People on the move: EY appoints global AI leader

Sage appoints company veteran to EVP of partners, accountants and alliances; Cherry Bekaert promotes partner to MP; and other recent hires, promotions and personnel news from firms across the country.

Nigel Duffy, machine learning and artificial intelligence authority, has been appointed global innovation artificial intelligence leader at EY, Palo Alto. Duffy will lead the application of AI at EY, and expand and strengthen the firm’s relationships with startups and academic and business communities around the world.

BDO Eastern Caribbean announced partners of the former KPMG Eastern Caribbean practice are joining the practice. In Antigua & Barbuda, the former KPMG office, led by Cleveland Seaforth, joins BDO. In St. Lucia, the BDO presence is expanding with Brenda Duncan joined by Frank Myers, formerly of KPMG. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines there will be a change of BDO firm, now represented by Reuben John formerly of KPMG, who joins BDO’s Arrion Barnwell. BDO LLC in Anguilla remains with BDO’s Claudel Romney as lead member.

Michael Kovaleski was promoted to partner at Guilmartin, DiPiro & Sokolowski, Middletown. Kovaleski, with more than 27 years as a financial and tax accountant, previously served as director at the firm.

Christopher Rux was promoted to managing partner of the Tampa Bay practice of Cherry Bekaert from his previous role as audit partner. With the firm since 2008, Rux currently serves as leader of its Florida technology and health and life sciences industry group.

Jack Pohlman, shareholder at Wiltshire, Whitley, Richardson & English, Fort Myers, received the 2016-17 Vocational Service Award as treasurer for Rotary District 6960, presented for his excellent services as treasurer for the past three years and service to other local nonprofits.

Sage appointed company veteran Jennifer Warawa as executive vice president of partners, accountants and alliances. Additionally, Nick Goode, current EVP for product management, will take the role of EVP product, overseeing a merged product marketing and product management organization; Alan Laing, who preceded Warawa in her new role, will be appointed managing director for the U.K. and Ireland market; and Nancy Harris, previous lead for Sage’s Canadian business, will head up all of the North America business as managing director. (Read the full story.)

Cheryl Payne, independent contract CFO/controller, Baton Rouge, and Jessica Cormier, fraud, forensic and litigation services manager at Horne, Baton Rouge, received the 2017 Women to Watch Award, co-sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs Women’s Initiatives Committee and recognizing women leaders in the CPA profession.

William Blumenauer was hired as senior tax advisor at Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, Bethesda.

Bernard Ottenlips was appointed state and local tax services principal at Brown Smith Wallace, St. Louis.

Edward Guttenplan, managing shareholder at Wilkin & Guttenplan, East Brunswick, was named president of the New Jersey Society of CPAs, Roseland, beginning a one-year term on June 1. Additionally, Guttenplan will begin serving as a member of the finance committee, trustee of the NJCPA Education Foundation, chairperson of the retirement savings plan committee, a trustee of the NJCPA Scholarship Fund and a member of the student programs and scholarships committee.

Harold Deiters, partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, was appointed president of the New York State Society of CPAs for a one-year term beginning June 1.

Jason Hall was appointed tax partner at Cherry Bekaert, Raleigh-Durham, where he will apply his more than 15 years of public accounting experience to provide tax consulting and compliance services to middle-market businesses and high-net-worth individuals.

Paul Weisinger, partner at Walthall CPAs, Cleveland, was named to the Valuation Credentialing Board of the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.

Theresa Kane was appointed director of insurance services at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill.

Alan Beller, Werner Brandt, Takafumi Sato and Kurt Schacht have been reappointed to serve a second three-year term as trustees of the IFRS Foundation for terms starting Jan. 1, 2018, ending December 2020. Beller is senior counsel at law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Brandt is the former CFO of SAP SE in Germany, Sato is the president of the Japan Exchange Regulation, and Schacht is the managing director of CFA Institute, New York.