The Los Angeles Business Journal presents 2014 CFOs of theYearcbjonline.com/a2labj/supplements/CFOAwards_20140929.pdf · 2014-09-27 · 24 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Business Journal presents

This special advertising supplement did not involve the reportingor editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal.

September 29, 2014 Advertising Supplement

CFOs of the Year

2014

Presenting

Sponsors:

Platinum Sponsors: Gold Sponsors:

AECOM

Audit Prep Services, LLC

Bingham McCutchen

Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt, LLP

Marcum LLP

Montage Insurance Solutions

Oakwood Worldwide

RBZ LLP

TrueCar, Inc.

WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems

Workday, Inc.

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20 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

www.aecom.com

AECOM congratulates CFO Stephen M. KadenacyFinalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal 2014 CFO of the Year Award.

Under Steve’s leadership,AECOM’s global Finance teamhas contributed greatly to thecompany’s growth andsuccess. AECOM is poised tobecome the largest companyheadquartered in the city ofLos Angeles with the expected

completion of acquisitions in 2014 that will morethan double AECOM’s size to over $20 billion inannual revenue and 95,000 employees. It takesstrong financial management and innovativeprograms to flawlessly execute acquisitions inaddition to maintaining our world-class operationsthat are the hallmarks of AECOM’s industryleadership, driving results for our clients,employees and partners. AECOM thanks Steve andthe talented Finance team for their dedication toAECOM and commitment to delivering excellence.

Above, left: AECOM provided program management and expansion master planning for Los Angeles InternationalAirport (LAX). Above: Architecture, construction administra-tion, security and interior design for LEED Gold-certified Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) headquarters. Left: Lead JV design partner for six-mile, eight-station design-build Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension.

AECOM was awarded the World’s Most Ethical Company designation by the

Ethisphere Institute for the fourthconsecutive year in 2014.

Letter from the Publisher

CFOs OF THE YEAR 2014

W ELCOME to our eighth annual LosAngeles Business Journal CFOAwards special supplement, inwhich we celebrate the efforts and

achievements of those too often unsung heroes ofthe corporate space.

This issue pays tribute to, and shines a much-deserved spotlight on, the finalists and honoreeswe celebrated at our 2014 CFO of the Year Awardsluncheon on Wednesday, September 24th at theMillennium Biltmore Hotel downtown.

Every successful company in Los Angeles owesa tremendous debt of gratitude to the ChiefFinancial Officers of their respective businesses,each of whom plays a key role, not only in thesuccess of their companies, but in the success ofthe Los Angeles financial community as a whole.So to all the great CFOs profiled in this volume wesay thank you!

The list of prestigious finalists – each an exam-ple of excellence in the field of financial businessstewardship – made it particularly challenging thisyear to single out the honorees. Five honorees are

announced in this section in five categories –“Public Company CFO,” “Large Private CompanyCFO (revenue more than $100 million),” “SmallPrivate Company CFO (revenue less than $100million),” “Education CFO,” and “Non-ProfitCFO.” We applaud each of the finalists and hon-orees – all of whom are described in these pages.

We hope you enjoy this special section, whichcontains some insights on what exactly it meansto be a corporate financial steward in today’s busi-ness climate, as well as profiles of each of ouresteemed CFO Award nominees and honorees.

And again, congratulations to all the greatCFOs in Los Angeles who tirelessly contribute tothe bottom line of your businesses, and ultimate-ly, our business community as a whole.

Best regards,

Matthew A. ToledoPublisher & CEO

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 21

www.calcpa.org

Justin Gugajew, CPACohnReznick LLP and CalCPA Council Member

Connie L. Chang, CPAMoss Adams LLP andCalCPA LA Chapter Board Member

Ruth E. Baldauf, CPAPartner Engineering and Science Inc and CalCPA LA Chapter Vice President

Jillian N. Phan, CPAMeloni Hribal Tratner LLP and CalCPA Los Angeles Chapter President

Corey J. Stigile, Esq., CPAHockman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez and CalCPA Board Member

Andrew M. Mintzer, CPAHemming Morse LLP andCalCPA Treasurer

Jennifer E. Ziegler, CPABerkeley Research Group LLC and CalCPA First Vice Chair

Scott J. Donnelly, CPAPDM LLP andCalCPA LA Chapter Secretary

Tayiika M. Dennis, CPANSBN LLP andCalCPA LA Chapter First Vice Chair

INTEGRITY • OBJECTIVITY • LIFELONG LEARNING INDEPENDENCE • PUBLIC PROTECTION • BUSINESS ACUMEN

When faced with finance challenges and opportunities – You can count on CPAs to keep your finances in order. CalCPA’s mission is to increase the value and promote the integrity of the CPA profession,contribute to the success of our members, and strengthen client, employer, public and government trust in CalCPA member advice, work products and opinions.

Timothy J. Good, CPAWindes and CalCPA Chair

CalCPA is proud to sponsor the Los Angeles Business Journal

2014 CFO of the Year Awards.

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bingham.com

Congratulations to our clients Oakwood Worldwideand Avery Dennison and their CFOs Bill Foltz andMichell Butier on their well-deserved recognitionas finalists for CFO of the Year.

STEVE Kadenacy is not just the CFO of AECOM, a leading engineeringdesign firm; he also serves as both a client advisor and practitioner,and as a member of the senior management team. Kadenacy is alsohighly skilled at delivering measurable successes and deploying high

value business performance programs in an extremely competitive industry. Since joining AECOM in 2011, Kadenacy has not only been successful as a

CFO, but also as strategic advisor to the CEO during times of immense changeand growth for the company and the clients and industries it serves.Kadenacy has also taken on globalizing AECOM’s IT and optimizing projectdelivery capabilities across the enterprise.

Managing a large global finance organization is no easy task andKadenacy’s focus has been on investing a great deal of time and effort incultivating his team’s professional skills, embedding his team into the frontlines of the business and educating non-finance employees on the impor-tance of accounting and financial best practices. Kadenacy has implementeda wide range of initiatives to create a company culture that keeps thefinance organization top of mind for all employees so that AECOM has thecapacity to deliver best-in-class service to its clients and maximum results toits shareholders.

In the six years that Kadenacy has been at AECOM, he has helped thecompany grow and be more financially sound. He has spearheaded efforts todeploy both business and financial activities across the global enterprise toincrease profitability and improve financial performance.

Eighth AnnualCFO of the Year Honoree

PUBLIC COMPANY CFO OF THE YEAR

STEPHEN M. KADENACYCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERAECOM

➼

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BILL Foltz is CFO of Oakwood Worldwide, the largest provider of temporaryhousing in the world. He joined Oakwood in February of 2009, assumingoversight of Treasury, Accounting & Finance, Risk Management andStrategic Planning.

Since joining the company, Foltz has taken a leadership role in implementing a majorstrategic change that has expanded the company’s business model to a diversified, multi-ple delivery structure catering to the varied and growing needs of Oakwood’s global cus-tomers. During his tenure, he has led the company through its first acquisition of a com-petitor, development and expansion of a franchised business model and a significantglobal partnership to acquire, brand and manage a multi-billion dollar portfolio of cor-porate and serviced apartments. These major initiatives position Oakwood to bettermanage the inherent risk in the business and have accelerated its growth and branddominance. Among his many achievements for the company has been the sourcing andnegotiating of Oakwood’s acquisition of ExecuStay from Marriott International.

Foltz’s business and leadership philosophy, which focuses on several core principles,including honesty, integrity, decisiveness, humor and flexibility, has helped him achievemany wins both professionally and personally.

Earlier in Foltz’s career, he served as CFO of the Los Angeles Dodgers professional base-ball club where he spent 10 years as a key member of the management team. In additionto being a member of the executive team responsible for the sale of the club to NewsCorp., he had responsibility over all aspects of the club’s day-to-day business operations.


LARGE PRIVATE COMPANY CFO OF THE YEAR(2013 REVENUE MORE THAN $100M)

BILL FOLTZSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT ANDCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICEROAKWOOD WORLDWIDE

➼

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BRAD Kates joined Prodege, LLC (parent company of Swagbucks.com) as itsChief Financial Officer in February of 2013 and has since become an inte-gral part the company. He has also helped to shape the culture of the com-pany into one that is hardworking, playful, and team-oriented. As CFO,

Kates oversees all financial functions of the company, including financial reportingand accounting, human resources, administration and overall day-to-day businessoperations. A purveyor of competition and friendly rivalry, he has established someof the most anticipated events around the office including the company’s popularRock Paper Scissors tournament and the annual Easter Egg and Treasure Hunt.

Prior to joining Swagbucks.com/Prodege LLC, Kates was the Chief FinancialOfficer of Shopzilla.com, formerly Bizrate.com, in which he led the sales process toboth the E.W. Scripps Co. and Symphony Technology Group for a combined $750M.Before entering the arena of tech startups, Kates held several positions at the WaltDisney Company, including Director of Disney Auctions, where he authored andimplemented the business plan for the successful launch of Disney’s online auctionbusiness. Previously, as Senior Manager of Finance, he oversaw all financial activityfor various Disney-owned e-commerce entities including: Disney Auctions, ESPNAuctions, the Disneystore.com, DisneyTravel.com, The Disney Catalog, The ESPNStore Online, The NASCAR Store Online, Family.com and ToySmart.com. Kates alsoserved as Manager for Business Planning and Development for Walt Disney World.In this role, he worked on various projects including the Disney Cruise Line and var-ious theme park-related initiatives.


SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY CFO OF THE YEAR(2013 REVENUE LESS THAN $100M)

BRAD KATESCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERPRODEGE, LLC (SWAGBUCKS.COM)

➼

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AVO Kechichian infuses professional knowledge, decades of experience andpersonal attachment into his position as Chief Financial Officer for theUniversity of La Verne. Where other professionals have tactically situatedthemselves in a strategically upward career working for multiple companies

in various industries with the goal of becoming a Chief Financial Officer, Kechichianhas committed his professional career to benefitting the University of La Verne. Froman immigrant undergraduate student from war-torn Lebanon to serving as CFO, theUniversity of La Verne has benefitted from Kechichian for nearly 30 years.

When Kechichian enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University, he beganto lay the foundation for his commitment to dedicate his personal and professional lifeto the University and surrounding community. Beginning with a “student worker”position in the University library, Kechichian has consistently worked across multipleoffices and positions, all related to university Finance and Administration. Whilesimultaneously working to complete his advanced graduate studies at La Verne, hedemonstrated success in each professional position and earned his post as VicePresident for Finance, and subsequently, the position as Chief Financial Officer for theUniversity of La Verne.

Since assuming the position of Vice President for Finance in 2011, Kechichian hasdemonstrated financial leadership, business acumen and institutional stewardshipresulting in increasing the institutional budget by approximately 10% each year andincreasing the institutional endowment by approximately 60%.

In short, Kechichian’s financial stewardship has positioned the University of LaVerne in its healthiest financial position since its inception 124 years ago in 1891.


EDUCATION CFO OF THE YEAR

AVO KECHICHIANCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERUNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE

➼

SM

Oakwood Worldwide® Proudly Congratulates

SM

Bill FoltzChief Financial Officer

Los Angeles Business Journal CFO of the Year, Large Private Company

All of us at Oakwood Worldwide congratulate our CFO, Bill Foltz, on this tremendous honor. Your passion for what you do inspires us.

© Copyright 2014 Oakwood Worldwide All Rights Reserved

Oakwood Premier Incheon — Korea

OakwoodWorldwide.com

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You are the exception. Now become exceptionalIf you’re a rapidly growing company, you are the very definition of “stand out.” But with growth comes questions. Where can we find capital? Do we have

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BRENDA Zamzow is the Chief Financial & Administrative Officer for the GirlScouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA) and a key member of the ExecutiveLeadership Team. Her areas of responsibility include Finance, IT, RiskManagement and Properties. Zamzow joined GSGLA as a financial consult-

ant in April of 2010 to develop the financial model for the 5-year strategic plan. Shethen served as the part-time CFO for more than two years, and in April of 2014,joined GSGLA as a full-time employee. She is now responsible for the more than $16million annual operating budget, and serves as the staff liaison to theFinance/Investment, Audit, and Property Committees.

Among her many achievements for GSGLA, Zamzow has restructured the entireFinance Department over a two-year period by recruiting and developing a new lead-ership team and staff support across all functions. She has also completed an 18-month Property Strategic Planning process to review the organization’s 24 properties.

Zamzow also created a model for financial sustainability for our 5-year strategicplan and served as an integral member of the Board level Strategic Planning Teamand overhauled the annual $16 million operational and $1 million capital budgetingprocess. She has revised all of GSGLA’s previous Board & OperationalPolicies/Procedures, strengthening the organization’s internal controls

Indeed, Zamzow lives the Girl Scout mission “to build girls of courage, confidenceand character who make the world a better place” every day in her essential role, over-seeing what represents the critical systems and processes that support GSGLA’s 150full time staff across 24 sites.


NONPROFIT CFO OF THE YEAR

BRENDA ZAMZOWCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERGIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER LOS ANGELES

➼

Our businessfaculty practicewhat they teach.41% of our faculty come from Fortune1,000 companies. Bringing an average of18 years of professional experience to theclassroom. So when they talk business,they mean business.

See how we help our graduates get towork in the Southern California area.phoenix.edu/southerncalifornia

© 2014 University of Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved. | REG-3692

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Team McGladrey Golfer Zach Johnson and his caddie, Damon Green.

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Lots of advisors suit up, show up

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Congratulations to GREGG GOLDMAN,Our CFO of the Decade….

FIGHT ON!Your Friends

and Colleagues atUSC Marshall

This year’s esteemed CFO of the Yearfinalists are arranged below alphabeti-cally by last name. Congratulations toall of the finalists!

PAMELA ABBOTTCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERREALTY ADVISORY GROUP, INC.

Pamela Abbott hasbeen the CFO forRealty AdvisoryGroup Inc. for over15 years. She over-sees all the legal andfinancial transac-tions for the 12+Brokers in the office.

She has excellent budget develop-ment and management skills and isable to process multiple, million dol-lar deals at one time. Furthermore,her role goes beyond regular CFOresponsibilities in that she overseesall of the company’s financial andstrategic planning and handles com-plex business and tax issues on adaily basis.

Abbott has been an integral part ofRealty Advisory Group Inc.’s businessexpansion. She also does an excellentjob of staff management and devel-opment, which include recruiting,

hiring, reclassifications/promotionsand salary management. Abbott han-dles all merger and acquisition nego-tiations, as well as managing all per-sonal activities. She is truly a pillar ofthe company and the RealtyAdvisory Group team feels very luckyto have her.

SABRINA AYALACHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERGREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

As Chief FinancialOfficer of Green DotPublic Schools,Sabrina Ayala man-ages the financialgrowth of the organ-ization facilitatingthe education ofover 11,000 students

yearly, up from 3,000 students in2006. During her tenure, the GreenDot footprint has expanded fromLos Angeles to what is now anational platform. In concert withthe financial growth, Ayala has out-lined and executed the addition of areal estate holding firm, which pro-vides a unique vehicle to receivestate grants. Her expertise in facilityfinancing was recently recognized at

the 2014 National Charter SchoolsConvention.

Since 2006, Ayala has completed11 facility financing deals. Through acombination of New Markets TaxCredits and State bonds, 47% of thedebt will be forgiven. In 2007, theorganization was one of the firstCharter School organizations to suc-cessfully complete a New Markets TaxCredit transaction. By 2011, GreenDot became one of only 20 non-prof-it, education organizations to receivean investment grade rating.

CHARLES BARRANTESEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERGENERAL FINANCECORPORATION

Charles Barranteshas served as theGeneral FinanceCorporationExecutive VicePresident and ChiefFinancial Officersince September2006. The company

today does business in four coun-tries, Australia, Canada, New Zealandand the United States with over one

hundred product lines, one thou-sand employees and operating inover seventy offices. Barrantes hasfour chief financial officers and aninternal audit director reportingdirectly to him. He also serves onnumerous boards of directors withinthe General Finance Corporationgroup of companies.

Barrantes has helped guideGeneral Finance Corporationthrough the completion of sevenaccretive transactions in fiscalyear ending June 30, 2014: oneeach in Canada, Australia andNew Zealand, three in the UnitedStates and the large Lone Staracquisition in excess of $100 mil-lion dollars. The company hasestablished an acquisitionpipeline, which should lend totwo additional acquisitions in thefiscal year ending June 30, 2015.

CHARLES BESTCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERBLACKLINE SYSTEMS

Charles Best came on board asBlackLine’s first-ever CFO in June2011. As a proven leader who excelsat implementing and managinginternal controls and processes, he is

CFO of the Year Finalists

Continued on page 36

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putting his expertise to work to helpbuild a solid foun-dation for growthat BlackLine. InAugust 2013,BlackLine Systemsannounced that itwas taking astrategic growthinvestment from

Silver Lake Sumeru, the mid-mar-ket arm of technology-focusedprivate equity leader Silver Lake.The commitment validates thehuge market opportunity forsolutions (such as BlackLine) thatautomate processes for the officeof the CFO. The strategic partner-ship is designed to allowBlackLine to pursue the pathahead with flexibility, continuingto provide great software andclient service to accounting andfinance departments around theworld. As CFO, Best was instru-mental in making this deal hap-pen: from making intros topotential investors, doing duediligence on potential suitors,analyzing all the numbers, over-seeing the transaction, etc.

MITCHELL BUTIERSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT ANDCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERAVERY DENNISON

Mitchell Butier is sen-ior vice president andchief financial officerof Avery DennisonCorporation. He waselected to his currentposition in May2010. As senior vicepresident and chief

financial officer, Butier leads thecompany’s financial strategy andoperations, including the audit,financial reporting, investor relations,planning and analysis, tax and treas-ury functions, as well as oversight ofthe finance functions of the compa-ny’s businesses.

Prior to his current position, Butierwas corporate vice president, globalfinance and chief accounting officer, aposition he held starting in March2008. Butier joined Avery Dennison in2000 as director, finance of Office andConsumer Products’ North Americadivision, and served as group director,finance in Label and Packaging

Materials Europe from 2002 to 2004.Subsequently, Butier was appointed tovice president, finance in Retail andBranding Information Solutions aswell as general manager, Americas, ofthe Information Brand Managementdivision.

PAUL DAVISCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERTCP CAPITAL CORP.

Paul Davis is theChief FinancialOfficer of TCPCapital Corp. (TCPCapital), a specialtyfinance companyheadquartered inSanta Monica, withoffices in San

Francisco and New York. Davis alsoserves as CFO of the firm’s externalmanager, Tennenbaum CapitalPartners LLC, which manages over $5billion in committed capital, as wellas a number of private funds alsomanaged by TCP. Davis has played akey role as a member of the executiveteam that managed the TCP Capital’ssuccessful Initial Public Offering.

As Chief Financial Officer, Davis isresponsible for handling all SECreporting, quarterly earnings reporting,tax and accounting matters, and inter-nal reporting, in addition to other cor-porate finance responsibilities. He hadthe complex task of establishing theoperating, regulatory, and tax struc-tures necessary for TCP Capital tooperate its business as a business devel-opment company. Davis and his teamhave spearheaded the development ofvarious systems and software applica-tions to increase efficiency, informa-tion quality, and timeliness whilekeeping staffing headcount low.

ANDREW DOYLECHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERDEFY MEDIA, LLC

Andy Doyle joinedBreak Media in April2011 as the CFO.Having trained atActivision-Blizzard,where he reporteddirectly to the CEO,Doyle brought awealth of operational

knowledge to the business. Already a

CFO of the Year FinalistsContinued from page 34


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11766 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD NINTH FLOOR LOS ANGELES CA 90025

(310) 478-4148 | WWW.RBZ.COM

/RBZbuzz

/company/RBZ-LLP

/RBZbuzz

Congratulations! 2014CFOOF THE YEARAward Finalist

Jon D. Van Deuren, CFOMurcor, Inc.

Vendor Resource Management

You are our CFO of the year!

19 49_cfos.qxp 9/24/2014 11:19 AM Page 37


562.497.2999p2seng.com

fast growing, successful enterprise,Doyle implemented more formal budg-eting, forecasting, and strategic plan-ning processes that helped the compa-ny gain deeper insight into its revenuepacing, cost structure and cash flow.Operationally, Doyle led cost reductionsacross all areas of the business while stillgrowing revenue. At the end of 2012,he was promoted to COO & CFO, over-seeing not only finance and corporateservices but the editorial and productfunctions of the company as well.

In late 2013, Doyle was instru-mental in Break Media’s merger withAlloy Digital to create a new compa-ny, Defy Media. The merger, whichclosed in October 2013, created whatwe believe to be the largest inde-pendent digital video content creatorwith over 500 million monthly videoviews against our original contenteach month.

MELVIN GAGERMANCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ANDCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERAURA SYSTEMS INC.

Melvin Gagerman is a CPA and hasbeen Aura Systems’ Chief Executive

Officer and Chief Financial Officersince the company emerged fromChapter 11 proceedings on January31, 2006. As Chief Executive Officer,Gagerman formulates policies,defines company values, directs theoperations of the business anddefines the corporate culture. He isalso responsible for overseeingAura’s other executive officers.Gagerman has many years of experi-ence in performing these duties anda strong background in accountingand financing.

Prior to joining Aura, Gagermanhad been the CEO of a number ofcompanies including SurfaceProtection Industries and Applause.Gagerman has also served asManaging Partner of Good,Gagerman & Berns, an accountingfirm, National Audit Partner forLaventhol and Horwath and AuditSupervisor at Coopers and Lybrand.Today, as the Chairman of theBoard for Aura, Gagerman’s back-ground and experience provides theBoard with a solid understanding ofthe business issues and financialplanning and execution required bythe business.

TIM GERRITYSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT ANDCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERINTERMEDIA GROUP OFCOMPANIES

Tim Gerrity isresponsible for allaspects of finance,accounting, tax,treasury and finan-cial planning forthe InterMediaGroup ofCompanies, which

now encompasses 12 separate, butsynergistic business units. He over-sees the financial operations of thecompany to ensure the timeliness,accuracy and integrity of financialtransactions. His responsibilitiesalso include the development andimplementation of strategic initia-tives and systems that maintainthe company’s growth and serve itsclients’ needs.

Working directly at the right handof Visionary CEO Robert Yallen,Gerrity is a key leader who is responsi-ble for the financial management ofall 12 of the InterMedia companies. As

Robert Yallen innovates and expandsthe company, Gerrity works with himdirectly to develop the financial andreporting structures to accommodatethe new business developments andgrowth — and to carry the entire cor-poration forward as a leader and inno-vator in the direct response and gener-al media advertising industries.

GREGG GOLDMANCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ANDSENIOR ASSOCIATE DEANUSC MARSHALL SCHOOL OFBUSINESS

As Chief FinancialOfficer & SeniorAssociate Dean,Finance &Administration atthe Marshall Schoolof Business, GreggGoldman oversees awide range of

administrative functions, includingmanaging human resources for 500faculty and staff; budget and financefor the entire Marshall School andinteraction with the central USCfinance division and oversight of



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We have mad respect for you as a brilliant CFO,a great man, and a true friend to all of us at TrueCar.CongratulationsMike Guthrieon being a finalist.

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The Enterprise Cloud for HR and FinanceBuilt from the cloud up,

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WASH Congratulates Our CFO, Allan Villegas, on This Honor!

2014 CFO of the Year Finalist

As CFO of WASH, Allan is an

outstanding financial steward who

is vital to our organization’s growth

and global expansion.

We celebrate Allan, his financial

team, and all of the other

Los Angeles Business

Journal CFO of the

Year nominees on

their achievements.

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Marshall’s physical plant, whichincludes three large academic build-ings on campus, numerous off-sitefacilities, and planning for Marshall’splanned new academic building.

Despite all of these duties,Goldman’s energy is boundless and hiscommitment to the students, facultyand staff of USC and Marshall is enor-mous. Any given day for Goldmanmay begin with approving classroomrental space in Shanghai, and endwith completing complex budget pro-jections or handling a personnel issue.He handles each task, each day andeach situation with clarity, profession-alism and grace under pressure.

MIKE GUTHRIECHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERTRUECAR, INC.

Michael Guthrie is theChief FinancialOfficer of TrueCar. Hebrings more than 20years of experienceadvising, investing inand operating tech-nology companies.Mike joined TrueCar

in January 2012. He oversees finance,accounting, internal controls, treasury,tax, business intelligence and investorrelations. Guthrie was instrumental inreviving TrueCar, Inc. from its lowestpoint to a remarkable recovery, fol-lowed by a successful private fundraiseand ultimately, an IPO. Guthrie’s intel-lectual acuity, deep understanding ofthe business and genuine commitmentto the mission of the company are pal-pable. Outside of being an extremelygifted operating executive, he is also agreat collaborator who invests in histeams and mentors many.

Prior to joining TrueCar, Guthriewas Senior Vice President ofSharesPost, an online marketplace forprivate investments. His private equi-ty experience spans both venturecapital and complex buyouts andrestructurings.

ALAN HOFFMANCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ANDSENIOR VICE PRESIDENTCENTURY HOUSINGCORPORATION

Alan Hoffman is Senior VicePresident and Chief Financial Officer

for Century Housingand its affiliates.With 23 years ofexperience in man-agement andfinance, Hoffman iscurrently responsiblefor all corporatefinance, risk manage-

ment, investments, financial plan-ning, tax and IT functions. Hoffmanraised $158 million of capital/securedcredit facilities for Century Housingto re-leverage five times for a total ofclose to $450 million available creditfor the affordable housing communi-ty. With this capital, Century closed23 loans in 2013 for a total of approx-imately $100 million, including eightloans outside greater Los Angelesaggregating $61.3 million. Century’snet assets improved by 15% year-endunder Hoffman’s leadership.

PETER HOVENIERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERBOINGO WIRELESS

Peter Hovenier has served as Boingo’sChief Financial Officer sinceNovember 2012. He served as the

company’s SeniorVice PresidentFinance from June2007 to November2012, and as VicePresident Financeand Administrationfrom June 2002 toJune 2007.

Prior to joining Boingo, he wasVice President Finance andAdministration of FronteraCorporation, an application serviceprovider. Prior to Frontera, he heldfinancial management positions withGeoCities, a web-hosting service;MGM Studios, a media company;and Wyndham Hotels Corporation, ahospitality company.

RACHEL HOWITTPRESIDENT AND CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICERNAI CAPITAL, INC.

Rachel Howitt is President and CFOof NAI Capital, Inc., a leading com-mercial real estate brokerage with 14offices throughout the five countyregion of Los Angeles. As the region-ally exclusive NAI Global member,



19 49_cfos.qxp 9/25/2014 6:31 PM Page 40


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HOLTHOUSE CARLIN& VAN TRIGT

Bill FoltzOakwood Worldwide

Tracy McGregorKarlin Asset Management

Tim MedinaTelePacific Communications

LD Reyer Murphy O’Brien

Rick SapersteinAbode Communities

Brett ZaneSpark Networks Inc.

And all of the finalists for Los Angeles Business Journal’s

CFO of the Year

19 49_cfos.qxp 9/24/2014 11:18 AM Page 41


Tom Unterman

Congratulations to

on your nomination for the2014 CFO of the Year Award

at

Charles Best

NAI Capital providestransactional servicesfor the leasing and saleof industrial, officeand retail properties aswell as the sale ofland, senior housingand multi-family prop-erties “around the

block or around the world.”Howitt oversees all financial and

administrative matters relating to NAICapital, Inc. With over 25 years ofexperience leading the company,Howitt is responsible for exploringstrategic alliances to enhance the depthand scope of the services NAI Capitalprovides to its clients, including strate-gizing on company expansion plans.She is tightly aligned with NAI Globalregarding the expansion of their AsianPacific counterparts. She is also a princi-pal in NAI Capital ManagementServices, Inc., a new property manage-ment company exclusively managingCommercial Investment Real Estate.

RONETTE KITECHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERADLY, INC., A NESTIVITY COMPANY

Ronette Kite is the COO/CFO of Adly

Inc., a leading socialadvertising technol-ogy platform thatworks with celebri-ties. Kite managestalent & non-profitrelations, sales oper-ations, marketing,finance/accounting

and the HR and administrationresponsibilities for the company.She has been with Adly for fouryears and has been involved withraising millions of dollars in addi-tional funding, has brought onhundreds of key celebrities to theplatform and assisted with therepositioning and branding of Adlyearlier this year. Also, she led thecompany in launching its ecom-merce site, Looksy.com, a fashionaccessory flash sale site, sold latelast year.

Kite is a true entrepreneur in thatshe views anything as possible andis willing to step out of her comfortzone – whether it is attendingwomen’s accessory trade shows,meeting with talent agents, orpitching concepts to non-profitorganizations. She has helpeddefine the company’s overall strate-

gy, vision and goals and has createda plan and timeframe to executethat strategy.

KATHLEEN KUHNVP, FINANCE & ITAVERY PRODUCTSCORPORATION

Kathleen Kuhndemonstrates astrong financial lead-ership focus by care-fully formulatingand organizingimportant courses ofaction, prioritizingwhich steps need to

be taken to accomplish those actionitems, and envisioning the importantinitiatives that will continue to makeAvery Products Corporation adynamic, forward-thinking business.

Kuhn always has a sharp eye onthe top line and the bottom line ashead of finance functions for AveryProducts. In addition, she also over-sees information technology andsystems, which causes her to lookahead strategically on how infor-mation systems can provide a com-petitive advantage to the business.

By overseeing both finance andinformation technology for hercompany, Kuhn is a prime exampleof a modern CFO who truly under-stands what dynamic businessmanagement means in a fast-mov-ing, fiercely competitive industry.Using her strong leadership andmanagement skills, Kuhn alsoplayed an instrumental role in thetransition of the company to newmanagement, steering her teamtoward a successful and productivetransition.

BRANDON H. LAVERNECHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER,TREASURER AND ASSISTANTSECRETARYPCM, INC.

Brandon LaVerne was appointed asChief Financial Officer by the Boardof Directors of PCM, Inc., effectiveJuly of 2008. LaVerne previouslyserved as Interim Chief Financial offi-cer, Chief Accounting Officer andTreasurer of the Company since June2007, and will continue to serve asthe Company’s principal financialand accounting officer. Prior to hisappointment, LaVerne served as Vice


19 49_cfos.qxp 9/25/2014 6:31 PM Page 42

President and Controller and hasbeen with the company sinceOctober 1998.

Prior to joining the company, LaVerne worked for Computer SciencesCorporation, and started his careerwith Deloitte and Touche LLP. Hereceived his B.S. in Accounting fromthe University of SouthernCalifornia and is a Certified PublicAccountant.

NATALINE LOMEDICOCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERGIROUX GLASS, INC.

Nataline Lomedicohas been directlyresponsible for allfinancial aspects ofGiroux Glass, Inc.since 2000, and haspreviously served asTreasurer andController, before

being named its Chief FinancialOfficer. In June of 2014, she accept-ed the position of Appointed ChiefExecutive Officer. At the end of thisyear, she will assume her next roleof CEO. She is committed to grow-ing Giroux’s status as one of thenation’s most successful glazingcontractors through her commit-ment to cutting-edge technology,top-quality service, customer satis-faction and nurturing Giroux’sstrong culture of ownership.

Lomedico has played a pivotal rolein the success and growth of GirouxGlass; she has been the inspirationalleader and driving force behind tran-sitioning Giroux to an employee-owned company. During her tenure,Giroux has been named to the LABJ’s“Top 100 Best Companies to Workfor in LA” five of the past eight years,something for which she is veryproud.

ELSA LUNACHIEF FINANCIAL ANDTECHNOLOGY OFFICERLOS ANGELES UNIVERSALPRESCHOOL (LAUP)

Elsa Luna brings over15 years of experi-ence in direct finan-cial managementand organizationaldevelopment fornon-profit organiza-tions. Luna has sub-stantive executive

experience, specializing in evolvingpriorities of an organization with anability to identify new enterpriseopportunities. She is a forward andenergetic thinker who plays a criticalrole in developing and implementingan organization’s mission, goals andstrategic plans in a team environ-ment.

Currently, she is the ChiefFinancial and Technology Officerfor Los Angeles Universal Preschool(LAUP) serving over 11,000 chil-dren in early childhood education.

Luna has played a key role in help-ing to advance early education pro-gram quality and capacity by sup-porting the organizational missionto develop the whole child, grow-ing a qualified and diverse work-force, and strengthening familyengagement. By creating and sus-taining strategic partnerships andadvocating for policies that pro-mote access and program excel-lence, Luna has lead the organiza-tion’s strategic and business plan,setting the stage for the organiza-tion’s success for years to come.

TRACY MCGREGORCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERKARLIN ASSET MANAGEMENT,INC.

Tracy McGregor is theCFO for Karlin AssetManagement, whereshe has applied herexpertise in partner-ship accounting andstructuring to managethe formation of theKarlin investment

entities. She is the financial leader of

Karlin’s global enterprises. She hasundertaken a wide range of responsibili-ties throughout her tenure, from order-ing the office’s very first telephone tooverseeing the successful establishmentof Karlin’s offices in Los Angeles,London, Dallas and Costa Rica. She hasbeen key to the success of the firm andrelated foundations that have grownfrom 2 to 420 employees since

McGregor has active operatingand risk mitigation roles in the


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management of multiple strategiesthat include public equities, hedgefunds, real estate, distressed debtlending, energy, oil & gas, venture,and mortgage?backed securities. Inaddition, she is the senior financialadvisor for three actively managedfoundations, which employ morethan 80 people: Twenty MillionMinds, Michelson MedicalResearch Foundation, and FoundAnimals Foundation.

TIM MEDINACHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERTELEPACIFIC COMMUNICATIONS

Tim Medina joinedTelePacific as ChiefFinancial Officer inJanuary 2005. Sincethen, he has madesignificant changeswhich put TelePacificin a better EBITDAand positive cash

flow position. He was the leader andnegotiator of several acquisitions keyto TelePacific’s growth and enhancedproduct portfolio.

Since his arrival at TelePacific

Communications, Medina hascleaned up the company’s backoffice, put it in a strength positionto borrow capital for growth, andnegotiated five key acquisitions.TelePacific has had 50 consecutivequarters of growth, which has beendue to strong revenue growth,strategic acquisitions, and greatnegotiations with vendors, banks,acquired companies, and a strongback office. Medina makes rationaldecisions that look out forTelePacific and its employees. Heunderstands TelePacific’s goals and issteadfast in his pursuit of creativeways to make things happen. Healso understands partnerships anddoes business with those that dobusiness with TelePacific. He is agood leader and provides strengthbehind the scenes.

MATTHEW MITCHELLPRESIDENT AND CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICERMEDIAPASS LLC

Matthew Mitchell co-foundedMediaPass and serves as the compa-ny’s President. He is responsible for

MediaPass’ vision for helping onlinepublishers prosper in an environ-ment where most can’t succeedwith advertising alone. Workingwith a unique set of financial skills,Mitchell most recently served asvice president of finance forLike.com, the online leader in com-parison-shopping for soft goodsthat was acquired by Google in2010. During his time at Like.com,he oversaw all financial responsibili-ties, helped raise $32 million inventure capital funding, and wasinstrumental in growing revenuethreefold.

Before Like.com, Mitchell spentmore than four years as director offinance for Reunion.com (nowMyLife). While there, he developedthe process and algorithms forReunion’s distribution and subscrip-tion strategy that enabled the com-pany to grow from $3 million inannual subscription revenue tomore than $100 million. He wasresponsible for all finance opera-tions, including forecasting andplanning, audit oversight, invest-ment banking, capital structure andbudgeting.

MARK NELSONTREASURER AND CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICERFARMER BROS. CO.

Mark Nelson was appointed to theposition of Treasurer & ChiefFinancial Officer for Farmer Bros. Co.in April of 2013. Nelson has a broadrange of experience leading a globalteam of financial controllers andmanagers in the areas of strategicplanning, mergers and acquisitions,financial systems and process integra-tion, international banking, andfinancial hedging. Prior to joiningFarmer Bros. Co., Nelson served asVice President, Corporate Controllerand Chief Accounting Officer ofNewport Corporation, a global sup-plier of advanced technology prod-ucts and systems, located in Irvine.

From 2004 to 2010, Nelson heldvarious senior financial roles atNewport Corporation as VicePresident and Controller, VicePresident and General Manager of itsOptical Components division andFinance Director of its Photonics divi-sion. Prior to Newport Corporation,he held the positions of Finance



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Director in Thermo ElectronCorporation, Cost and BudgetManager at C.R. Bard, Inc., co-ownerand Chief Financial Officer of WesternEnergy Services, Inc. and FinancialManagement Program Trainee withthe General Electric Company.

ROBERT NEWMANVICE PRESIDENT & CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICERINDEPENDENT FILM &TELEVISION ALLIANCE (IFTA)

For 24 years, Robert Newman has dis-played his passion, expertise anddrive for his work at the IndependentFilm & Television Alliance (IFTA).Promoted to Vice President andChief Financial Officer earlier thisyear, Newman began his career withthe Los Angeles-based non-profittrade organization in 1990 as a tem-porary employee for IFTA’s annualtrade show – the American FilmMarket (AFM). His quality of workand dedication allowed him to moveseamlessly into various permanentpositions within the Finance &Accounting department, becomingan integral part of the organization.

Newman’s ability to meaningfullycontribute to strategic discussionsabout the organization’s future alongwith his strict cost controls and man-agement of investments created theenvironment for IFTA to weather theeconomic downturn without disrupt-ing advocacy efforts or member serv-ices. His budget oversight has playeda vital role in the organization’s abili-ty to foster more equal businessopportunities for independent com-panies, and to fund highly importantand timely research projects aroundtopics negatively impacting themsuch as worldwide piracy, net neu-trality, and trade barriers.

MARIE NISSENCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER,PRINCIPALP2S ENGINEERING, INC.

Marie Nissen servesas chief financialofficer for P2S. Shehas more than 20years experience incorporate financialoperations and man-agement primarilywith Fortune 50

companies. Nissen has a proven trackrecord of consistently improvingfinancial systems and processes whileproviding analytical depth andinsight in business services and man-ufacturing operations.

Prior to joining P2S, where she nowserves as CFO and Principal, Nissenserved as the controller for several divi-sions of United Technology Corp.,including Pratt & Whitney andHamilton-Sundstrand. She also servedas the director of finance for the inter-national distributor markets of

ConAgra Foods, Inc. In these posi-tions, she oversaw financial operationsin multiple domestic business unitsand in Asia, Caribbean, Central/SouthAmerica, Europe and the Middle East.Nissen received her MBA fromPepperdine University, GraziadioSchool of Business and Management,and a BS in Business Administrationfrom Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

ANNE PLECHNERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERACI MEDIA GROUP

Anne Plechner hasover 15 years ofexperience as ahands-on CFO inmiddle market andentrepreneurialemerging marketcompanies. She spe-cializes in companies

that are experiencing rapid growth orchange and that need professionalfinancial management and leader-ship to create a scalable infrastructurethat will allow companies to achievetheir goals.

As CFO of ACI Media Group,Plechner has been able to create andsustain significant operational andprofitability improvements andchange throughout the organization.For example, she was able to dramati-cally improve profitability by reduc-ing field operating costs, overhaulingthe evaluation process and launchprocess of new business and aligningincentive compensation programs tokey performance indicators. In termsof financial reporting and cash collec-tions, Plechner was able to reduce themonthly closing cycle from 30 to 10days and significantly reduce workingcapital needs by managing accountsreceivable and client relationships.She has also been able to integrate anew business to the core business byaligning processes, products, pricing,and, most importantly, people.

CYNTHIA PYGINCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERCALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTERFOUNDATION

Cynthia Pygin is asenior finance execu-tive with provenfinancial and man-agement experiencein high growth,international envi-ronments. Herstrong management,

human resource, team building,problem solving, project manage-ment and decision making skills haveenabled her to repeatedly demon-strate an ability to work effectively indynamic, fast growing and rapidlychanging environments.

For the California Science CenterFoundation, where she presently servesas Chief Financial Officer, Pygin is a key

member of the Executive Staff, respon-sible for oversight and management ofall financial/administrative functionsincluding accounting, budget manage-ment, treasury, grant financial adminis-tration, project accounting, internalcontrols, taxes, risk management, con-tract review, legal affairs, and the annu-al audit. She also provides financialexpertise and guidance to the EVP,Board of Directors, Audit Committee,and Finance & AdministrationCommittee and provides oversight andmanagement of the Accounting,Human Resources and the InformationTechnology departments.

LD REYERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERMURPHY O'BRIEN, INC.

LD Reyer is responsi-ble for managingMurphy O’Brien’soverall financial con-dition. This includescash management;accounting; financialreporting and plan-ning; payroll; 401k;

general ledger; tax planning; legalcompliance; and capital expendituresthat ensure the growth of the compa-ny. She is a valued member of thefirm’s executive team, one whoseover 20 years of experience in finan-cial matters, and whose strong finan-cial and business acumen, haveenabled her to perform a demandingkey role at Murphy O’Brien PR.

Since joining Murphy O’Brien in2000, Reyer’s fiscal stewardship hasseen the company grow at an averageannual rate of 10% per year. She haseliminated company debt while atthe same time ensuring that theneeds of the employees are met. Inthe 14 years that Reyer has been withMurphy O’Brien, she has performedjust about every job responsibilitynecessary when growing a smallcompany into a successful medium-sized company, and she has taken onevery challenge with zest.

RICK SAPERSTEINEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERABODE COMMUNITIES

Rick Saperstein isexecutive vice presi-dent and chief finan-cial officer, responsi-ble for the oversightand direction ofAbode Communities’finance, accountingand asset manage-

ment. In this capacity, he is heavilyinvolved in the oversight and man-agement of the organization’s exist-ing portfolio, ensuring the achieve-ment of financial performance goalsand regulatory compliance, financialand tax reporting, and budgeting. Hisdedication and constant pursuit of

excellence has flourished at AbodeCommunities because of his abilityto project and foresee the financialneeds of the organization. Many ofAbode’s foremost accomplishmentsare due in large part to Saperstein’sfinancial management and guidance.Since 2009, for example, he was ableto close financing on ten differentprojects of other $100 million ofaffordable housing properties –adding and/or preserving 683 afford-able residential units.

Saperstein has more than 20 yearsof experience including organization-al finance and accounting manage-ment, internal and external financialreporting, budgeting and forecasting,cash flow reporting and departmentmanagement.

PHILIP SCHRAEDERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER &CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICERGUMGUM

At the time of PhilSchraeder’s arrival inlate 2011, GumGumwas growing andneeded someone toplan, organize,strategize, and exe-cute the plan itsinvestors demanded.

The senior management team wasimmediately impressed with thedepth and breadth of Schraeder’sbackground, which included a suc-cess story as CFO of RealD, a compa-ny in Beverly Hills that subsequentlywent public. Early on, he was given atask to build a financial model.Without hesitation, he accepted thechallenge and nailed it, winning theconfidence of the company leader-ship in the process.

Since then, Schraeder hasexcelled at a number of tasks onbehalf of the company, includingcreating and executing GumGum’sthree year financial plan and devel-oping an innovative business planthat has pushed GumGum to prof-itability in just 1.5 years. He hasalso engaged the company’s firstaudit with tremendous success andhas opened multiple offices acrossthe country and brokered two keyinternational partnerships, amongother accomplishments.

RICHARD SCHWEITZERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER,CHIEF RISK OFFICERARISTOTLE CAPITALMANAGEMENT, LLC

Richard Schweitzer has played a piv-otal role in making Aristotle CapitalManagement one of the most wellrespected and admired investmentfirms in the United States. Since thelaunch of Aristotle CapitalManagement in late 2010, he hassuccessfully spearheaded the finan-cial, operational, infrastructure and



Continued from page 44

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risk managementefforts at the firm.Through his leader-ship, Aristotle hasbecome a financiallysound, consistentlyprofitable, growingenterprise that is ableto attract and retain

investment talent from some of thebiggest investment managementfirms in the country.

Over the last three years underSchweitzer’s financial leadership,Aristotle’s assets under managementhave grown at a rate of 67% per year,revenue has grown at a rate of 54%per year, and net income has grownat a rate of 120% per year. Aristotlehas also been profitable every quar-ter. During his tenure at Aristotle, hehas been responsible for establishingall of Aristotle’s infrastructure andfinancial reporting systems, as well asmanaging the budgeting process.

CORDELL SWEENEYSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT ANDCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERPABST BREWING COMPANY

Cordell Sweeney cur-rently serves as theSenior Vice Presidentand Chief FinancialOfficer of PabstBrewing Company, aC. DeanMetropoulos portfo-lio company, located

in Los Angeles. Pabst BrewingCompany is the fifth largest domesticbeer company in the United States.Since 1844, the Company has takenpride in brewing 34 well-recognizedbrands and 46 reserved brands thathave become iconic, cherishedAmerican brands. Cordell has respon-sibilities for strategic, operational,and financial leadership includingthe Financial Planning and Analysis,Accounting, Treasury, Tax, RevenueManagement, Operations,Procurement, and InformationTechnology functions.

Among his accomplishments forPabst is the fact that he played a keyleadership role in overhauling thecompany’s five-year strategic plan-ning process. He also partnered withthe chairman to develop an integrat-ed long-range driver based financialmodel and changed the internalfinancial reporting structure to reflectto operating characteristic of thebusiness, streamlined the monthly

reporting process, and institutedmonthly accounting close reviews.

JON D. VAN DEUREN, CPA,CGMACHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERMURCOR, INC. AND VENDORRESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INC.

Jon Van Deuren isthe EVP and CFO ofMurcor, Inc. andVendor ResourceManagement, Inc.(VRM) and has heldthose positions sincejoining both compa-nies in 2011. He

oversees all aspects of financial man-agement, plays a key role in compa-nies’ strategic operations, businessintelligence, business planning /analytics and administrative func-tions. He reports directly to Keith D.Murray, Murcor’s and VRM’s CEO.

Since Van Deuren joinedMurcor and VRM in 2011, he hasbeen an integral contributor totheir success. His public companyaccounting, reporting, treasuryand managerial experience havebeen extremely beneficial forthese private companies over thepast several years. A key teammember on the executive leader-ship teams, He has been instru-mental in developing improvedfinancial budgeting, planning andanalytics for use by the manage-ment teams at each company.

ALLAN VILLEGASCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERWASH MULTIFAMILY LAUNDRYSYSTEMS

Allan Villegas hasbeen a solid busi-ness partner toWASH’s Board andSenior LeadershipTeam. He embracesthe role of both 1) astrategist, activelyinvolved in partner-

ship with WASH’s CEO and Boardof Directors to set the strategicdirection of the Company; and 2)an execution specialist, driving thetactical implementation of vital ini-tiatives supporting the Company’sgrowth strategy.

Villegas’ financial leadership hasbeen essential in aligning the com-pany’s management of cash flowwith the execution of its opera-

tional and technology initiatives.Among the key accomplishmentsachieved by Team WASH throughhis active leadership since he joinedthe Company in 2009 include thecompletion of the acquisition andintegration of eight companies, twoof which facilitated WASH’s entryinto new markets that theCompany had not been to before.He also developed the company’s“laundromat survey” strategy in2011 and led its execution in 2012,which has since been one of the keydrivers of WASH’s accelerated rev-enue growth rate.

PERRY WALLACKCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERCORNERSTONE ONDEMAND

Perry Wallack co-foundedCornerstoneOnDemand (previ-ously known asCyberU) inNovember 1999,along with the com-pany’s president and

CEO, Adam Miller, and EVP ofStrategic Accounts, Steven Seymour.The day was marked by a meal at ElCholo Mexican restaurant in SantaMonica, followed by bowling – a tra-dition that is repeated every yearwith employees to celebrate thecompany’s anniversary. As one ofthe co-founders of Cornerstone,Wallack has helped to bring thecompany from being one of theoriginal Silicon Beach startups tobeing one of the fastest growingpublicly traded software companiesin the world.

None of the company’s primaryaccomplishments would be possiblewithout Wallack’s financial leader-ship and operational savvy. He isnot a career CFO, jumping aroundfrom company to company—instead he helped to build a com-pany to last, and because of hisdeep involvement withCornerstone from inception, hebrings an entrepreneurial spirit andknowledge to his work.

BRETT ZANECHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERSPARK NETWORKS INC.

Brett Zane was appointed as ChiefFinancial Officer of Spark NetworksInc. effective December of 2007.Prior to joining Spark, Zane had

served as Chief Financial Officer ofLindora, Inc., aregional commercialweight loss manage-ment company,since 2006.

Between 2004 and2006, Zane wasChief FinancialOfficer of Action

Media Holdings, LLC, a productioncompany focused on consumershows for the automotive, skiing andvideo gaming industries. From 2003until 2004, he was Chief FinancialOfficer of Liberman Broadcasting,Inc., a Spanish-language televisionand radio broadcaster, during whichtime certain securities of LibermanBroadcasting, Inc. became publiclytraded, and from 1994 to 2003, Mr.Zane was Vice President and ChiefFinancial Officer of LogexCorporation, a specialty logistics anddistribution company. Zane holds anM.B.A. from The Anderson GraduateSchool of Management at UCLA anda Bachelor of Science in Economicsfrom The Wharton School,University of Pennsylvania.

DAVID ZHUCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERENPLUG

As co-founder andCFO of Enplug,David Zhu has madean invaluableimpact on the com-pany. He has been acritical componentin the company’sgrowth and revenue

generation. Enplug was conceptual-ized in early 2011 by Zhu and a cou-ple of co-founders from his highschool. Enplug was founded with nooutside capital, and bank rolledentirely by Zhu. With strict adher-ence to spending rules, Enplug wasable to operate on budget of nearly$0 for over three months. At thistime the company expanded into asingle room office. Here the compa-ny created its first prototype prod-uct, a low cost advertising displaysolution that could be deployedanywhere with electricity and a Wi-Fi connection.

Zhu leveraged his overseas connec-tions and knowledge of market pric-ing to secure the best supply chainpossible and raised funds andbrought in investors.


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At the Event

Honorees accept their awards: From left, Pablo Alberti of Presenting Sponsor Etihad Airways, John Angelo of PresentingSponsor California Society of CPAs, Troy Rudd accepting for Stephen Kadenacy of AECOM, Bill Foltz of Oakwood Worldwide,Brenda Zamzow of Girls Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, Avo Kechichian of University of La Verne, Brad Kates of Prodege, LLC(Swagbucks.com), Karim Teymourtache of Presenting Sponsor Union Bank and Ron Proul of Presenting Sponsor Century Group.

Kinamed, IncBill PrattVP Operations, Director of Creative Design

When JetAir Technologies, LLC needed financing for expansion,

Ventura County’s diverse resources had the solution. When Trupart

Manufacturing was ready to expand its workforce, we offered

affordable training programs. When Remediation Service,

Int’l wanted to improve its market strategy, we provided

free consulting. Whether it’s meeting the challenge of securing critical

financing, finding qualified employees, or increasing operational

efficiencies, we offer a number of no-cost and low-cost resources

to ensure your company can thrive and grow. In Ventura

County, you can grow your business and live your life.

Discover all that’s available at venturacountygrowsbusiness.com

800-959-6395

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Watch their stories at venturacountygrowsbusiness.com

In partnership with the Workforce Investment Board of Ventura County

The event was held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel down-town. Nearly 600 attendees were on hand to honor the bestCFOs in Los Angeles.

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Documents

The Los Angeles Business Journal presents 2014 CFOs of theYearcbjonline.com/a2labj/supplements/CFOAwards_20140929.pdf · 2014-09-27 · 24 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES