Professionals on the Move is a roundup of recent promotions, new hires, and another staffing-related announcements from around the profession.
Former Pro Golfer Barry Jay “BJ” Dekreek Moves His Advisory Practice from LPL to Avantax
Wealth manager Barry Jay “BJ” Dekreek has transferred from LPL to Avantax, seeking to broaden the investment solutions and overall services for high-net-worth clients while further growing his practice with centers of influence including CPAs and other tax professionals.
Dekreek is well-known in Atlanta and throughout Georgia thanks to being a standout scholarship golfer at Georgia State University and later played on various professional golf tours during the 1990s.
After golf, Dekreek started his wealth management career and has more than 20 years of experience as a wealth manager. He chose to align with Legacy Capital Advisors, LLC (Legacy) because he was attracted by their high-touch client service model and efficient back-office support.
“I work with high-net-worth individuals and emphasize serving business owners, and I love how Legacy’s back-office support frees me to have more facetime with clients,” Dekreek said. “I researched the market for a few years, and Legacy kept landing on the top of my list because of their Atlanta presence, their approach to investments, and the success their founders have had as business leaders who are committed to keeping a strong community presence. I had many options, but for me, Legacy and Avantax were the clear choice.”
Wolters Kluwer appoints Rocco Impreveduto as Vice President & Segment Leader for Tax and Accounting Performance
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting (TAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Rocco Impreveduto as Vice President & Segment Leader for Tax and Accounting Performance, effective Tuesday, September 2.
With over two decades of experience across media, digital, and software industries, Impreveduto brings a deep understanding of customer needs and a proven track record of applying data-informed strategies to drive operational improvements. He joined Wolters Kluwer in 2017 as Vice President of Marketing, where he led a data-driven transformation, strengthened business intelligence capabilities, and introduced a segment-based commercial strategy. He later managed the Transactional, Retirement, and eCommerce portfolio, and most recently served as Vice President and General Manager for Regulatory & Compliance Solutions within Legal and Regulatory U.S., scaling expert solutions across the Healthcare, FinTech, and Legal sectors.
In his new role, Impreveduto will oversee the strategic direction, financial performance, and market expansion of the TAA Performance segment. He will focus on accelerating AI-driven software innovation, strengthening go-to-market strategy and commercial execution, and expanding the value of Wolters Kluwer’s market-leading platforms in the U.S. and Canada.
Impreveduto will be based in Wolters Kluwer’s New York office.
Bennett Thrasher Appoints Jana Lee as Chief People Officer
Bennett Thrasher, a nationally acclaimed full-service accounting and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jana Lee as Chief People Officer. In this role, Lee will spearhead programs to attract top talent, boost retention, and elevate the employee experience, in turn supporting the company’s broader business objectives.
A native of Atlanta, Lee brings a unique perspective shaped by her extensive experience in the professional services sector, including leadership roles at prominent law firms where people-centric principles are essential. With nearly two decades in human resources, she has developed hands-on expertise in guiding organizations through significant growth and transformation.
In her first year, Lee plans to immerse herself in the firm’s people, history, and culture to assess current talent and development programs, and implement strategic, practical initiatives that position Bennett Thrasher for sustainable growth and success.
Dext appoints Joanne Modugno as General Manager of North America to accelerate growth and strengthen partner ecosystem
Dext, the leading provider of AI-powered bookkeeping automation solutions, recently announced the appointment of Joanne Modugno as General Manager of North America. Based in Dext’s Toronto office, Joanne will lead the company’s expanding North American operations, driving growth across sales, marketing, operations, and partnerships.
With a proven track record in financial services, payments, and expense management, Joanne brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She has held leadership positions at one of Canada’s largest banks, CIBC, and Visa Inc., where she was instrumental in launching a multinational commercial card program, and executing numerous B2B small business initiatives within the business credit card portfolio.
In her most recent roles, she has focused on go to market initiatives with SaaS technology and spend management together with embedded payments.
In her first months, Joanne will focus on strengthening Dext’s North American presence by prioritizing people and clients, while also working closely with Dext’s global leadership team to reinforce the company’s position as the go-to partner for bookkeeping automation worldwide.
The appointment comes at a pivotal time for Dext. Following its recent acquisition by IRIS Software and partnership with Airwallex, Dext continues to expand its global footprint, and strengthen its end-to-end accountancy workflow offering across North America.
Simpson Thacher Welcomes Tax Partner in New York
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP recently announced that Alec Jarvis has joined the Firm’s New York office as a Partner in the Tax Practice. Alec advises clients on a broad range of U.S. and international tax matters, including public and private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including spin-offs, joint ventures and restructurings. He has also advised on equity and debt offerings and has counseled on the formation and operation of joint ventures and real estate investment trusts.
Simpson Thacher’s Tax Practice is continually called upon by investment funds, banks, multinational corporations and other leading companies for advice on their largest and most complex transactions. The global team works closely with colleagues in all of the Firm’s transactional practices including Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Capital Markets, Investment Funds and Real Estate to offer clients the full spectrum of deal and fund capabilities.
Former White House Economist Joins Energy Policy Center at University of Pennsylvania
The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design is pleased to announce former White House economist Heather Boushey as its newest professor of practice. Boushey will take a leadership role in defining new opportunities for economic policy to influence the energy transition.
Boushey recently served as a member of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist for the White House’s Investing in America cabinet, where she was central in shaping and implementing the administration’s industrial policy agenda.
Boushey co-founded the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where she advanced research on how inequality affects economic performance. Early in her career, she was an economist for the Center for American Progress, Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Economic Policy Institute.
In one of her books, Unbound: How Economic Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It, Boushey argues that we do not have to choose between equality and prosperity. Through the data, she demonstrates that rising inequality has in fact deterred growth and is an impediment to a competitive U.S. marketplace. Boushey also co-edited After Piketty: The Agenda for Economics and Inequality, a volume of 22 essays about integrating inequality into economic thinking.
Boushey is widely respected as a leader in her industry. The New York Times called her one of the “most vibrant voices in the field,” and “at the forefront of a generation of economists rethinking their discipline,” and Politico has twice named her one of the top 50 “thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics.”
With today’s announcement, the Kleinman Center expands its impact on campus with a total of four professors dedicated to energy policy research and teaching.
Jennifer Wilcox, with an expertise in carbon management, was the first professor to join the Kleinman Center and holds a second appointment in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Shelley Welton focuses on energy institutions and governance. She holds a second appointment at Penn Carey School of Law. Sanya Carley specializes in energy policy design and holds a second appointment in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Carley is also the faculty director of the Kleinman Center.
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