The professional services firm, one of the world's "Big Four" accountancy firms, has struck a blow for gender equality.

Deloitte, the global accountancy and professional services firm which covers wealth management among other sectors, has elected Cathy Engelbert as chief executive, the first female CEO of a major audit and consulting firm in the US.

Meanwhile, Mike Fucci has been elected to the position of chairman of the board of Deloitte LLP. Engelbert and Fucci will both begin their new roles on March 11, 2015, the firm said in a statement yesterday.

Engelbert serves as chair and CEO of Deloitte & Touche, the US accounting, auditing, and risk advisory subsidiary of Deloitte. She joined the firm in 1986. She is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, which advises the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the US on strategic issues, project priorities, and other matters that affect accounting standard-setting.

She has held partner roles serving several major life sciences and pharmaceutical companies and advises multinational companies on financial instrument accounting matters. She has also served on the Deloitte LLP board of directors and was a member of the board’s strategic investment, finance and audit, risk, and regulatory and government relations committees.

Deloitte chooses its chief executive through an election every four years.