Jason Yetter serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Richey May, where he leads the firm’s strategic vision, operational excellence, and culture. Since joining the firm in 2014, Jason has been instrumental in driving scalable growth, evolving client experience, and building high-performing teams. His leadership was pivotal in partnering with private equity to accelerate the growth of Richey May leading the firm to a national presence. Jason champions innovation and continuous improvement while fostering an inclusive culture that attracts and develops top talent. He works closely with the executive leadership team to align resources, optimize operational efficiencies, and ensure long-term sustainability. With a background in leading strategic growth initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, and professional development at top ten accounting firms, Jason brings deep industry expertise and a commitment to excellence.
Forrest Wilkinson is a Principal in the Services team. He joined Apax in 2014 and is currently based in New York. His Apax deal experience includes PIB Group, Tosca, Authority Brands, AssuredPartners, Paycor, and Quality Distribution.
Prior to joining Apax, Forrest was an investment banker at Evercore and Bank of America, where he advised corporate clients on M&A and capital markets transactions.
Forrest holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar. He also holds a BBA in Finance and a BA in Plan II Honors with Special Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.
Forrest serves on the boards of PIB Group, Tosca, and AssuredPartners. He previously served on the boards of Authority Brands, Quality Distribution, and Boasso Global.
Forrest also serves as Co-Chair of the Young Partner Board at The Public Theater.
Charles Weinstein is Chief Executive Officer of Eisner Advisory Group LLC, sits on its Board of Directors, and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Charly is responsible for the strategic direction of the firm and is instrumental in leading both organic growth and growth through strategic mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his current role, Charly was Managing Partner and CEO of EisnerAmper LLP. The combination of Eisner LLP and Amper, Politziner & Mattia, which Charly oversaw, was recognized as “Deal of the Year” by the Association for Corporate Growth.
As a leader in the accounting profession, Charly has been quoted in local, regional, and national publications on the impact of private equity investment and new technologies on the profession. Charly has been instrumental in building a culture that embraces technology that benefits clients of the firm.
Charly is a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of New York and is the Chair of the Audit Committee. In addition, Charly is a member of the Board of Directors of FinReg Global, a Dublin, Ireland based technology company and is the Audit Committee Chair for The Partnership for New York City. Charly is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and previously served on its board of directors. He is also a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Charly helped to found EisnerAmper Global, an international network of independent CPA firms.
Charly attended the State University of New York – Binghamton where he received his Bachelor’s in Accounting in 1978.
Michelle Thompson is Chief Executive Officer for Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC, which is ranked among the largest accounting and advisory firms in the US. Cherry Bekaert creates shared success by helping thousands of clients solve their toughest business challenges and advance their strategic goals.
Appointed to her role in 2018, Michelle leads the Firm’s Executive Management Team and serves on the Executive Board of Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC, overseeing the overall strategy, growth and financial management of the Firm.
Upon joining Cherry Bekaert in 1998, Michelle established Cherry Bekaert’s Risk & Accounting Advisory Services (RAAS) and scaled the practice for nearly 10 years. She was the Managing Partner of Assurance Services for eight years.
Michelle has been honored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting in 2024, 2022 and 2019. She was recognized as a Forbes Top 200 CPA in 2024.
A strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, Michelle has served as a member of the AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion and the Nominations Committee. She is a former member of the Baker Tilly International Governing Board and Finance Committee. She also formerly served as Major Firms Group Chair for the AICPA.
Jeffrey Taraboulos is the Managing Partner of KSDT Advisors, LLC, one of South Florida’s leading accounting and advisory firms, where he brings over 30 years of experience in public accounting and leadership. Jeff began his career at the Big Four accounting firms, where he gained a strong foundation in auditing, mergers and acquisitions, and forensic accounting. He has since built a reputation as a visionary leader known for strategic growth, operational excellence, and building cohesive, high-performing teams.
In 2004, Jeff co-founded De La Torre, Taraboulos & Company, which later evolved into KSDT CPA. Through his entrepreneurial leadership, the firm grew from just three professionals to nearly 300 team members and nearly $50 million in annual revenue by 2025. His focus on innovation, culture, and client service has transformed KSDT into one of Florida’s fastest-growing accounting firms.
Today, Jeff leads KSDT through its next chapter following a transformational partnership with Ascend, a leading private equity platform for accounting firms. As Managing Partner, he oversees firmwide strategy, operations, and advisory services, guiding the organization through cultural and structural change while preserving the people-first values that define KSDT. His firsthand experience integrating private equity investment has given him unique insight into managing change while maintaining authenticity and trust.
Widely respected for his transparent and empathetic leadership style, Jeff fosters open dialogue, accountability, and alignment across all levels of the firm. He views every challenge as an opportunity for growth and grounds his leadership in integrity, collaboration, and client-service excellence.
A licensed CPA in Florida, Jeff also holds designations as a CFF, CFE, and PFS, reflecting his deep expertise in forensic accounting, fraud examination, and personal financial planning. He remains active in multiple professional associations and is committed to lifelong learning and thought leadership.
Outside of work, Jeff is a devoted husband and father of three daughters. He enjoys traveling with his family, attending country music concerts, sponsoring NASCAR teams, and caring for his animals. His grounded personal life mirrors his professional philosophy, leading by example, fostering trust, and driving meaningful, lasting success.
Dominic Piscopo, CPA, the founder of Big 4 Transparency and host of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, is on a mission to bring salary transparency to the accounting profession. He created Big 4 Transparency just over 4 years ago, which has since amassed a crowd-sourced database of over 20,000 records and has become the place over 300,000 accounting professionals go for compensation data. Over the last few years, he’s been working directly with firms ranging from 10 person firms all the way to the Big 4, providing them with the most granular, timely and easy to use benchmarking solution on the accounting market.
The dataset that Big 4 Transparency has amassed can drive insights on what is happening in the accounting industry, and has been used in many analyses in the industry, including the real data on employee job satisfaction and hours worked at private equity backed firms compared to the rest of the industry.
Steve Piatkowski is a loan officer at Live Oak Bank, specializing in providing capital to Tax & Accounting and CPAs firms. He joined the bank in 2019 as a business analyst for the Wine and Craft Beverage team. In August 2021, he transitioned to the Professional Services teams as an underwriter. After a year in that role, he advanced to loan officer, where he continues to support the lending team and Live Oak’s customers in the professional services space. Originally from New Jersey, Steve earned his degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Outside of work, he enjoys staying active and spending time with his wife and daughter.
Jim Peko is the CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and leads the multinational platform it established in January 2025. In the role, he oversees Grant Thornton’s Executive Committee — setting strategic direction and driving growth-oriented operations across more than 65 offices.
Under Peko’s leadership, Grant Thornton has announced transactions with more than a half-dozen accounting and consulting firms to join its platform. These firms stretch from the Americas across Europe to the Middle East. Additionally, Peko has led Grant Thornton as it acquires leading specialty firms, including business-modernization pioneer Auxis — and Stax, which specializes in commercial due diligence and value creation.
Peko previously served as the firm’s chief operating officer (COO). Prior to his role as COO, he served as national managing principal of the firm’s Advisory Services practice.
He has nearly 30 years of experience providing clients with financial advisory services focused on improving performance and building long-term sustainable value. Earlier in his career, Peko was the national managing principal of Transaction Services, where he guided a wide range of clients through a variety of complex transactions. He also served as a member of the firm’s Partnership Board and is currently a member of the board of directors for the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is a chartered financial analyst, a certified insolvency and restructuring advisor and is certified in distressed business valuation. Peko received an MBA degree in finance from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting from St. Peter’s College.
In 2013, Peko was selected for the “‘Turnarounds & Workouts’ People to Watch – Business Professionals Making Their Mark” award. Consulting magazine named him a “Top 25 Consultant” for 2018, citing his “Excellence in Leadership.”
James R. (Jim) Meade, Jr. is CEO and Managing Shareholder of LBMC, PC. Jim has over 25 years of accounting and auditing experience serving clients in a variety of industries and is a 25-veteran of LBMC. Prior to taking on the CEO and Managing Shareholder role, Jim served as a shareholder in the firm’s assurance practice and was the leader of the technology industry segment.
Jim focuses on firm growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions, technology innovation, and overall talent development. He also works with firm leadership in spearheading efforts to expand the firm’s industry specializations and enhancing its market presence through strategic partnerships. His leadership emphasizes investing in global talent recruitment and developing a tech-forward environment that integrates AI-powered tools and data analytics to optimize operational efficiency and client service. Jim’s responsibilities include continually developing a nurturing workplace that prioritizes employee development and satisfaction, and ensuring that LBMC continues to set itself apart as a trusted advisor in the accounting and business consulting industry, delivering transformative value and fostering long-term client relationships.
Jim holds numerous leadership positions with LBMC, including serving on the firm’s board of directors, LBMC’s affiliate company boards and other governance committees.
Active in the community, Jim serves on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, is a member of Leadership Nashville, and is a champion of the LBMC Cares Foundation.
Jim serves on the advisory board for Nashville Capital Network, an organization that assists companies navigate the challenges of building high growth businesses, promotes entrepreneurship in the region, and supports a healthy continuum of capital.