PKF O’Connor Davies Announces 2024 Partner Promotions
19 team members elevated to leadership positions across organization
PKF O’Connor Davies, one of the nation’s largest accounting, tax and advisory practices, today announced the promotion of 19 employees to leadership positions within the organization. Sumeet Agarwal, Jesse Allen, Darren Bushey, Benjamin Garcia, Christina Gray, Sarah Guilmette, Thomas Kelly, Michael Kettell, Jon Klerowski, Michael Koenecke, Jaron Lariviere, Roman Matatov, Ravi Melwani, Melissa Modelson, Joseph Parmegiani, Jackie Reinhard, Nicholas Rochedieu, Patrick Trask and Ioanna Vavasis have been elevated to the role of Partner.
“Our 2024 Partner Class is comprised of high-performing, committed leaders who drive our organization forward and strengthen our reputation for excellence in countless ways,” said Kevin J. Keane, Executive Chairman at PKF O’Connor Davies. “I congratulate each of them for achieving this well-earned milestone in their careers, and I’m confident that they’ll continue to positively impact our organization and our clients.”
Sumeet Agarwal, who heads PKF O’Connor Davies’ operations in India, has more than 16 years of specialized experience in fund administration and management company accounting. He regularly works with hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, venture capital funds, private foundations, separately managed accounts and other alternative investment vehicles, overseeing their monthly, quarterly and annual financial reporting.
Jesse Allen brings more than 15 years of experience to PKF O’Connor Davies’ Not-for-Profit practice, where he provides accounting and auditing services to social service organizations, educational institutions, religious organizations and private foundations. He works with clients to monitor the progress of engagements, anticipate any issues that may arise and identify recommendations for continued improvement. He also has extensive experience with Single Audits. He is based in the organization’s New York City office.
Darren Bushey has over a decade of experience as a tax professional, specializing in real estate investment. With a deep understanding of corporations, partnerships and real estate investment trusts, he has provided compliance and consulting services to a wide variety of clients, including various Fortune 100 companies. He also provides tax planning and compliance services to high-net-worth individuals. He works out of the organization’s Stamford, Connecticut, office.
Benjamin Garcia is a trusted tax advisor with more than 25 years of experience with all aspects of individual and business taxation. He has worked with clients across industries, including construction and real estate, and regularly engaged with the Internal Revenue Service and other state and local agencies. He works out of the organization’s Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, office.
Christina Gray has built her professional career at PKF O’Connor Davies, starting with the organization over a decade ago as an intern. Having worked with a variety of not-for-profit and commercial clients, she has developed a specialized expertise servicing and advising independent schools and other fee-for-service entities. She is an active lecturer, guest speaker and instructor in the organization’s continuing professional education program, as well as a key figure in the organization’s recruiting and career advisor programs. She works out of the organization’s Cranford, New Jersey, office.
Sarah Guilmette has nearly 20 years of experience providing tax planning, consulting and compliance services, particularly for high-net-worth individuals and commercial clients. She works closely with clients to achieve their tax goals, as well as those of their investment partnerships, trusts and businesses. In addition, she contributes articles to the organization’s Thought Leadership series. She works out of the organization’s Woburn, Massachusetts, office.
Thomas Kelly brings over 10 years of public accounting and auditing experience to his work with social service agencies, charter schools, cemeteries and membership organizations. Through this industry focus, he has also developed a specialty in both the audits of employee benefit plans and audits in accordance with Uniform Grant Guidance. He excels in managing and executing client engagements, developing audit plans and ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of financial reports. He regularly contributes to the organization’s Thought Leadership series, is an active lecturer for organization-sponsored continuing professional education courses and shares his insights as a panelist in external seminars. He works out of the organization’s New York City office.
Michael Kettell has over 13 years of experience providing accounting, auditing and consulting services to a variety of clients, including architecture and engineering firms, interior design firms, real estate holding and management companies, manufacturers and distributors, closely held businesses and individuals. He specializes in Federal Acquisition Regulation audits for governmental architecture and engineering contractors. He is active in the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, serving as co-champion of the PRIDE employee resource group. He is also a past recipient of Long Island Business News’ 40 Under 40 award for serving as an outstanding member of the Long Island business community. He works out of the organization’s Hauppauge, New York, office.
Jon Klerowski has over two decades of experience in financial reporting, forensic accounting, valuation and complex business litigation. As a key figure in the organization’s Business Advisory Group, he advises clients’ executive management teams, boards of directors and their counsel on accounting, financial reporting and modeling, business valuation and forensic accounting matters. He serves clients across a variety of sectors, including asset management, financial services, software, health care, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, insurance, manufacturing, retail and telecommunications. He has assisted counsel on various cases, provided expert witness testimony and appeared before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to present investigative findings. He is a published author and regularly contributes to the organization’s Thought Leadership series. He works out of the organization’s Boston, Massachusetts, office.
Michael Koenecke has over 14 years of specialized experience with the accounting and tax aspects of exempt organizations, with an emphasis on providing services to the private foundation industry. He has also been involved with providing back-office operations for family foundations and corporate foundations, as well as infrastructure support for private operating foundations. He frequently contributes to the organization’s monthly Private Foundations Bulletin. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy and as an independent director of the Queens College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation. He works out of the organization’s New York City office.
Jaron Lariviere brings over 20 years of public accounting, tax consulting and compliance experience to his role in the organization’s Architecture and Engineering practice. His experience encompasses federal and state S corporation, C corporation and partnership issues, private equity issues and federal and state tax audit assistance. He also has experience supporting clients with various mergers and acquisitions services, including transaction cost analyses, stock basis calculations and earnings and profits studies. He works out of the organization’s Woburn, Massachusetts, office.
Roman Matatov has more than 20 years of experience and specializes in Chief Financial Officer (CFO) solutions and accounting outsourcing. He has a background in financial forensics and business valuation, and has taught valuation, financial forensics and accounting as a graduate school lecturer. As part of his civic involvement, he chairs the audit committee of the board of a U.S. based social services not-for-profit organization and is a member of the board of trustees of an international not-for-profit venture focused on empowering refugee-led organizations (RLOs) in Africa. He regularly contributes to the organization’s Thought Leadership series, is a continuing professional education instructor, and shares his insights in external publications and presentations. He works out of the organization’s Bethesda, Maryland, office.
Ravi Melwani has more than 15 years of experience in all aspects of financial reporting and compliance. He has worked with a wide range of clients, including those in the affordable housing, real estate, construction and not-for-profit sectors. He has hands-on experience with supervising and performing assurance engagements for clients with up to $5 billion in assets. His broad technical background also includes expertise in agreed upon procedures, including fraud audits, internal controls consulting and management advisory assignments. He works out of the organization’s Bethesda, Maryland, office.
Melissa Modelson has nearly 15 years of experience providing tax and advisory services, particularly in the not-for-profit sector. As a member of the organization’s Exempt Organization Tax and Advisory Service practice, her client base includes large public charities, donor-advised funds, cemeteries, educational institutions, health care organizations and private foundations. She has considerable expertise in unrelated business income tax planning, operational and transactional structuring, reclassifications of public charity status, alternative investments and potential unrelated business income tax, foreign reporting and state fundraising compliance. She is considered a technical resource for exempt entities and presents at organization-sponsored and other tax-exempt industry events. She works out of the organization’s Harrison, New York, office.
Joseph Parmegiani specializes in estate and tax planning, including the review and analysis of wills and the administration of trusts and estates. He regularly advises clients and their families of the practical issues that arise before and after death, including any legal or tax ramifications. In doing so, he helps his clients plan for the transfer of their assets in the most tax-efficient manner while also aligning with their overall objectives. He serves as a trusted advisor to his clients and works within an international network of professionals to address the legal, technical and practical aspects of clients’ financial goals. He works out of the organization’s Cranford, New Jersey, office.
Jackie Reinhard brings over 15 years of experience in public accounting and financial reporting to her work providing financial advisory consulting services for complex commercial litigation, including bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings. She works with clients on a variety of matters, including fraud and forensic investigation, economic damages, business interruption, and other complex accounting matters. She has served as a member of the financial advisor team for debtors’ committees, including as part of one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history and has performed various complex analyses of solvency and legal debt limits. She also has experience providing audit and advisory services to private businesses, particularly those in the financial services and real estate industries. She works out of the organization’s Boston, Massachusetts, office.
Nicholas Rochedieu has nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting and specializes in state and local taxation. He collaborates with clients in all aspects of state and local taxation, including state income tax, sales and use tax, payroll tax and various transactional taxes. He works extensively on nexus studies, voluntary disclosure agreements, audit defense and state credit studies. His extensive compliance background allows clients to achieve a pragmatic view into tax mitigation and planning strategies. In addition, he contributes articles to the organization’s Thought Leadership series. He works out of the organization’s Stamford, Connecticut, office.
Patrick Trask brings nearly 20 years of public accounting expertise to his specialized work providing tax consulting, planning and compliance services to a variety of small, mid-size and large companies. He advises clients across industries, including architecture, engineering, professional services, distribution, retail and manufacturing. His experience also includes working on federal and multi-state tax matters for C and S corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs). He works out of the organization’s Woburn, Massachusetts, office.
Ioanna Vavasis has more than 15 years of experience in public accounting. She specializes in providing accounting and auditing services to a range of privately held and publicly traded companies across industries, including real estate, not-for-profit and employee benefit plans. She is actively involved in the organization’s recruiting and career advisor programs, while also serving as an instructor for the organization’s in-house continuing professional education program. In addition, she authors articles on accounting and auditing topics for the organization’s Thought Leadership series. She works out of the organization’s New York City office.
PKF O’Connor Davies continues to expand through organic growth and acquisitions on the East Coast and beyond. It has supported this growth with a strategic combination of promoting from within coupled with an ongoing focus on top-tier external hires.