Marek Grabowski has been named as Jon Grant's replacement as executive director at the Auditing Practices Board. Due to retire as a partner at Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers at the end of December, Grabowski will take up his new position at the APB on 1 March 2010. Grant, who has been executive director since 1996, will go on to work for the Financial Reporting Council on a part-time basis. Nexia International, the global accounting and consulting network, has brought in Kevin Arnold as its new executive director. He takes over the role from Nigel Hodges, who is retiring after nearly two decades in the position. Arnold was previously executive director of DFK International, a worldwide association of independent accountancy firms and business advisers. PricewaterhouseCoopers has appointed three partners to its global financial services consulting team. Kevin Burrowes is rejoining the firm from Credit Suisse where he was head of finance for the EMEA region. Steve Davies makes the move from PwC in the US where he spent ten years, and will be responsible for leading the UK retail banking network. And finally, Wolfgang Rieder, a Switzerland-based partner is also rejoining the firm from Bank Vontobel, where he was head of transaction banking services and external asset management services. AGN International, a global association of accounting and consulting firms, has appointed a new international chair and vice chair to its organisation. James Carulas has taken over the role of chair from Esther Tan, and Francois Martin has become vice chair. Carulas works for US firm Meaden & Moore, while Martin is from French firm Caderas Martin. Fixed income specialist and part of the Euroclear group, Xtrakter has announced its chief financial officer Chris Spires will be stepping down from the position in order to join the Euroclear group's finance division. Len Bell has been selected as the regional director for leisure in the North of Montpelier chartered accountants. The firm is currently undergoing expansion and Bell, who will head up the firm's leisure operation in the North, will oversee business development in the holiday homes and parks industry. Accountants and business advisers Wilkins Kennedy have brought in Gemma Webb as business services senior in the business services department at the Winchester office. Having passed both her AAT and ACA accountancy exams, Webb will be dealing with accounts and tax for small and medium entities. Gary Ives has been appointed principal in the Milton Keynes/Northampton office of MacIntyre Hudson accountants and business advisers. He was previously regional managing partner at BDO. Vantis has selected Paul Connell to join its commercial and asset finance team. He has held several senior management positions, and has invested in and sold a number of finance and asset finance brokerage businesses. PKF International has a new chairman of the International Professional Standards Committee. Theo Vermaak director of accounting and auditing at PKF in New York, has landed the role, replacing Richard Bint who is stepping down from the position after ten years. Vermaak recently moved to New York after nine years at PKF South Africa, where he was the national technical and training director for the nine member firms. Derek Andrews has been appointed taxation director at Russell Brennan Keane. He is a member of the Irish Taxation Institute and has previously held positions at PwC and Matheson Ormsby Prentice, an Irish law firm.