CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest brands of professionals providing end-to-end audit, assurance, tax and advisory services, has expanded its technology leadership team with recent additions, including Salman Taherian as head of AI, Tom Coulis as head of transformation and Justin Corona as chief technology officer (CTO).
These leaders play critical roles in accelerating Grant Thornton’s technology modernization efforts, embedding AI across the firm and helping clients drive efficiency, innovation and long-term value. They join Alpa Lally, chief product officer, who joined the firm in late 2025.
“These are exceptional leaders whose experience and vision will help move our technology team and the firm forward,” said Mike Kempe, Grant Thornton’s chief information officer. “Salman’s ability to turn AI ambition into real-world results, Tom’s expertise in transformation and change management, and Justin’s leadership in enterprise technology—alongside Alpa’s product leadership—are helping us embed advanced capabilities across our multinational platform and deliver meaningful impact for our clients.”
Together, these appointments build on Grant Thornton’s continued, multi-year investment in technology and innovation as the firm advances its AI-powered capabilities and modernizes service delivery across its global platform, including its recent investment to equip and upskill the multinational workforce.
More on the technology leadership team:
Salman Taherian
Taherian joins Grant Thornton with nearly 20 years of experience translating AI strategy into measurable business outcomes. As head of AI, he is responsible for leading the firm’s enterprise-wide AI strategy and execution across its service lines, ensuring AI is embedded into how the firm operates and serves clients.
Most recently, Taherian served at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he played a key role in scaling a global AI platform and partnering with leading consulting firms to accelerate enterprise AI adoption among Fortune 500 companies. Before AWS, he built Wipro’s global AI consulting practice from the ground up, driving rapid growth and delivering significant, measurable value for clients worldwide. He holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Cambridge (UK).
Tom Coulis
Coulis joins the firm as head of transformation, where he leads firmwide technology adoption and change management initiatives that support Grant Thornton’s ongoing modernization and growth. In this role, he focuses on a people-centered, value-driven approach to change that enhances client delivery, strengthens internal capabilities and enables sustainable, long-term impact.
With more than two decades of consulting and business transformation experience, including leadership roles at IBM, PepsiCo and Deloitte, his background in large-scale transformation initiatives positions him to help the firm execute complex change while keeping people and outcomes at the center of the process. Coulis holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance and computer information systems from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Justin Corona
As CTO, Corona is responsible for leading the firm's technology strategy and execution across enterprise architecture, cloud platforms, data and analytics, infrastructure and AI. In this role, he is focused on accelerating innovation, modernizing and strengthening the firm’s technology foundation and ensuring that technology investments are closely aligned with business objectives to drive growth, efficiency and client value.
Corona brings more than two decades of technology leadership experience, leading large-scale digital transformation initiatives, modernizing enterprise platforms and building high-performing technology organizations. Throughout his career, he has successfully led complex programs spanning cloud adoption, data and analytics, infrastructure modernization and emerging technologies, enabling organizations to improve operational performance, enhance scalability and create sustainable competitive advantage. Corona holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University at Buffalo, a Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Technology Management from Columbia University.
Alpa Lally
As chief product officer, Lally leads product strategy, execution and delivery across Grant Thornton. She is responsible for strengthening product discipline, advancing user-centered design and ensuring the firm’s use of AI tools, solutions and capabilities are aligned to business priorities and deliver measurable value.
Lally plays a central role in translating strategy into scalable outcomes that meet the needs of Grant Thornton’s people and clients. She brings product leadership experience from roles spanning startups, fintechs and Fortune 500 companies, most recently at Rocket Companies. Lally holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Calgary and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.
About the Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform
The Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform is a group of firms within the Grant Thornton International Limited network that connects priority markets and operates with aligned standards, technology and delivery expectations. Firms remain locally led and legally separate. The Grant Thornton International Limited network provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets.
The platform is currently home to almost 20 aligned firms stretching from the Americas across Europe and the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. These firms bring together almost 25,000 professionals to deliver cross-border solutions powered by advanced technologies, a shared commitment to quality and a growing reputation as the industry’s employer-of-choice. The platform firms operate as separate legal entities.
About Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services. It is one of two specialized entities known collectively as Grant Thornton in the US, alongside Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services.
Grant Thornton LLP, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and their respective subsidiaries operate as an alternative practice structure (APS). The APS conforms with applicable laws, regulations and professional standards, including those from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Grant Thornton LLP is a CPA firm, while Grant Thornton Advisors LLC is not.
“Grant Thornton” refers to the brand under which the member firms in the Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) network provide services to their clients and/or refers to one or more member firms. Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC serve as the U.S. member firms of the GTIL network. GTIL and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership and all member firms are separate legal entities. Member firms deliver all services; GTIL does not provide services to clients.
Contacts
Lourdes Perez
T +1 305 341 8097
E lourdes.perez@us.gt.com
S x.com/grantthorntonus
linkedin/grantthorntonus
