Appleton, Wis. (Oct. 14, 2003) -- After 22 years at KPMG -- four of them as a managing partner -- William Goodman accepted an offer he did not look for, but could not refuse. He will be the new president regional accounting and consulting firm Schenk Business Solutions.
Goodman, who assumes the role in late 2003, will replace Kermit Ellefson.
“I wasn’t looking to leave KPMG and was happy doing what I was doing, but I was sought out and it just interested me for a number of reasons,” Goodman said. “I’ve been very involved in the Wisconsin CPA profession and have known and respected this firm for a long time. This call stood out to me.”
Goodman also felt that his experience dealing with larger midsized businesses that Schenck is targeting, in addition to his background in business development, marketing and managing CPAs “in a rapidly growing business environment” will be an asset at his new post.
Goodman said his biggest challenge will be “getting used to the Schenck culture and making sure I’m on the same page with the shareholders’ vision.”
Schenck began an internal search for a new CEO last fall and hired an executive search firm in the spring. Ellefson is staying on at the firm as an employee to oversee Goodman's transition and focus on business development.
“The decision we made was interesting because we [shareholders and I] spoke at length about going internal or outside and thought there was no reason to restrict the search,” Ellefson said. “We had strong candidates on both ends and in going through the process they came forward with Bill. It was still tough due to the quality of all the candidates but I think they made the right decision.”
Ellefson has been president since 1997 when he agreed to a five-year term. He later received a two-year extension and offered to help with the new CEO’s transition.
“I started at the firm when we had 13 people and I helped make the decision to go multi- office,” he said. “The firm has been evolving for a lot of years and I’ve had the privilege to have partially authored a chapter in that history.”
Goodman is a past president and current member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs and a member of the American Institute of CPAs’ Governing Council.
Ellefson has been with Schenck since 1969. He has led the firm through internal expansion and mergers and revenue growth from $20 million to $50 million. Schenck has 12 offices throughout Wisconsin.
-- Seth Fineberg
