Professionals on the Move – July 2024

Professionals on the Move is a round-up of recent staffing and promotion announcements from around the profession.

CLA Appoints New Chief Data Officer and Chief Financial Officer

CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), the eighth-largest accounting firm in the United States, announced that Ray Price, Jr. has joined the firm as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and that Spencer Lourens has advanced to the newly created Chief Data Officer (CDO) role.

Price joins CLA after an impressive career at Bank of America, including his most recent role as CFO of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Private Wealth Management. Price will lead CLA’s financial operations, guiding the firm’s fiscal strategy and growth planning in collaboration with the leadership team. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Old Dominion University, and a Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from Queens University of Charlotte.

As CDO, Lourens will oversee data management, quality, utilization, and governance, while developing comprehensive data strategies as part of CLA’s $500 million investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology. Lourens joined the firm in 2019 to accelerate CLA’s digital solutions and previously served as the Managing Principal of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. He brings a wealth of experience to this role including a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of Iowa, and an extensive background in Artificial Intelligence and data science.

Grant Thornton Names Jim Wittmer as Managing Principal of Atlantic Coast Region

Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest brands for audit, assurance, tax, and advisory services, has named Jim Wittmer the managing principal of the firm’s Atlantic Coast region. In this role, Wittmer will oversee Grant Thornton’s teams in Arlington, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, where he is based.

Wittmer is a principal in Grant Thornton’s Tax practice and has more than 35 years of experience serving public, private and foreign-owned clients in a variety of industries. He has led the firm’s specialty corporate tax functions for the past eight years, including all areas regarding fixed assets that generate both permanent and timing adjustment savings. Wittmer is in charge of technical matters for Grant Thornton’s Capital Cost Recovery services, and he is a member of the firm’s national working group specializing in issues and planning techniques for subchapter C corporations.  Wittmer has worked at Grant Thornton for 31 years — and he says the firm’s greatest days are still ahead.

BILL Names Sarah Acton to Newly Created Role of Chief Customer Officer

BILL (NYSE: BILL), a leading financial operations platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), recently announced that Sarah Acton has been named Chief Customer Officer (CCO). In this new role, Acton will lead the go-to-market functions of the company, which include the Sales and Marketing organizations, to create a seamless experience for SMBs and accountants throughout the customer journey. Acton is a member of the executive leadership team of BILL and will continue to report directly to President and CFO, John Rettig. 

Acton brings more than 30 years of experience to the role with marketing, sales and brand-building work in both consumer and business markets. As Chief Marketing Officer at BILL since 2021, Acton has been instrumental in building a customer-first brand that serves more than 450,000 SMBs and is trusted by leading U.S. financial institutions, accounting firms, and software providers.

Prior to joining BILL, Acton led sales and marketing at Athos, a wearables company in athletics performance, and has held global marketing leadership roles at LinkedIn and Yahoo!. During her career, she was also the owner of a small retail business where she had first-hand experience with the rewards and challenges that come with entrepreneurship.

Sikich Announces Two New Executive Roles Amidst Substantial Growth

Sikich, a leading global technology-enabled professional services company, announced that Cameron Petroff has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer and Kelli Schweder has been promoted to Chief of Staff.

In May, Sikich announced that it had secured a $250 million minority investment from Bain Capital, maintaining majority control of the company while accelerating its growth strategy and enhancing operational excellence. These newly created roles are critical to that strategy as the company continues to grow in size and gain market share.

Cameron has more than 20 years of experience leading global services brands and has led the marketing function at Sikich for nearly seven years, prior to which he served in a variety of marketing capacities at BDO and Deloitte. Kelli has nearly 20 years