Axel Thesberg

In 2010, Axel retired as a partner in the National Office of KPMG (Toronto) followed by three years of serving as the Executive Chairman of KPMG’s global insurance program.  Prior to his retirement, he served as Canadian Managing Partner, Professional Standards and Risk Management and on the Management Committee at KPMG Canada.  In this capacity, he was responsible for professional standards and risk management for KPMG Canada’s Audit, Tax and Advisory practices and, as a member of the Management Committee, responsible for managing the firm across Canada.  Globally, Axel served as a member of KPMG’s Auditing Standards Panel, Quality and Risk Management Committee, and Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee.

He has and continues to be involved in community organizations. He served as Chair of the Audit Committee of the Organizing Committee for the Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.  Prior to taking on this role, he served as project coordinator for a joint project between the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, the Canadian Public Accountability Board and Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) on enhancing audit quality in Canada.  Axel has served as a member of the Accounting Standards Oversight Council as well as developing the audit committee module for the ICD Directors Education Program.  He has instructed at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is a frequent presenter at various CPA an ICD conference and training courses on corporate governance including role and responsibilities of audit committees, enterprise risk management, and future direction of financial reporting and auditing.