cited in EY's announcement were the firm's digital transformation initiatives - which includes cyber security, artificial intelligence and data acquisitions, solutions and hiring - as well as annual revenue growth of 8.5 per cent under Mr Weinberger's leadership.