When Andy McMaster from Skaneateles, NY finished putting himself through Hobart College in 1974, it dawned on him that, given the economy at that time, “having a BA in economics qualified me to be a bank teller.”

But he had higher aspirations and the motivation to match -- so he went to Wharton to get a masters degree in business administration. Although he was accepted at every school to which he applied, the choice of Wharton was a no-brainer. “It made all the sense in the world,” said McMaster. “The reputation and the quality of the school were renowned, and they still are.”

Three decades later, McMaster, 55, is a master of the professional services universe, as a vice chairman of Deloitte, the second largest auditing and consulting organization in the world. He has worked there for his entire career, 31 years, starting as an intern for then-Haskins & Sells in Syracuse during a collegiate summer, and coming on board upon receiving his MBA in 1976. He chose Deloitte over other Big 8 accounting firms largely out of loyalty. Deloitte was the only employer to offer him an internship during school. I gave the edge to Haskins & Sells because they had given me the opportunity,” he explained.

McMaster’s father was a sales manager for a division of Litton Industries called the Monroe Calculator Company. His mother, a Barnard College grad, was a homemaker after having children. He has three brothers, one who is a professional engineer, one who owns and operates his own electrical contracting business and one who is the Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Minnesota.

As McMaster says, however, “I have to give my mother credit for being the one who caused us to use our intellect.” He decided to pursue accounting after enjoying a couple of undergrad accounting courses. Moving to Manhattan as a compromise with his then-fiancée, Suzanne, who was launching a career in textiles, McMaster started out at the bottom with Deloitte in 1976.

“We planned to stay two years while Suzanne established herself and became a freelance designer,” said McMaster. “At end of two years I said to her, ‘What, move?’” So the couple remained in Manhattan, moving out to Darien, CT six years later and starting a family. It was during this period that McMaster found such abundant and diverse opportunity within Deloitte in New York City that he knew he would never leave.

“At Deloitte, if you were willing to work hard and performed well, you were rewarded,” said McMaster, who was admitted to the partnership in 1984 at the age of 31.

For the first ten years of his partnership he served audit clients, then led dispute consulting assignments (including litigation consulting and forensic investigations) until he was asked to develop a long-term strategic plan for that business, and was then assigned to run it.

“I had the opportunity to lead that practice from its infancy for the first three or four years, and it’s now part of what we call our Financial Advisory Services business,” reminisced McMaster, who eventually hired a partner from another Big Five firm to replace himself.

“If you want to progress, you need to always have in place the person that is ready to take on your role,” explained McMaster, who went back into the audit practice and become lead client service partner to a very significant client for five years, overseeing all services provided to the company,

He next took on responsibility for oversight of Deloitte’s service to its 1,000 largest clients. In this role, he was a key architect of the organization’s updated service and relationship strategies necessary to address changes wrought by new regulation and evolving company expectations for its advisors. Last March, after four years, he returned to client service as a senior advisory partner. In this capacity he guides partner teams serving some of Deloitte’s largest clients and remains a constant advisor to Deloitte’s senior executive leadership.

Just as McMaster has mentored many of Deloitte’s current leaders, he in turn received guidance early on from a strong leader.

Frank Bruni, was a senior partner for Deloitte, then in Hartford, whom McMaster met early in his career. “He was extremely influential in developing some of my professional interpersonal skills. He never started a conversation with anyone … where he didn’t open by saying, ‘How are you doing?’” said McMaster fondly. “It sounds all too trite, but most people don’t start that way….. It was genuine.” Bruni, he said, always remembered that the people he worked with were people first. His behavior “sent a huge message to me about how important it is to care about your people,” said McMaster.

Bruni had a catch phrase, borrowed from Gary Player, -- “The harder I work, the luckier I get” – To McMaster, the lesson was clear “that there is no substitute for hard work.”

McMaster has been fortunate to experience tremendous career diversity while living in one geographical location. “I like change,” he said. “This type of career provided enormous flexibility – including the opportunity to change careers within the firm without having to relocate. I love a challenge. I love to solve problems. More importantly, I love to find solutions.

“But,” he mused, “I'm one of the strange ones who hasn’t moved around. Given the career opportunities in our organization, you could have as many jobs as you wanted and never had to move around.” He does travel extensively, and now that his two sons are grown, often brings his wife along.

Suzanne McMaster worked as a stylist and ran a textile studio at one of the large textile companies during the first ten years of their marriage but eventually quit to raise their two sons, which McMaster said “made managing my career infinitely easier.” Since their children have grown -- Andrew III, 22, a recent grad of SMU, is now working in corporate finance, and Matthew, 20, is pursuing a career in architecture – she has taken up her real passion, art. She paints portraits for family and friends. “I’m a little biased, but I think they’re magnificent,” bragged McMaster with a smile.

Looking back at his career, McMaster points to “the opportunity to help create and grow a fledgling business within Deloitte” as his greatest accomplishment, and also takes pride in his “ability to build very, very strong teams – whether institutional, a client service role or a management level – and help people develop into future leaders.”

Over the course of his career, which also included a host of other management roles, McMaster served on Deloitte’s US Board of Directors, and on the US Executive Committee. He currently serves on the firm’s Global Board of Directors.

When he’s not working and traveling, McMaster has three passions: serving on the Board of Trustees at Hobart College, serving as a member of the Vestry at Trinity Church Wall Street, an institution founded by King William in 1697, and skiing. His uncle, Mitchell Cubberley, invented the first safety ski binding (used by McMaster when he was five),and McMaster owns a slopeside home at Okemo Mountain in Vermont that he still loves to visit with his wife and sons.

Over the course of his career, which also included a host of other management roles, McMaster served on Deloitte’s U.S. Board of Directors for six years, and on the U.S. Executive Committee for three or four years. He currently serves on the firm’s Global Board of Directors.

A huge believer in giving back, he also served as president, vice-chairman and chairman of the Wharton Club of New York from early 1983 to 1991, and was on the Wharton Graduate Executive Board in Philadelphia from 1987 to 1999.

McMaster’s advice to Wharton grads looking to make a mark in business: “It goes back to something my father said to me when I was just starting out – it takes you a lifetime to build a reputation, but it only takes a moment to lose it. Carefully consider all your actions. If it doesn’t pass the “Would you tell your mother about it?” test, don’t do it.

“Everybody is very anxious in the world we live in today to get ahead, to excel, but you've got to do it on your own strengths and merits, and not at the expense of others,” he said.

The most important life lesson is also the simplest, says McMaster. However lofty his professional position, he’s still just the son of a salesman who can fall asleep during the opera and likes to race his sons down mountains on skis. “Hard work,” he says – not luck – “hard work makes a difference.”

Andrew McMaster, W ’76 MBA
Vice Chairman, Deloitte Touche
(212) 492-3775
anmcmaster@deloitte.com