Key Points
- RSM UK has reshuffled its senior leadership across the Midlands, appointing Sheetal Sanghvi as managing partner for Birmingham and the wider Midlands region.
- Mitul Raja has been appointed managing partner for the East Midlands, succeeding Sanghvi in the regional role.
- Sanghvi will oversee RSM offices across the Midlands, East of England and Milton Keynes, representing 50 partners and 765 staff.
- Helen Brocklebank, the outgoing regional managing partner, has moved into the role of head of Deal Services at RSM UK after becoming national head of M&A earlier in 2026.
- RSM has also promoted Joe Hessey, Jana Klir, Hayley Quigley and Jonathan Everitt to director positions in the region.
- The leadership changes form part of a wider talent and succession programme at RSM UK.
- RSM said the appointments are intended to support client service, develop people and maintain growth across the region.
- The appointments provide a clear focus on Management and Leadership, particularly succession, senior management and organisational development.
RSM UK has reshuffled its Midlands leadership, with Sheetal Sanghvi moving from managing partner for the East Midlands to lead the firm’s wider Midlands operation, while Mitul Raja takes over the East Midlands role. The changes also coincide with four director promotions, giving the professional services firm a revised senior leadership structure across several offices. The changes were reported by Sam Metcalf of TheBusinessDesk.com on 5 October 2026.
Why has RSM UK reshuffled its Midlands leadership?
The leadership changes centre on a succession move within RSM UK as the firm reorganises responsibility across its Midlands operations.
As reported by Sam Metcalf of TheBusinessDesk.com, Sheetal Sanghvi, who had been managing partner for the East Midlands, is taking over from Helen Brocklebank as regional managing partner for the Midlands. Her remit will cover RSM offices across the Midlands, the East of England and Milton Keynes.
The combined operation comprises 50 partners and 765 staff, making the appointment a significant regional leadership responsibility.
At the same time, Mitul Raja is stepping into the managing partner position for the East Midlands. His responsibilities will include RSM’s offices in Leicester and Nottingham.
The changes therefore represent both a promotion and a succession process: Sanghvi moves into a broader regional position, while Raja takes responsibility for the region she previously led.
Who is Sheetal Sanghvi and what will her new role involve?
Sheetal Sanghvi has spent more than two decades with RSM UK, having joined the firm as an audit assistant in 2005 before progressing through its ranks.
According to RSM UK, Sanghvi became a director in 2018, was promoted to partner in 2020, and took on the East Midlands managing partner role in 2024. Her professional specialism includes innovation and capital tax reliefs, with experience advising businesses on research and development and patent box claims.
In her new position, Sanghvi will oversee a much broader geographical operation. RSM said the region includes its offices across the Midlands, East of England and Milton Keynes, collectively representing 50 partners and 765 employees.
Sanghvi said she was pleased to take on the new role and highlighted her long career with RSM and her familiarity with teams across the region.
As reported by RSM UK, Sanghvi said her priorities would include supporting clients, developing people and continuing growth across the region. She also thanked Helen Brocklebank for her leadership and contribution.
The appointment places Sanghvi in a position where leadership will extend beyond a single regional office network to a broader group of businesses and professional teams.
What role will Mitul Raja take in the East Midlands?
Mitul Raja will become managing partner for the East Midlands after previously working across RSM’s audit business.
RSM said Raja has more than 20 years of audit experience, with a portfolio that has primarily included large corporates, including businesses backed by private equity. His new role will cover the firm’s Leicester and Nottingham offices.
The firm said Raja’s responsibility would include maintaining consistency across its solutions for clients in the East Midlands.
Raja described the appointment as an important next step in his career and said he intended to build on the region’s existing momentum.
His comments, reported by RSM UK, also highlighted investment in expertise and capabilities and working with teams to support clients and employees.
The appointment means that RSM has moved an experienced senior professional into a regional managing partner position while Sanghvi moves into the wider Midlands leadership role.
What is happening to Helen Brocklebank?
Helen Brocklebank is moving out of the regional managing partner position and into a senior role focused on transactions.
RSM said Brocklebank has been appointed head of Deal Services, following her appointment earlier this year as the firm’s national head of M&A.
Her move means the leadership reshuffle is not simply a replacement exercise. It also reallocates an experienced regional leader into a role focused on deal activity.
Brocklebank said she had been proud to oversee the team during the previous three years and highlighted the growth and progress achieved during that period.
She also welcomed Sanghvi’s appointment and expressed confidence that the region would continue to develop under the new leadership.
The transition therefore keeps Brocklebank within RSM’s senior leadership structure while changing the area of the business for which she has direct responsibility.
Which other senior appointments has RSM UK announced?
Alongside the managing partner changes, RSM has announced four director promotions in the region.
They are:
- Joe Hessey – audit, Nottingham
- Jana Klir – corporate tax, Birmingham
- Hayley Quigley – corporate tax, Cambridge
- Jonathan Everitt – consulting, Milton Keynes
RSM said the promotions form part of its wider investment in developing talent within the firm.
The four appointments cover several disciplines, including audit, corporate tax and consulting. This gives the regional leadership changes a broader dimension beyond the two managing partner appointments.
The promotions also create additional senior-level capacity across different offices and professional service lines.
How do the Midlands changes fit into RSM UK’s wider promotion programme?
The Midlands appointments came shortly after RSM UK announced a larger round of senior promotions across its UK network.
A separate report published by Business Money said RSM had announced 18 promotions to director across its UK operations. Those promotions covered audit, tax, consulting and core functions, while more than 700 additional promotions were also awarded across the firm.
The wider director appointments included three promotions in audit, seven in tax, eight in consulting and one in the firm’s core functions team, according to the report.
The Midlands announcements therefore form part of a broader organisational focus on internal progression and leadership development.
For RSM, the combination of senior regional appointments and wider director promotions indicates an emphasis on developing leadership capability from within the business.
What did RSM say about leadership development?
RSM’s announcement places considerable emphasis on people development alongside business growth.
Sanghvi said the latest director promotions demonstrated the talent and commitment within the organisation. She also said she wanted to work with teams to support clients, develop people and drive continued growth.
Raja similarly linked his appointment to working with teams and investing in expertise and capabilities.
Brocklebank’s comments focused on the progress made during her three years leading the region and her confidence in the incoming leadership.
These statements indicate that the reshuffle is being presented by the firm as a leadership succession and development exercise rather than simply a change in job titles.
What does the reshuffle mean for RSM’s regional operations?
The immediate effect is a redistribution of leadership responsibilities.
Sanghvi will take responsibility for the wider Midlands operation, including offices outside the East Midlands. Raja will concentrate on the East Midlands, with Leicester and Nottingham specifically identified within his remit.
Brocklebank will focus on Deal Services, while four professionals move into director positions.
This creates a leadership structure spanning regional management, transaction services, audit, tax and consulting.
The scale of Sanghvi’s new responsibility is particularly notable because the operation covers 50 partners and 765 staff across multiple geographical areas.
For a professional services organisation, such a structure requires coordination between senior partners, service lines and individual offices. The new appointments consequently have implications for both management and the delivery of professional services.
How does Sheetal Sanghvi’s previous experience prepare her for the role?
Sanghvi’s career at RSM has given her experience across both technical advisory work and regional leadership.
RSM’s profile states that she joined the firm as a graduate trainee in 2005 and later became a director, partner, and East Midlands managing partner. Her specialist work has included innovation and capital tax reliefs and advising businesses on R&D and patent box claims.
Her previous East Midlands leadership role also means the new position represents an expansion of an existing management responsibility rather than an entry into regional leadership for the first time.
That continuity could be relevant as she takes charge of the larger Midlands operation.
What is Mitul Raja’s background in professional services?
Raja brings more than 20 years of audit experience to the East Midlands managing partner position.
RSM said his client portfolio has mainly involved large corporates and various private equity-backed businesses. His experience therefore includes work with businesses operating at a significant corporate scale.
His appointment also places an experienced audit professional in charge of RSM’s Leicester and Nottingham operations.
The combination of Raja’s audit background and Sanghvi’s previous regional management experience gives the reshuffle a strong internal succession element.
What could the changes mean for management and leadership at RSM?
The reshuffle illustrates how large professional services organisations use senior appointments to manage succession, regional responsibilities and organisational growth.
Sanghvi’s move expands her management remit, while Raja takes over a regional leadership position and Brocklebank moves into a specialist senior role.
The four director promotions add another layer of leadership across audit, tax and consulting.
For organisations with geographically distributed teams, senior management involves coordinating people, service lines, clients and growth objectives. RSM’s new structure reflects that challenge across a regional operation employing hundreds of people.
These developments are particularly relevant to Management and Leadership , where organisational succession, senior management responsibilities, team development and leadership capability are central areas of professional development.
The changes at RSM UK therefore provide a current corporate example of how leadership structures can evolve as senior executives move into broader responsibilities and organisations develop their next generation of leaders.
What happens next for RSM’s Midlands leadership?
Sanghvi will take forward responsibility for the wider Midlands operation, while Raja assumes leadership of the East Midlands.
RSM has also positioned the director promotions as part of its investment in internal talent and professional capability.
The firm will consequently enter the next stage of its regional development with a revised senior leadership structure spanning the Midlands, East of England and Milton Keynes.
The appointments do not represent a change to RSM’s core service offering, but they do mark a significant change in who is responsible for leading its regional teams.
For Sanghvi, the move represents progression from leading the East Midlands to overseeing a substantially broader regional operation. For Raja, it represents the beginning of his tenure as East Midlands managing partner. For Brocklebank, the transition moves her into a role focused on Deal Services after her wider M&A responsibilities.
Together, the changes demonstrate how RSM is combining leadership succession, internal promotions and specialist senior appointments as it continues to develop its UK business.
As organisations increasingly focus on succession planning, workforce development and effective senior management, the RSM changes also underline the practical importance of Management and Leadership capabilities in managing complex regional operations and developing professional teams.