Professionals on the Move - May 2022

Professionals on the Move is a round-up of recent promotions and new hires in and around the accounting profession.

Felix Lozano Named Dallas Metropolitan YMCA Board Chairman

Whitley Penn Chief Growth Officer, Felix J. Lozano, III CPA, CFE, has joined the Dallas Metropolitan YMCA as the Chairman on the Board of Directors.

Lozano is the first to be the chairman of both the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth. He previously served on the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Finance Committee where he chaired the 2018 and 2019 Annual Campaign.

After 35 years of public accounting experience auditing public and private companies, working with family offices & family owned businesses and with a passion for forensic and fraud auditing, Lozano now turns his attention and talents towards internal and external growth initiatives for Whitley Penn. In addition to being a Certified Public Accountant, Lozano is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

A former Advisor and Chairman for the Nexia International Audit Committee and former Chair of Nexia’s International Digital Committee, Lozano is a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA), Dallas Chapter of the TXCPA, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Lozano received a BBA in Accounting from Texas Christian University and is an alumnus of Ernst & Young.

Manatt Expands Tax Incentive Financing Capabilities with Chicago Arrival

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a multidisciplinary, integrated professional services firm, recently announced that Manatt Financial Services Partner Sameer V. Patel has joined its Chicago office. Patel’s focus on the syndication of federal and state New Markets Tax Credits further strengthens the Firm’s work in helping drive social impact investments for clients ranging from institutional and corporate investors to community development entities and real estate developers nationwide.

Patel’s work includes guiding clients through Opportunity Zone investments, low-income housing and historic rehabilitation tax credit matters. Also a respected thought leader, he frequently speaks at some of the industry’s top conferences on the gamut of tax credit-related topics.

Manatt has been strategically expanding its capabilities in Chicago across key industries—including antitrust, health care and financial services—with Patel joining recent hires Stephen D. Libowsky, Megan Thibert-Ind and Bryan A. Schneider. He is also the latest arrival in the Firm’s broader, national growth strategy as it deepens its capabilities in digital and technology (Timothy Lohse and Michel C. Narganes); entertainment and media (Nathaniel L. Bach and Christopher Chatham); health care and life sciences (Zoe Barnard, Tara R. Straw, Rachel L. Sher, Dr. Christina Jenkins and Claudia Page); antitrust and competition (David Reichenberg); and tax, employee benefits and executive compensation (John J. Heber).

Patel earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a B.S. in information systems from DePaul University.

Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz Hires New Team Members

Regional premier advisory firm, Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz (BSSF), announced the following new hires in Pennsylvania and Maryland:

Denise A. Altieri joined the BSSF Small Business Accounting Services team. She brings over 30 years of bookkeeping and administrative experience to the Firm. Denise is located at the BSSF office in Frederick, Maryland.

Michael D. Azzato joined BSSF as a Tax Staff Accountant. He holds a B.S. degree in Neuroscience and a B.A. degree in Philosophy from the University of Scranton as well as a B.S. degree in Accounting from Penn State Harrisburg. He is located at the BSSF office in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Ethan J. Clark joined BSSF as an Audit Staff Accountant. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University. Ethan is a veteran law enforcement professional with over 20 years of experience transitioning to a role in the accounting industry. He is located at the BSSF office in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Scott W. Romberger joined BSSF as the Client Advisory Services (CAS) Senior Advisor. He has 35 years of experience in accounting and will assist in providing outsourced CFO services to clients. He is located at the BSSF office in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

AbacusNext Announces the Addition of Jennifer Sherman as Chief Product and Experience Officer and Mike Summers as Chief People Officer

AbacusNext, a leading software provider for legal and accounting professionals, announced the company has added Jennifer Sherman as chief product and experience officer and Mike Summers as chief people officer to the executive team.

Sherman comes to AbacusNext with extensive experience in the enterprise B2B software market focused on ERP, supply chain, CRM, e-commerce and payments product strategy and management. Prior to joining AbacusNext, Sherman was chief product and experience officer at NMI. She has also led the product teams at Kibo, NAVEX Global and Aptean.

Summers comes to AbacusNext with experience in a range of people and human resource executive roles across technology, consumer and industrial companies. He served as the chief human resource officer at both Celanese and CHC Helicopter as well as the chief talent officer at Dell. Summers joins the company after three years as an executive advisor to Thomas H. Lee Partners where he held interim leadership roles across five different THL companies, including AbacusNext.

For more information on Sherman and Summers, visit abacusnext.com/leadership.