Why choose CFO Strategic Partners?

Shannon has a passion for the firm’s mission statement, To Enrich Lives. It was embedded in her values and vision when she founded CFO Strategic Partners in 1999, and today is at the core of every major decision she and her team make within the firm. Shannon now brings her expertise, creative strengths, and strategic talents to the firm, serving as its CEO. She ensures that the growth of the company and its constant evolution are focused on helping owners of middle-market sized companies achieve their dreams and giving her team the opportunity to be the very best they can be.

Shannon’s background includes working with KPMG in their audit team and several years in the banking realm, including commercial lending with United Heritage Bank and Colonial Bank.

Shannon is recognized by various CEO organizations as a featured speaker and has conducted educational seminars for hundreds of CEOs focusing on giving them the tools they need to run their business. Her presentation entitled “CFO Tools for the CEO, Stop Blind-Casting and Start Sight-Fishing” has received high ratings from numerous CEO groups. In addition to this topic, she has conducted seminars and educational sessions on topics including banking, cash flow, and financial analysis. She has served on dozens of panels as an expert on topics ranging from entrepreneurship, women in the workplace, emerging companies, and financial strategies; however, she is most proud of her firm receiving an award for one of Orlando’s Best Places to Work (OBJ 2016)

“I have a passion for helping the business owner achieve his or her vision for the organization and being a part of making their dreams come true,” Shannon says. “I feel blessed to be surrounded by an incredible team and to have the opportunity to do what I love every day.” -Shannon

Nicholas Carbone

Vice Chair

Nick’s background includes a combination of skills as a CPA, Entrepreneur/CEO, and investment banker. Nick began his career as a CPA with KPMG. As Senior Manager, Assurance Services, he conducted audit and assurance engagements as well as mergers & acquisition engagements.

As a founding principal in of PCE Investment Bankers, a Florida-based investment banking firm, Nick represented numerous clients in mergers & acquisitions and private placements. He also spearheaded the establishment of the firm’s business valuation practice.

In addition to Nick’s financial foundation, his entrepreneurial spirit crafted and created Touch Vodka, a locally sourced, small-batch distillery where he specialized in vodka and gin. He won national recognition from the San Francisco World of Spirits Competition, earning a gold medal. In 2012, Nick successfully exited his company with a sale to a Florida-based investment group and returned to investment banking where he could help other Entrepreneurs realize their value.

Nick joined the team of CFO Strategic Partners to focus on the firm’s operations and to create internal systems and proprietary tools to ensure we maximize the value for each client. In addition, because of his investment banking roots, Nick provides direction to our team and CEOs on exit strategies, M&A, and ensures we remain focused on what truly drives corporate value.

“I believe strongly in our value proposition because our clients have access to strategic financial support at a fraction of the cost of hiring one full-time. I also love working with CEOs to determine what truly drives the value in their companies and to create plans that ensure we remain focused on maximizing shareholder return and corporate value.” – Nick

Meghan Dalton

Vice President of Client Relations, CFO

Meghan Dalton has over 25 years of experience in accounting and financial leadership.

Her career started at Ernst & Young in Little Rock, AR after graduating from Michigan State University.  In this role she was involved in the audits of a number of public and non-public entities in a variety of industries. Some of the industries she has experience in include professional services, SaaS, manufacturing/distribution, and healthcare, among others.

Meghan went on to serve as the Controller and Vice President of Investor Relations for a public semiconductor manufacturing company, where she managed the finance department and was responsible for all accounting and financial reporting functions.  Additionally, in this capacity she was responsible for effectively communicating the company’s strategy, financial projections, and overall value proposition to the investment community.

Subsequent to this, Meghan served in key financial leadership positions for several private companies in the healthcare industry, including pharmaceutical and professional services companies.   In this capacity she was charged with managing all financial operations and reporting, including oversight of the annual external audits.  Prior to joining CFO Strategic Partners, Meghan served as the CFO of a rapidly growing healthcare services company, where she helped refine the corporate strategy and operating model.  She was also responsible for forecasting operational and growth capital needs, and directed all strategic forecasting, general accounting, financial reporting, and revenue cycle management functions.

Jeannine Rohrbach

Vice President of Internal Operations, CFO

Jeannine began her career with a regional public accounting firm in Pennsylvania where she enjoyed working with the owners and accounting departments of banks, manufacturers, not-for-profits, service organizations, and employee benefit plans. Jeannine subsequently joined the finance team of a plastics manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania where she rose to the Chief Financial Officer & Vice President of Finance role, helping the business to grow both domestically and internationally to $130 million. Before relocating to Florida, she served as CFO for a $150 million, start-up, national staffing company based in Pennsylvania where she developed the accounting team and process documentation to prepare the organization for exponential growth. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bloomsburg University and more recently completing her MBA in Business from Alvernia University, both in Pennsylvania.

Jeannine is passionate about applying her 20+ years of experience in Accounting and Finance to help our clients reach their goals. A lifelong learner herself, Jeannine believes that fostering an engaged workforce through communication and education improves the bottom line and enriches lives.

Alejandra Krauser

CFO

Alejandra graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, with an emphasis on information systems. Her career started in the audit practice at Ernst & Young (EY) in California. She led audits for several public and non-public entities, including Fortune 500 companies. Her industry experience includes real estate, private equity, financial services, consumer goods, computer software, and biotech. She then joined the advisory practice at EY where she worked for Disney’s management audit team, kicking off her career as a consultant.

After leaving EY, Alejandra continued to work as a consultant, first independently and later she joined Moss Adams LLP. As a consultant, she specialized in SOX 404 and internal audit projects, while also leading teams in the completion of business process improvement, risk assessment, fraud detection and prevention, IPOreadiness, and accounting guidance implementation engagements. During her time at Moss Adams LLP, Alejandra was a founding member of the firm’s Business Resource Group LatinX, which promoted the recruitment, development, and promotion of diversity personnel in the firm.

Alejandra then joined Oblong Industries; a tech start-up previously based in Los Angeles. She joined as Controller and was quickly promoted to VP of Finance and Accounting. Alejandra was the head of the Finance and Accounting department as the Company went through a transition, completing a reverse merger which ultimately resulted in the Company going public. She worked with investors, legal counsel, and executive team members in the completion of the transaction.

Upon her move to Orlando, Florida, Alejandra joined CXI as Corporate Controller and spearheaded all accounting activity for the Canadian and US entity. She helped in the identification of a new ERP system, transition, and training of junior team members, and streamlining between the accounting department and treasury operations.

In her spare time, Alejandra enjoys practicing yoga, reading, listening to podcasts, and being a mom.

Cheryle Frye

CFO

Cheryle Frye has over 25 years of experience in financial and operational management with small to mid-sized businesses.  She has served as a part-time CFO since 2006, helping clients through transitions and specializing in streamlining financial operations.  Cheryle strives to make jobs easier, the flow of data faster and the quality of information more accurate for the other members of executive management.

Cheryle’s career began in Houston, Texas with a national accounting firm after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin.  After more than 3 years, she transitioned to industry working in both service and product-based operations in key accounting and management leadership roles while earning her MBA from Rollins College.  She has extensive experience in the wholesale auto auction industry, food manufacturing, product wholesale/retail operations, property management and investment banking.

Cheryle has managed system implementations and conversions as well as operational integrations with accounting programs.  She specializes in managing growth so that overhead costs do not grow dis-proportionately.  She has lead the due diligence process in several acquisitions.

Cheryle enjoys working across all disciplines in a business to help create more collaborative work relationships between associates.  She strives to help productivity increase dramatically when associates understand each other’s functions and challenges learning to work together towards mutual wins.

Cheryle is a member of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.  She has lived in Orlando since 1988.  In her spare time, Cheryle can be found on her Harley motorcycle, spending time with her two grown children and helping foster dogs get ready for their forever homes.

“The best sense of hope and accomplishment comes from helping others reach their goals and knowing you are working to make things better.”

Dean Painter

CFO

Dean brings more than 30 years of experience to CFOSP in several industries including construction, construction equipment rental, food and restaurant, real estate, start-ups and ESOP.

He earned a business administration degree from Stetson University and a Master of Accountancy from the University of North Florida. Dean started his career at Price Waterhouse as an accountant with industry experience in banking, insurance, and manufacturing. He then became the Chief Financial Officer at W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor, Inc., where he was responsible for all corporate accounting functions including, but not limited to: oversight of cash, investments, insurance, bonding, administration of Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Profit-Sharing Plans. He also was the director and officer of several subsidiaries of W. W. Gay Mechanical Contractor, Inc. during his time with the company.

After this, Dean became CFO of Welcome to Moe’s, Inc. where he oversaw the accounting, banking, insurance and HR functions. Dean helped grow Welcome to Moe’s to be the largest Moe’s Southwest Grill franchisee in the country. He was instrumental with the successful sale of Welcome to Moe’s to a private equity firm.

In his spare time, Dean likes to exercise, travel, listen to live music and spend time with friends and family. He also enjoys using his CFO skills and experience to help entrepreneurs execute their vision.

Kevin Lowdermilk

CFO

Kevin Lowdermilk has over 20 years of experience within finance and accounting including serving as the Vice President of Finance for a multinational business unit of Rolls-Royce. Kevin formerly served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of ISO Group, Inc – a venture capital-backed engineering, defense and aerospace company. During this time, he grew the company from $15M to $25M by markedly changing the financial direction and most importantly, significantly increasing profitability. As Chief Executive Officer and President of Exostar LLC, a global technology group, Kevin’s entrepreneurial experience, coupled with his dynamic financial expertise, keeps his schedule busy with client demands. He has been on the Board for a number of private companies across a variety of industries, including healthcare and aerospace and defense as well as manufacturing. Kevin has a BA degree in economics from Western Kentucky University and has an MBA from Ball State University in Indiana.

Kirsten Dodson

CFO

Kirsten joined CFO Strategic Partners with over twenty years of experience in accounting and financing. Her interest was sparked at an early age by her role as a bookkeeper for an automotive parts company during high school. This led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

She began her career with Ernst & Young, LLP as an auditor in their New Orleans office. She then served as audit senior in their Long Island office and audit manager in the Orlando office, servicing both publicly and privately held companies with the entrepreneurial services group. Kirsten left Ernst & Young to serve as controller for SunStar Healthcare, Inc. where she helped them to achieve rapid growth and secure multiple rounds of investor financing, while overseeing the accounting department to meet SEC and Insurance industry financial reporting and regulatory requirements. Kirsten then returned to public accounting where she oversaw the audit and accounting department as senior audit manager for Keith Altizer and Company, P.A. for over fourteen years. In that role, she not only provided financial statement assurance services to small- to medium-sized businesses, but was also able to work closely with business owners to resolve issues they were facing and achieve their goals.

Kirsten has significant experience and enjoys working in a variety of industries, including real estate, construction/contracting, distributors, nonprofit, ecommerce, professional services, insurance and automotive dealerships.

“It’s very important to me to provide value as a member of my client’s management team. I truly enjoy working closely with entrepreneurs to help them achieve their growth and success goals.”

Laurie Elliott

CFO

Laurie Elliott brings over twenty-five years of experience in accounting, finance and operational management to CFO Strategic Partners. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in Finance. She started her career with Marks Paneth LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where she specialized in Emerging Business Services. In that role, she was involved with the owners, accounting departments and engagement leadership providing audit, tax and process improvement services in various industries including entertainment, professional services and transportation.

Laurie left PwC to become the VP, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Global Spill Management, Inc., a national environmental contracting, consulting, manufacturer, distributor, where she facilitated rapid growth through acquisitions and helped to take the company public. She then joined Team Penske, a truck leasing company, and rose to VP Finance for the Penske Motor Group with over $1 billion in revenue where her financial acumen was strengthened developing KPI’s, financial analyses, forecasts and projections for the company and targeted acquisitions. Her role with Team Penske further expanded her industry experience to include automotive sales and service, leasing, supply chain logistics management, and racing & motor speedways. In a desire to return to her entrepreneurial roots, she joined the professional consulting firm Strategic Analysis Inc. (SAI) as their CFO. During her tenure, she helped SAI grow to 20 entities across five continents and become a top firm in the business intelligence niche.

With her relocation to Florida, she became the VP Accounting and Finance and Chief Accounting Officer for a private equity owned national car rental company, tasked with turning around the accounting and finance functions and positioning the company for sale.

In her time with CFO Strategic Partners, Laurie has been the outsourced CFO for clients in entertainment, construction, and business services, among other industries. Laurie’s depth and breadth of experience allows her to serve as a valued strategic partner to executive management.

“I’m excited to continue my passion in consulting through my work with CFO Strategic Partners and apply my past experience and knowledge to help our clients achieve their goals.”

Mari Hutchinson

CFO

Mari joins CFO Strategic Partners with over 25 years of experience in finance and operations management. Upon graduating from the University of Nevada, she joined the audit and consulting team at Deloitte in Reno. In her time at Deloitte, Mari worked with a wide range of private and public companies, ranging from $1M to $950M in annual revenues.  She has experience with many industries, including tech, gaming, hospitality, manufacturing, non-profit and healthcare.

Following her time at Deloitte, Mari obtained a CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst) certification and started a business valuation firm. Over the course of 5 years, she gained valuable experience working directly with small and mid-size business owners to help them maximize their profits and overall business value.

In 2011, Mari returned to her roots in finance and accounting and joined a non-profit organization as their CFO/COO. Over the course of a decade, she was instrumental in the organization’s success and growth.  In 2018, Mari was promoted to CEO for the non-profit. Through her financial stewardship and grant writing proficiency, the non-profit doubled its annual revenues and greatly increased its profitability.

In her spare time, Mari enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, and traveling.

Megan Samuel-Fields

CFO

Megan brings more than 20 years of experience to CFOSP with experience in several industries including government, hospitality, insurance, legal and nonprofits. She earned a degree from the University of the Virgin Islands and a MSc in Finance and Financial Law from the University of London. She started her career as the chief financial officer at Cable & Wireless Antigua. She then moved to ABI Bank Ltd, where she managed the affairs of the receivership and assumed the rights, titles, powers and privileges of the Bank, its shareholders, directors, and officers.

After leaving ABI Bank Ltd, Megan worked for Eastern Caribbean Asset Management Corporation as the chief executive officer, where she spearheaded the development, communication, and execution of effective strategies, operational plans, policies, and procedures to ensure the attainment of the corporation’s objectives.

Megan’s most recent role was as the chief executive officer for Samuel Fields Consulting Group Ltd. In this role, she provided accounting, financial and legal consultancy services to clients, including credit unions, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), banks, insurance companies, and property development companies. In her spare time, Megan likes to read, run, cook, and volunteer at local middle schools as a reading and math tutor.

Tonja Pektas

CFO

Tonja Pektas graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1993 where she was in the Honors and Scholars Programs, Leadership Fellows Program, and Southern Scholarship Foundation Alumni of the Year. Tonja then received her master’s degree from the University of Central Florida in 2002. She started her career at Arthur Andersen as an Auditor in 1993 where she gained experience in numerous industries including construction, hospitality, manufacturing, banking and non-profit. Tonja was asked to join a start-up company, Coast to Coast Renovations, in 1996 as a Controller to build their accounting department from the ground up. She implemented software, created policies and procedures, worked with underwriters to secure lending, and was in charge of hiring a complete staff. In 1997 she joined McCree, Inc. as a CFO in which she was responsible for the selection and implementation of new accounting software, overseeing staff, and preparing monthly financial reporting packages for the Board of Directors. Tonja also managed communication with estimators, architects, permitting, engineers, project managers, IT, and Human Resources. In 2000, Tonja began offering private consulting services, including assisting clients with their accounting processes as well as policies and procedures, developing budgeting processes, and implementation of set-up accounting for new divisions within organizations. Tonja has been involved with several organizations throughout the years including Junior Achievement and The United Way, and she is currently the Creative Director at her church. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, dancing, and spending time with her friends and family, especially her husband and five children.

“I get excited when I can see charted upticks in financial performance that are the result of specifically focused areas or when a client reaches out about a current issue because they trust the value I can add.”

Jennifer Kovacs

Controller

Jennifer brings over 20 years of experience specializing in bookkeeping and controller level support to small businesses. Her experience spans many industries including manufacturing, construction, real estate and the legal profession.

Jennifer’s career began in Connecticut where she managed all operational aspects of a start-up décor boutique. In addition, she was responsible for developing and maintaining processes for budgeting, record keeping and bookkeeping.

In her subsequent role with an Electric Contracting company, Jennifer effectively managed daily operations and was instrumental in streamlining initiatives to improve efficiencies. This resulted in a significant positive impact on all accounting processes including payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, tax preparation, and cash flow. In this role, she also gained extensive experience in financial reporting, vendor/sales and bank reconciliations, job costing and the implementation and utilization of Quickbooks.

In her time with CFO Strategic Partners, Jennifer has served as the outsourced Controller for clients in construction, medical supply sales, distribution, contracting and law.

Sharon Rupp

Controller

Sharon brings over 20 years of experience in treasury and cash management in accounting for small to midsize companies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Florida Southern College and also holds her real estate license.

Sharon started her career at a local CPA firm preparing client write ups, payroll and sales tax, audits, and IRS notice research for small businesses. From there, she spent the next 17 years in various timeshares starting as a Funding Manager then moved to a Director of Cash Management in Accounting role for all the banking and merchant functions, mortgage, and construction fundings. She then expanded to manufacturing, storage facilities and car rentals where Sharon delved into mergers and private equity companies as both the Treasury Manager and later, the Director of Cash Management in Accounting and was involved in multiple accounting software implementations, bad debt, bank conversions, cash flows, and streamlining and automating accounting process as well as overseeing accounting functions.

In her free time, Sharon coaches’ softball of all ages and volunteers as the Treasurer for a non-profit figure skating club.

Wendy Woods-Gordon

Controller

Wendy joins CFO Strategic Partners with over 20 years of experience as a controller and accounting professional. She earned her AA from Western KY University and went on to earn her BS in Information Systems from Orlando College.

She began in the accounting field when her family purchased multiple sub shops in the Orlando area. Shortly after, she began working for a local bank, where she was offered the controller position for Sports Magic Team.  Interested in the opportunity to work for herself led Wendy to open her own accounting firm in 2001.

During her time in accounting, Wendy worked as a parish bookkeeper, accountant for several restaurants and a senior accountant for Moss Krusick & Associates, a public accounting firm based in Orlando. She transitioned back to controller when moving to ESA Solar Energy in 2020. Wendy has experience in food/restaurant, construction, healthcare, legal, non-profits, professional services, and real estate.