ATLANTA (PRWEB)
January 06, 2020

The PaymentsFirst Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Donna Ashworth as the new President of PaymentsFirst effective January 1, 2020. This strategic transition plan, puts the wheels in motion for a very successful year with Peggy and Donna leading and working closely together throughout 2020 for the benefit of PaymentsFirst membership.

Donna is an accomplished leader as 2020 marks 30 years of payments and financial experience, including: President and CEO of the Tennessee Automated Clearing House Association (TACHA) for 25 years. Most recently, Donna served PaymentsFirst as the Executive Vice President of Risk and Compliance. In this role, she managed a team of experts in the performance of over 400 payment audits and risk assessments per year. As a well-known and respected payments industry expert, she has served on numerous Nacha committees and workgroups including: Nacha’s Conference Planning Committee, the AAP Blue Ribbon Panel, the Board of Regents, the Faculty for The Payments Institute, the APRP Payments Risk Accreditation Oversight Panel and was selected to serve on Nacha’s RMAG in 2020. Donna has led and participated in many other industry groups including roles in Center for Payments (formerly Regional Payments Associations Forum), the Federal Reserve Faster & Secure Payments Workgroups and the Faster Payments Council. Her contributions to the Payment Industry and our membership is far-reaching.    

“We are excited to welcome Donna as President,” said Peggy Gachesa, Chief Executive Officer. “Donna is a proven leader with strong strategic objectives, payments expertise and strong core values. With her leadership and guidance, PaymentsFirst will continue to provide high quality services and relevant member benefits. As the payments industry continues to evolve and member needs continue to change, Donna’s expertise, pro-active attitude and vision for the future will be a valuable asset.

PaymentsFirst also announced that Chad Frank, previously Senior Vice President, Risk and Compliance, will assume a new role as Executive Vice President, Risk and Compliance effective January 1, 2020. Chad has 16 years of financial and payments experience. Since joining PaymentsFirst in 2017, Chad has spearheaded major strategies and shifts with our risk and compliance products and services. Prior to PaymentsFirst, Chad worked for 13 years with SmartBank, actively working positions such as ACH Manager, Internal Audit Manager where he developed an Enterprise Risk Management foundation for the bank’s risk platform, he also served as the Director of Deposit Operations. Chad is actively involved in industry workgroups and committees and currently serves on the Center for Payments Staff Development Group.

“Chad is clearly the best person to lead our Risk and Compliance team, he has the unanimous support from our Executive Management team and our Board,” Peggy Gachesa said. “Our management team and Board took a thoughtful approach with consideration of our members, partners and employees .”

The PaymentsFirst Team looks forward to an exciting year beginning with the announced changes and sharp focus on our member services, resources and events. For more information, go to http://www.paymentsfirst.org.

About PaymentsFirst: PaymentsFirst is a non-profit Payments Association for Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina. PaymentsFirst originated with a merger in 2015 with the Tennessee Automated Clearing House Association (TACHA), Georgia Automated Clearing House Association (GACHA), Alabama Automated Clearing House Association (ALACHA) and South Carolina Clearing House Association (SOCACHA). PaymentsFirst provides support, education and risk and compliance services to the financial and payments industry.

Contact info:

Name: Jennifer Stadler, CPP, Vice President Marketing, Strategy and Communications

Organization: PaymentsFirst

Company URL: http://www.paymentsfirst.org

Mailing Address: 2 Riverchase Office Plaza, Suite 111 Birmingham, Alabama 35244

Phone: 866-993-3753

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NEW YORK (PRWEB)
January 06, 2020

Pro Mujer, a leading social enterprise and pioneer in women’s empowerment in Latin America, announced today the appointment of Marisol Fernandez as Global Financial Services Director. Fernandez assumes this role after having served at Pro Mujer as Global Director of Corporate Business Development, where she oversaw the acquisition of a major financial services company in Argentina and two joint ventures in health and gender smart investing. She brings over 22 years of experience in financial services, microfinance operations, financial services regulation, risk management, development financing and taxes, as well as in developing creative, strategic solutions and implementing seamless divestitures and settlement processes for financial entities.

Fernandez´s major accomplishments include leading the funding of more than 20 microfinance entities, in addition to defining key legislation and regulation of the financial sector and microfinance in Bolivia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Tanzania and Mozambique. In 2018, she was recognized by Bolivian Business Magazine as one of the leading businesswomen in Bolivia.

In her new role, Fernandez will be leading Pro Mujer’s current financial services areas in Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Mexico, which together manage a portfolio over USD $120 million. Reporting to Pro Mujer President and CEO Maria Cavalcanti, Fernandez will be responsible for leading Pro Mujer’s financial services business line, leveraging fintech and helping drive digital transformation to propel the organization’s continued expansion throughout Latin America. In 2019, Pro Mujer focused on implementing and scaling cutting-edge technological solutions, including a new core banking system.

“Marisol’s experience in the public and private sector as a manager, investor, regulator, and board member gives her invaluable strategic and hands-on experience in steering financial services organizations into sustainable growth and profitability. This will allow Pro Mujer to strengthen and expand its services to positively impact the lives of millions more women across Latin America,” said Maria Cavalcanti, president and CEO of Pro Mujer.

Additionally, Fernandez has served as member of a number of corporate governance bodies of financial entities, including Banco FIE and Banco de la Comunidad. As such, she contributed in the development and implementation of their risk management systems and corporate social responsibility programs. She has also been board member of non-financial entities, including Caja de Salud de Bolivia, National Coordinator for Productive and Financial Development, and Kantutani S.R.L, and member of the credit committee of PYME Capital Fund and the economic committee of the Andean Parliament.

About Pro Mujer:

Pro Mujer is a mission-driven social enterprise committed to positively impacting the lives of women and their families. Its integrated approach offers access to finance, health and educational services, delivered in supportive social spaces that foster community-building and equip women with the resources to help them reach their full potential.

Since 1990, Pro Mujer has disbursed over $3.6 billion in loans, provided over 9 million health interventions and reached over 2 million women across the region. Pro Mujer is headquartered in New York City and currently operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

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CHICAGO (PRWEB)
January 05, 2020

Private Asset Management magazine (PAM) recently announced Mack International as a shortlist nominee for two prestigious 2020 PAM Awards: “Best Business Consulting Firm for Family Offices” and “Leading Women’s Advocate in Wealth Management.” For over two decades the Private Asset Management Awards have recognized the “best of the best” performers in the private wealth management industry.

Often regarded as the “Oscars” of the U.S. private asset management industry, the highly sought after PAM Awards for over two decades have provided a platform for top investment professionals, wealth advisors, legal firms, consultants and other key service providers operating within the sector, to showcase the incredible achievements they have accomplished. The judging process used an independent panel of industry experts who based their decisions on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative performance indicators to select the finalists.

This is the 8th consecutive nomination for Mack International in the category of Best Business Consulting Firm for Family Offices. “I am very honored to be recognized by PAM. Our executive search and consulting services are highly customized, and our solutions are continuously evolving to remain at the forefront of what is happening in the market,” said Linda Mack. “We strive to be thought leaders who will be considered vanguards, learning from the brightest minds in our industry, as well as those outside our niche, and bringing “best in class” knowledge to each of our consulting assignments. Anticipating what is coming and how to successfully navigate through change and growth is a significant part of our value proposition.”

“Leading Woman’s Advocate” is a category that debuted last year. Linda Mack was the first recipient of the award and has again been shortlisted as a finalist for 2020. It recognizes those who have demonstrated extraordinary mentoring for females seeking leadership roles. “I was thrilled to have accepted this award in 2019,” said Linda. “I thoroughly enjoy and am passionate about being a mentor to women who are starting or continuing to build their own businesses and to those aspiring to leadership roles within Family Offices and the Wealth and Investment Management markets. I appreciate the judges naming me a finalist for the second year in a row.”

Firmly established in a small but crucial niche of the executive search market, Linda Mack is a highly sought-after speaker at family office and family investment conferences on a global basis and is recognized as a thought leader in her field. “We value being at the forefront of our field and continuously do fresh research on our own, sharing our insights and perspectives with families. We all gain from one another’s experiences.”

Ms. Mack has built her career serving family offices, family investment firms and family enterprises: “I love working with families and believe family businesses are the backbone of this country. The prosperity of the U.S. has been built on the vision of enterprising families. Our clients range from first generation wealth creators to multi-generational families of six or more generations. We bring the value of this experience to each assignment. We help families sustain themselves, their legacies and their wealth into future generations by finding the right C-suite leadership who will enable them to achieve their goals and objectives. The market needs an independent firm like Mack International that is genuinely dedicated to help families in finding the right leadership for these critical roles.”

Winning a PAM Award is a true endorsement of praise from the private wealth community to one of its own. A black-tie awards dinner celebrating the top-performing elite of the private wealth community will take place on Thursday, February 6, on Park Avenue in New York City.

About Mack International LLC

Mack International is the premier, a boutique retained executive search and strategic management/human capital consulting firm serving national and international clients in the family office, family business enterprise and the wealth management industries on a national and international basis. Founded in 2002, the firm has achieved an exceptional track record of success as evidenced by its unmatched industry expertise, in-depth market knowledge and unparalleled track record of success. Founder and President, Linda C. Mack has established proprietary methodologies such as the Mack 360© and is credited for having coined the term “expert generalist” in the industry.

About Private Asset Management Magazine

Private Asset Management (PAM) Magazine – the industry publication that exclusively covers the wealth management and family office industry – brings to readers actionable information regarding best business practices, investment management and trust services. It incorporates breaking industry news, people moves, in-depth trend articles and profiles on top multi and single-family offices and wealth management firms. In conjunction with PAM’s monthly breakfast briefings, the magazine advises, educates and fosters a sense of community and peer-to-peer networking opportunities. PAM’s readership includes family offices, private bankers, money managers, high-net-worth units, hedge fund managers, consultants, concierge firms, lawyers and accountants. PAM is published by Pageant Media, a leading provider of business information and insight.

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SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)
January 02, 2020

National accounting and consulting enterprise Novogradac elevated Elaine Chang and Miao Xue of the San Francisco office; Abby Cohen of the metro Washington, D.C., office; Thomas Fantin of the Dover, Ohio, office; Erica Giessler of the Walnut Creek, Calif., office; and Tabitha Jones of the metro Atlanta office to partner. Novogradac, which specializes in affordable housing, community development, historic preservation, renewable energy and opportunity zones, has 64 partners in more than 25 cities nationwide.    

“I am excited to announce that Abby, Elaine, Erica, Miao, Tabitha and Tom have been promoted to partner,” said Michael J. Novogradac, managing partner of Novogradac. “Each partner brings with them varied skills and knowledge that will help the enterprise continue to serve its clients.”

Chang has experience in affordable housing and community development, including new markets tax credit (NMTC) and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) transactions. She has worked extensively on financial statement audits, tax return preparation, final cost certification audits and NMTC allocation applications. Additionally, she is experienced in providing attestation services via issuance of agreed-upon procedure reports to ascertain whether a qualified active low-income community business meets the requirements pursuant to the NMTC program, whether a NMTC allocatee meets the operating income distribution test to its owners, and whether a NMTC allocatee meets the substantially all test. Chang has contributed articles to various publications, including the monthly Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits. She received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Walsh College in Michigan. Chang is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.

Cohen works in the valuation consulting, market research and government services division of Novogradac. She has extensive experience performing market feasibility studies, appraisals, rent comparability studies and consulting services for a broad cross-section of clients in the LIHTC industry, including developers, lenders, syndicators and state agencies. She also works extensively in the historic tax credit (HTC) and NMTC industries, preparing reasonableness opinions related to the IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-12 safe-harbor ruling. Cohen received a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and is a frequent speaker at various industry events. She is a designated member of the National Council of Housing Market Analysts. Cohen is licensed as a certified general appraiser in Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Fantin performs audit, tax and consulting services related to the NMTC, HTC and renewable energy tax credits (RETCs), as well as the opportunity zones (OZ) incentive. He regularly works with community development entities, qualified active low-income community businesses and developers of real estate and renewable energy projects. He also helps oversee the company’s employee benefit plan audit practice. Before joining Novogradac, Fantin was an associate director with a regional certified public accounting firm in Ohio. He has extensive experience serving the accounting and business advisory needs of companies in various industries, including brokers and dealers in securities, restaurants, manufacturing and distribution. Fantin’s experience includes providing audit, tax, accounting and mergers and acquisitions services, including buy and sell side financial due diligence, working capital analyses, and service organization controls engagements. He frequently speaks at industry conferences and seminars on topics related to NMTCs and HTCs. Fantin received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Akron. He is a licensed certified public accountant in Ohio.

Giessler provides various services within the real estate industry, including audit, tax, cost certifications, agreed-upon procedures and consulting for clients who own, operate or invest in market-rate properties, as well as properties that use LIHTCs. Her expertise include audit and attest standards and she leads Novogradac’s quality control group. Giessler earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her master’s degree in accounting from San Francisco State University. Giessler is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.

Jones specializes in audit and tax services for real estate transactions. Jones has extensive experience with affordable housing transactions and specializes in LIHTCs. She works extensively with equity sponsors in equity fund audit and tax consulting, as well as affordable housing developments, including those subject to the auditing requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and nonprofit organizations, including those subject to Government Auditing Standards and Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. Jones has provided accounting, financial statement audits, tax preparation, and cost certification audits for numerous organizations in the affordable housing industry. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from North Georgia College and State University and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs. Jones is licensed in Georgia as a certified public accountant.

Xue has broad experience in tax compliance. She also provides extensive financial modeling and consulting services to members of the LIHTC, RETC, HTC, NMTC and commercial real estate industries. She is known for her strong technical skills in complicated partnership transactions in real estate and renewable energy areas. Xue received a master’s degree in accounting from San Francisco State University and is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.

About Novogradac

Novogradac recently celebrated its 30th year in business, having opened in 1989 and has grown to more than 750 employees and partners with offices in more than 25 cities. Tax, audit and consulting specialty practice areas for Novogradac include affordable housing, opportunity zones, community development, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy.

For additional information on Novogradac’s personnel and areas of expertise, visit http://www.novoco.com or call (415) 356-8000. Learn more about these partners at https://www.novoco.com/newpartners2020.

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SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)
January 02, 2020

National accounting and consulting enterprise Novogradac elevated 12 managers to principal–Melissa Chung of the San Francisco office; Sean Collins of the Walnut Creek, Calif., office; Dayle Dalling of the metro Philadelphia office; John DeJovine, Genie Goricki and David Graff of the Cleveland office; Michael Derrickson of the Austin, Texas, office; Ben Fry, Erin Neff, Austin Power and Aaron Sherrard of the Dover, Ohio, office; and Nick Ives of the Andover, Mass., office. Novogradac, which specializes in affordable housing, community development, historic preservation, renewable energy and opportunity zones, has 44 principals in more than 25 cities nationwide.

“I am pleased to announce that Aaron, Austin, Ben, Dayle, David, Erin, Genie, John, Melissa, Michael, Nick and Sean have been promoted to principal,” said Michael J. Novogradac, managing partner of Novogradac. “This growth at the principal level will allow Novogradac to continue to serve its clients’ current and future needs.”

Chung provides audit, tax and consulting services for affordable housing developments, real estate partnerships, and for-profit and nonprofit housing developers in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) industry, other nonprofit organizations and single-family home builders. Chung also has experience with the auditing requirements of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), OMB Uniform Guidance, CalHFA, HCD, NJHMFA and OHCS. In addition, she serves on the Housing Colorado NOW! Conference and publications committees and is a frequent speaker at various housing conferences and workshops. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a concentration in accounting and a minor in Chinese studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.

Collins has assisted in financing solar, wind and biomass portfolios valued in excess of $300 million, with tax equity and traditional debt, by assisting lenders and investors in their due diligence efforts. He also regularly provides guidance on a consulting basis to clients on a broad range of partnership tax matters and accounting issues under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), particularly the application of the hypothetical liquidation at book value approach to the equity method of accounting. Collins is licensed in California as a certified public accountant.

Dalling joined Novogradac in 2008. Dalling has extensive experience with affordable housing transactions and specializes in LIHTCs, historic rehabilitation tax credits (HTCs), renewable energy tax credits (RETCs) and new markets tax credits (NMTCs). He also works with equity sponsors in equity fund audit and tax consulting, as well as auditing requirements of HUD and nonprofit organizations. Dalling has worked extensively on financial statement audits, tax return preparation and final cost certification audits for numerous organizations, including nonprofit organizations, small local governments, corporations and individuals. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University-Idaho and is a member of the AICPA. Dalling is licensed in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Idaho as a certified public accountant.

DeJovine specializes in financial statement audits, tax return preparation and final cost certifications while working with numerous real estate investors, syndicators and developers. He has also worked extensively on structuring, business consulting and financial modeling for transactions involving NMTCs, HTCs and LIHTCs. Additionally, DeJovine is a Housing Credit Certified Professional and has taken the lead on several compliance service engagements, primarily focusing on tenant file compliance. DeJovine received a bachelor’s degree in business from Ohio University, a master’s degree in accountancy from Cleveland State University and is licensed in Ohio as a certified public accountant.

Derrickson specializes in audit and tax services for affordable housing real estate partnerships, including those subject to the auditing requirements of HUD, nonprofit organizations and public housing authorities. In addition, he has extensive knowledge in audit consulting services, such as audit preparation and assembly. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Denver and a master’s degree in accountancy from Texas State University and is licensed as a certified public accountant in Texas.

Fry provides financial statement audits, tax return preparation, final cost certifications and consulting services. Fry has extensive experience working with real estate developers, community development entities, lenders and investors on the structuring and financing of more than $1 billion of NMTC allocation, in addition to structuring and financing the HTC, RETCs and opportunity zones (OZ) transactions. These transactions include preparing financial forecasts that reflect the forecasted sources and uses of cash, net operating income, taxable income, summary of tax benefits available to the investor and estimated tax credits for the deal. He received his bachelor’s degree from Walsh University. Fry is licensed in Ohio as a certified public accountant.

Goricki is primarily involved in accounting, auditing, taxation, consulting and compliance within the NMTC and HTC industries. She also works extensively in NMTC and community development entity certification applications and is a contributor to the monthly Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits. Before joining Novogradac, she had several years of experience with regional CPA firms, providing audit, accounting, tax and business advisory services to investment companies, contractors, health care organizations, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and is licensed in Ohio as a certified public accountant.

Graff works extensively with real estate lower-tier and fund partnership audits and taxation, as well as various GAAP and program compliance consulting engagements involving NMTC, HTCs, RETCs and the OZ incentive. Additionally, Graff has experience with federal and state historic cost certifications, financial modeling, and agreed-upon procedures engagements involving safe harbor compliance and reporting. He has also assisted with due diligence services on several affordable housing sale/purchase transactions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and is licensed as a certified public accountant in Ohio.

Ives specializes in NMTCs, HTCs, RETCs and LIHTCs. In addition to providing various consulting services, he works extensively on financial statement audits, tax return preparation, final cost certifications, financial forecasts and agreed-upon procedures engagements. Before joining Novogradac, Ives was an accounting manager at U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation. Before that, he was a senior accountant with a regional certified public accounting firm in St. Louis, where he served clients in the manufacturing, construction and real estate industries. Ives received a master’s degree in accounting at Northeastern University and is licensed in Massachusetts and Missouri as a certified public accountant.

Since beginning her career with Novogradac in 2007, Neff has gained an extensive background in real estate partnership audits, federal and state partnership taxation, and compliance matters related to the NMTC, LIHTC and investment tax credit industries. Additionally, Neff works with nonprofit organizations, performing audits of such entities and their federal awards. Neff has participated as a panelist at Novogradac’s NMTC conference workshops and is a regular presenter for the company’s in-house training courses. She is a part-time accounting professor at Kent State University, her alma mater, from which she holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in accounting. She is licensed as a CPA in Ohio.

Power specializes in NMTCs, HTCs and OZ transactions. Power works extensively on financial statement audits, tax return preparation, cost certification audits, compliance reporting and NMTC allocation applications. He has contributed to various publications including the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits and is a frequent speaker at conferences on topics related to the NMTC and HTC industries. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance and a master’s degree in business administration from Walsh University. Power is licensed in Ohio as a certified public accountant.

Sherrard has several years of experience in providing tax, audit, forecasting and consulting services to real estate partnerships. Sherrard works with the LIHTC, HTC, tax-exempt bond-financed developments, nonprofits and developments subject to the auditing requirements of HUD. He works with operating partnerships, upper-tier tax credit equity funds, real estate developers and tax credit syndicators. Sherrard received his master’s degree in accountancy and bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University. He is licensed as a certified public accountant in Ohio.

About Novogradac

Novogradac recently celebrated its 30th year in business, having opened in 1989 and has grown to more than 750 employees and partners with offices in more than 25 cities. Tax, audit and consulting specialty practice areas for Novogradac include affordable housing, opportunity zones, community development, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy.

For additional information on Novogradac’s personnel and areas of expertise, visit http://www.novoco.com or call (415) 356-8000.

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