Professional Services

RAND BLAZER

PRESIDENT, APEX SYSTEMS LLC, FAIRFAX COUNTY

Blazer has been with Apex Systems since 2007, after nearly 30 years with KPMG US LLC. The former U.S. Army captain has helped Apex, based in Glen Allen, grow into a firm with roughly 2,640 employees across the state.

Apex and its parent company, ASGN Inc., together form one of the nation’s largest IT staffing and services firms. Apex alone generated revenues of $630 million during the first quarter of 2021, accounting for 62% of ASGN’s revenue.

Virginia successfully lured ASGN from California in 2020, when the firm announced it was moving its headquarters to Henrico County and would be creating roughly 700 jobs in the commonwealth.

“The best advice I could give is to commit to being a business adviser to your client,” Blazer says. “Creating business dialogue and knowing what is important to our clients makes us better and able to provide real value to their business.”

In his free time, Blazer volunteers with the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association, promoting the sport for disadvantaged youth in Montgomery County, Maryland. He also has worked with the Greater Washington Partnership, which examines employment trends in the Washington region.

JACOB BLONDIN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, RETAILDATA LLC, RICHMOND

Blondin joined RetailData in 2015 as vice president of strategic initiatives, and in 2020 he was promoted to president and CEO, following the retirement of Christopher Ferguson.

As retailers have transitioned from brick-and-mortar locations to e-commerce operations, RetailData has evolved to provide analysis on digital pricing and promotion strategies.

In a statement last year, Blondin said the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated that transition, and in an era when consumers can comparison shop at the click of a button, the Richmond-based pricing retail intelligence firm helps clients understand the differences in metrics between in-store and online offerings.

Prior to joining RetailData, Blondin spent more than a decade working in leadership roles within a variety of industries, including construction services and bioenergy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at Northeastern University and received an MBA from Arizona State University.

KRISTEN CAVALLO

CEO, THE MARTIN AGENCY, RICHMOND

Richmond’s iconic advertising agency has continued to rack up awards, clients and revenue under the leadership of CEO Cavallo.

She returned to Martin in 2017 as its first female CEO; Cavallo spent 13 years at the agency before leaving to become president of MullenLowe U.S. in 2011. Prior to her hiring, Martin was dealing with bad press as sexual harassment allegations against the agency’s former chief creative officer came to light. Under Cavallo, the agency has ushered in a phase of growth and greater diversity among Martin’s leadership.

Cavallo kicked off 2020 with the announcement that the firm had just landed Old Navy as a client. The rest of the year, of course, would be spent dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as travel restrictions and limits on group gatherings made it all but impossible to continue production of live ads.

The firm shifted strategies and focused more heavily on motion graphics and animation, and Cavallo said last year that most layoffs were offset by hiring in these areas. Later in the year, Martin was named Adweek’s 2020 U.S. Agency of the Year after reporting 30% net growth in new and organic revenue. It was the only U.S. finalist to report double-digit growth.

RUTH ‘PAIGE’ CLAY

SENIOR PARTNER, MID-SOUTH MARKET, MERCER LLC; IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR, VIRGINIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, RICHMOND

Aside from her duties at Mercer, which employs just under 100 people in Virginia among its 25,000 employees worldwide, Clay just completed her tenure as board chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and she continues to serve on the board’s executive committee.

A Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University alum who joined the human resources and operations firm a decade ago, Clay manages several of Mercer’s largest clients in industries including manufacturing, health care, higher education, and insurance and financial services. She previously worked in customer relations and human resources at Capital One Financial Corp.

Mercer weathered the pandemic by “proactively bringing solutions to our clients and prospects to help them pivot quickly in their time of need,” Clay says. A dedicated bookworm, she reads an average of three books a week.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Be authentic and make an impact.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Becoming a grandmother and living on the water

FIRST JOB: Waitress

HOBBY/PASSION: I love to read, snow ski and enjoy the beach. My passion is travel, as I was an Army brat as a kid. I want to go to every country on the planet in my lifetime.

MARK ELLENBOGEN

ATLANTIC ASSURANCE REGIONAL MANAGING PARTNER, BDO USA LLP, McLEAN

Ellenbogen has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting since earning his undergraduate degree in business and his postgraduate diploma in accounting at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

In his current role, Ellenbogen oversees assurance practices in eight offices, reaching from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Philadelphia. He is responsible for developing growth strategies, managing client services, guiding staff development and recruiting. Having been with the firm since 1997, Ellenbogen was previously the managing partner of BDO’s greater Washington, D.C., office, and he has served on BDO’s board since 2019.

BDO USA is one of the nation’s largest accounting firms, bringing in more than $1.8 billion in revenue in 2020, an 11.3% year-over-year increase. It was the eighth consecutive year of growth for the firm, and the assurance business line grew by 6% during the 2020 fiscal year.

Ellenbogen is a member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s board of directors.

TIMOTHY H. GILLIS

WASHINGTON METRO AREA MANAGING PARTNER AND CHESAPEAKE MARKET HUB LEADER, KPMG LLP, McLEAN

With roughly 2,200 employees in Virginia, KPMG brought in $29.22 billion in revenue in the 2020 fiscal year, only a small decrease from the previous year, despite the pandemic. Gillis oversees the global Big Four accounting firm’s Chesapeake market hub, which includes Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

He has spent his career at the heights of corporate America and describes himself as very competitive, but Gillis knows how to disconnect and recharge. He began practicing yoga during the pandemic, and he recently published his second book of poetry.

Gillis serves on the board governing the Washington Nationals’ philanthropic projects and the George Mason University Foundation board, while also performing other volunteer leadership roles.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: He loves to compete. He loves to win. He wants to take the game-deciding shot.

FAVORITE SONG: “Lovely Day,” by Bill Withers

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Ten words: Love God. Love others. With passion. All of your life.

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Eat eggplant, if I can avoid it.

THEODORE ‘TED’ HANSON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ASGN INC., GLEN ALLEN

Hanson started out in 1998 as a corporate controller at Apex Systems, one of the country’s fastest-growing information technology staffing firms, and Hanson had risen to chief financial officer by the time it was acquired by ASGN in 2012.

Hanson stayed on as CFO after the acquisition, and in 2019, he was appointed ASGN’s CEO.

The company relocated from California to Henrico last year, reporting more than $1 billion in revenues for the first quarter of 2021, a 3.6% increase from the same period the previous year.

In September 2020, ASGN announced the acquisition of Boston-based consulting firm LeapFrog Systems, and in December 2020 the firm acquired Tampa-based Integrated Solutions Management Inc. This summer, ASGN acquired Reston-based Indrasoft and Fairfax-based Enterprise Resource Performance Inc.

Hanson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech, and he earned his MBA at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also is on the executive committee of Virginia Tech’s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs.

JASON A. HARTMAN

CEO, BROWN EDWARDS & CO. LLP, ROANOKE

Although he leads Virginia’s largest independent, non-national accounting firm, one that has doubled in size over the past four years, Hartman nonetheless maintains that Brown Edwards is one of Southwest Virginia’s “best-kept secrets.”

With 315 employees in Virginia, as well as presences in Tennessee and West Virginia, the firm reported $60 million in revenue for the 2020 fiscal year and made good on Hartman’s growth goals. Brown Edwards recently expanded into Richmond with its merger of Gregg & Bailey PC, and in 2020, the firm acquired Covenant Real Estate Services LLC in Salem. In 2022, the business plans to move offices in Roanoke, providing more space and parking. The firm was able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic because, Hartman said in a 2020 interview, its employees had already embraced a “work anywhere, anytime” philosophy.

A graduate of James Madison University and Glenville State College in West Virginia, Hartman serves on the board of Feeding Southwest Virginia. Seeing other professionals succeed at Brown Edwards is what Hartman says makes him passionate about his position.

DAN HUDGENS

CENTRAL VIRGINIA MANAGING PARTNER, DELOITTE, RICHMOND

Hudgens, who joined Deloitte in 2002 after 15 years at Arthur Andersen, noted last year that his company’s 360-degree understanding of businesses’ needs made Deloitte an invaluable resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For example, if a company is dealing with a talent issue, we not only bring expertise in human capital but can help the organization understand the possible implications in such areas as technology, tax, reporting and regulatory compliance, strategy, supply chain — really the whole gamut of an organization’s ecosystem,” Hudgens says.

The Big Four accounting firm reported more than $23 billion in domestic revenue for the 2020 fiscal year and has more than 113,000 employees in the U.S.

An avid lover of the outdoors, Hudgens spends his free time running, biking, hiking, skiing and golfing, and he is a huge fan of his alma mater’s football team, the University of Texas Longhorns. He currently serves on the boards of the American Heart Association’s Richmond chapter and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and for several years he served on the board of the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.

HARVEY L. JOHNSON

PARTNER AND CEO, PBMARES LLP, NEWPORT NEWS

After 18 years with the Newport News-based accounting and consulting firm PBMares, Johnson became the company’s second CEO on Jan. 1.

He took over after a yearlong transition spent working closely with retiring CEO Alan S. Witt, who had led the company since 1979.

Johnson was instrumental in launching the Top 100 accounting firm’s cybersecurity and control risk services practice, and he helped spearhead expansion into North Carolina.

Late last year, the firm expanded into North Carolina with the acquisition of two RSM US LLP offices. PBMares now has 12 offices in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington and Old Dominion University alum began his career with PBMares as a staff accountant in 2003, and he was regularly recognized as a rising star within the Hampton Roads area. Johnson has served in several leadership roles in the Tidewater chapter of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and he is on the TowneBank Peninsula board of directors.

SUSAN J. MOSER

REGIONAL MARKET LEADER, WASHINGTON, D.C., AND VIRGINIA, CHERRY BEKAERT LLP, RICHMOND

With more than 20 years of experience leading Cherry Bekaert’s Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., market, Moser specializes in helping businesses navigate the complex regulatory requirements that come with federal government contracting.

In January, Cherry Bekaert, one of the nation’s 30 largest accounting firms, became one of the first companies accredited to perform certification assessments for a new Department of Defense cybersecurity program, and the firm was also named a “Registered Practitioner Organization” for helping defense contractors with compliance.

With more than 1,100 employees, Cherry Bekaert was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms for 2021.

A Virginia Commonwealth University alumna, Moser has served in volunteer leadership roles with the Washington, D.C., chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the National Capital Area chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She also is the treasurer of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board.

SCOTT MOULDEN

MANAGING PARTNER, YHB CPAS & CONSULTANTS, WINCHESTER

Moulden is now in his fifth decade working for the firm where he began his accounting career.

With 185 employees in Virginia, YHB reported $32.8 million in revenue for 2020. The firm was one of 10 Virginia practices listed in Forbes’ 2021 list of top tax accounting firms.

Moulden grew up on a farm. His first job was working in a lumberyard loading trucks, and his beverage of choice is a cold beer. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech, with an emphasis on accounting, and he works with businesses in a variety of industries, primarily manufacturing, franchising, retail and agribusiness.

Open communication with clients was the key to weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, he says: “This season has been tough on everyone. We had to make our decisions based on little information while things constantly changed. … People really showed they trust our leadership, something I do not take lightly.”

DOUGLAS PERTZ

PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE BRINK’S CO., HENRICO COUNTY

Pertz has been at the helm of The Brink’s Co. since 2016.

Like many businesses, the private security firm headquartered in Henrico County took a hit from COVID-19 in 2020. As many of its client businesses were shuttered due to the pandemic, The Brink’s Co.’s stock price fell from $96 per share in January 2020 to $37.99 per share in July 2020.

In June 2021, though, Pertz announced that Brink’s was on the road to recovery from the pandemic, with year-to-date revenue as of April hitting 96% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The company also saw its stock price rising back to $83 per share by March.

Despite the pandemic’s impact, 2020 was a good year for Pertz, whose salary increased by 65%, from $8.4 million in 2019 to $13.9 million in 2020.

Pertz, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, has served as CEO for several global companies, including Recall Holdings Limited, IMC Global, Culligan Water Technologies Inc. and Clipper Windpower.

STEPHANIE R. PETERS

PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS, GLEN ALLEN

Peters has been with the Virginia Society of CPAs since the late 1990s. As CEO, she helps lead lobbying efforts on the state and national levels. The nonprofit industry advocacy organization has 29 employees in Virginia and reported $6 million in 2020 revenue.

Peters, who earned her undergraduate degree in history from the University of Virginia and her Master of Public Administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, is a past chair of the Virginia Council on Economic Education.

VSCPA has kept up with technological shifts over the years, so as COVID-19 forced her staff to work remotely, the transition was not as challenging as it could have been, she says.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Stop giving advice or offering your two cents. Listen and ask questions. Allow others to discover the answers as they talk it through.

FIRST JOB: Rented boats and canoes at Pocahontas State Park

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Other than surviving a global pandemic, I’m now the mother of a high school graduate.

HORACIO D. ROZANSKI

PRESIDENT AND CEO, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, McLEAN

Rozanski, who joined the Fortune 500 management and information technology consulting firm in 1991 as an intern in its Buenos Aires office, is one of a small group of top executives who worked their way up from the very bottom of their corporations.

CEO since 2015, Rozanski was awarded the prestigious Horatio Alger Award, recognizing Americans who have succeeded despite adversity, in April 2020.

Under his leadership, Booz Allen’s stock price has risen rapidly, soaring 203% in just the last five years.

Rozanski has earned accolades for prioritizing diversity at the firm. He wrote a memo in response to the George Floyd murder, asking employees to share their own experiences. He received thousands of responses, which helped develop Booz Allen’s new Race and Social Equity Agenda.

In May, Booz Allen announced that the Department of Justice had closed out a 2017 criminal investigation into the firm’s accounting and indirect cost charging practices related to its federal contracting. Rozanski said civil investigations by the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission may be ongoing.

With 27,000 global employees, Booz Allen reported $7.9 billion in revenue for 2021.

ERIC SCHEINERMAN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CIBT INC., McLEAN

Scheinerman first joined CIBT in 2019 as its chief financial officer, after serving as Wind River Environmental’s CFO. He’s held senior finance roles at several companies, including Irish auto parts company Aptiv plc.

CIBT provides immigration and visa services to help businesses and individuals navigate regulations all over the globe. The firm reports that it is the primary provider of this service to 75% of Fortune 500 companies.

Scheinerman has experience leading multinational complex organizations, having served in Shanghai as vice president of finance for Aptiv’s $9 billion Electrical/Electronic Architecture Segment, which had operations in 28 countries and more than 120,000 employees.

He has his work cut out for him at CIBT. As borders have been shut down due to the pandemic, CIBT faced major challenges over the past 18 months, and last October, Moody’s Investors Service Inc. downgraded the firm’s corporate family rating. With much of CIBT’s business dependent on international travel, the company began cost-cutting measures in 2020 to offset the decrease in revenue.

CIBT’s corporate headquarters is in McLean, and Scheinerman works out of the firm’s global headquarters in Washington, D.C.

KEVIN SMITHSON

D.C. METRO OFFICE LEADER, PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS LLC, McLEAN

As of July 1, Smithson is the point person for the more than 2,000 PricewaterhouseCoopers employees in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Last year, Smithson was named as the Big Four firm’s mid-Atlantic managing partner, a position that put him in charge of more than 4,000 employees in six offices across the Eastern Seaboard, but a company restructuring this year did away with the regional management positions. He also has served as PwC’s east region tax leader.

Smithson has more than 25 years of consulting experience, with a focus on corporate tax, serving clients in industries ranging from real estate to pharmaceuticals.

Smithson has written extensively about business strategies for reopening. In April, as vaccine availability was on the upswing, he wrote an opinion piece for The Hill, calling for greater transparency around return-to-work plans and for employers to balance safety with privacy.

He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from American University and when he lived in Boston, he served on boards for the local YMCA and charities focusing on suicide prevention and advancing women business leaders.

CHRIS STUART

VICE PRESIDENT, TOP GUARD SECURITY, NORFOLK

Stuart, vice president and co-founder of Top Guard Security, has helped grow his family’s private security firm into the largest in Hampton Roads.

The former Hampton city councilman oversees an organization that employs more than 1,000 armed and unarmed guards dispatched to clients throughout the commonwealth. His wife, Nicole Stuart, is president of the company that the pair founded in 1996.

2020 was a tumultuous year for Top Guard, largely due to the firm losing a highly publicized $2.5 million annual security contract with the city of Norfolk that it first won in 2004.

Still, Stuart is optimistic. He said he loves “besting competitors that are billion-dollar firms but cannot translate that into the quality of service and attentiveness clients expect.”

HOBBY/PASSION: Chasing five children around; 5 a.m. weightlifting.

WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: Skinny, insecure and an average student.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: Chris and Nicole Stuart run a good company and are fierce but honest competitors.

JULIE SWEET

CEO AND CHAIR, ACCENTURE, ARLINGTON

Sweet, who joined the Fortune Global 500 professional services corporation in 2010, became its global chief in 2019 after previously serving as CEO of Accenture’s business in North America. As of Sept. 1, she also is chair of the company’s board, stepping into the shoes of former David Rowland, who retired as executive chairman.

A graduate of Claremont McKenna College and Columbia Law School, Sweet was ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s 2020 Most Powerful Women in Business list.

Incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, Accenture brought in $44.3 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2020 and $5.19 billion in profit, up 7% from the previous year. It saw a lot of growth during the height of the pandemic in its cloud, digital and cybersecurity sectors, which account for about 70% of its revenue, Fortune reported.

Sweet is a member of the World Economic Forum’s board and chairs the board for Catalyst, a nonprofit that promotes workplace improvements for women worldwide. Before joining Accenture in 2010, Sweet was a partner at New York-based law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

PAUL THOMPSON

MANAGING PARTNER VIRGINIA MARKET, DIXON HUGHES GOODMAN LLP, RICHMOND

Thompson oversees DHG’s operations in Virginia and West Virginia, managing offices in Chesterfield, Norfolk, Richmond and Charleston, West Virginia.

He has worked closely with companies experiencing rapid growth, and his disciplines include mergers, acquisitions, strategic planning, accounting systems and transaction support services.

Thompson has been with DHG since 2014. Prior to that, he was a partner with McGladrey (now RSM US LLP). Thompson earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Frostburg State University.

With headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, DHG provides assurance, tax and advisory services for clients throughout the United States and internationally. DHG’s original iteration was M. Lu Goodman, founded in Norfolk in 1932. Since then, the firm has grown into the largest accounting firm headquartered in the Southeast, employing more than 2,000 people in 13 states.

TAMIKA TREMAGLIO

GREATER WASHINGTON MANAGING PRINCIPAL, DELOITTE, McLEAN

Tremaglio oversees more than 10,000 audit, tax and consulting professionals for Deloitte throughout the D.C. area.

She also serves on the board of several civic organizations, including the United Way of the National Capital Area, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the National Aquarium.

Tremaglio earned her law degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Performance is tied to purpose. As a leader, find ways to align your contributions and the work of your teams to the greater good.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: That Tamika seems everywhere at once and tough to keep up with — but my secret is I’m actually in the same place every day. I rely on a staff of highly talented individuals who represent diverse backgrounds and experiences, and I give them the room they need to unleash their talents.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Whichever Washington team is in season, with a special place in my heart for the Washington Mystics.

KEVIN VIROSTEK

MANAGING PARTNER, GREATER WASHINGTON AREA OFFICES, ERNST & YOUNG, McLEAN

Virostek has been with Ernst & Young since 1987, and as the Big Four accounting firm’s Greater Washington managing partner, he coordinates EY’s full array of services for some of the region’s largest companies and startups. The firm has more than 3,500 area employees working in assurance, tax, consulting, and strategy and transaction practices.

Before stepping into his current role, Virostek had been EY’s national director of IPO initiatives, and he worked on EY’s strategic investments as part of its national corporate development group.

In May, at an event for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year program, Virostek discussed the growing trend of graduate school students forming successful startup groups. “These folks that have come off campus together and are starting this business and are really putting their blood and sweat into it, they are basing it on friendship, and that’s a great foundation for some of these businesses,” he said.

Virostek holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. In September 2020, he was named chairman of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington for a two-year term.

GARY G. WALLACE

MANAGING PARTNER, KEITER, GLEN ALLEN

As Keiter’s managing partner, Wallace is responsible for the Henrico County-based accounting firm’s growth strategies. He serves on the firm’s executive committee and is a leader on its mergers and acquisitions team.

Wallace has more than 30 years of accounting experience and joined Keiter in 2010. Previously, he worked as chief financial officer for Richmond-based Riverstone Group LLC and CCA Industries Inc., and he also worked as a tax partner for the Richmond office of KPMG.

Keiter was founded in 1978 and specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and privately held businesses.

Last year, Wallace led the firm’s COVID-19 response as Keiter’s 160 employees transitioned to remote working.

Wallace also serves on the Central Virginia Community board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

GREG WALLIG

METRO DC-ARLINGTON MANAGING PRINCIPAL, GRANT THORNTON LLP, ARLINGTON

Wallig oversees Grant Thornton’s largest office in the United States, with more than 1,200 employees based out of its Arlington offices.

A global accounting firm that is the sixth largest in the United States, Grant Thornton is regularly recognized for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In June, the firm announced a three-year partnership with Major League Soccer team D.C. United to advance the club’s diversity priorities.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Be authentic.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: Greg takes business personally and builds trust into every result.

FIRST JOB: 10 years old and picking strawberries. We were paid by the pound.

HOBBY/PASSION: I compete in one or two Olympic-distance triathlons a year, and once competed in a triathlon in Abu Dhabi while on a layover.

MOST RECENT BOOK READ: My COVID book challenge was “Moby Dick,” by Herman Melville. I ended up loving it!

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Enjoying seeing my kids play soccer and baseball