Weaver Promotes 17 Professionals to Partner

HOUSTON (June 21, 2024) – Weaver, a national accounting and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of 17 team members to its partnership ranks. Effective June 1, 2024, the new partners are Hillary Balares, Anthony Giroux, Rhonda Goddard, Alex Hill, Angela Joseph, Brandi Kleinman, Jennifer Krieger, Michael Lipsett, Meri Matevosyan, Tony Miller, Bruce Mills, Nicole Mulanaphy, Tyler Ridley, Matthew Slack, Leanne Sobel, Katie Wood and Helga Zauner.

“We are proud to announce this new class of partners, highlighting the dynamic growth and success of our firm,” said Weaver CEO and Managing Partner John Mackel. “These 17 partners truly reflect the diversity of experience and geographical reach of our practices and industry groups. We are grateful for their commitment to our mission, vision and values, and we look forward to their significant contributions to our future growth and achievements.”

Hillary Balares, CPA  |  Dallas

Partner, Audit Services

Hillary has more than 13 years of experience in public accounting and maintains a focus on both public and privately held company audits and reviews. Her industry experience is primarily within upstream and midstream energy but also includes financial services, manufacturing and distribution, as well as employee benefit plan audits. Hillary is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Women’s Energy Network. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Texas A&M University.

 

Anthony Giroux, CPA  |  Houston

Partner, Tax Services

Anthony has more than twelve years of experience providing tax compliance, consulting and planning for high-net-worth individuals, trusts and family entities, as well as closely held companies in financial services, health care and real estate. He has a comprehensive understanding of estate planning, charitable giving and wealth transfer techniques paired with deep insight into nuanced tax regulations. Anthony is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA) and the Houston Estate and Financial Forum. He earned a Master of Science in accounting from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Rhonda Goddard, CPA  |  Oklahoma City

Partner, Private Client Services

Rhonda has 32 years of experience in public accounting and currently focuses on private client services. She offers tax compliance, research, planning and consulting to large family groups, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, family partnerships, private foundations and other large investor groups. Rhonda is a certified public accountant and holds memberships in the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSPCA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Oklahoma Christian University of Science & Arts.

 

Alex Hill  |  Pasadena

Partner, Audit Services

Alex has more than 13 years of experience in public accounting with a focus on assurance engagements in the real estate, construction and private equity sectors. His primary services include financial statement audits, fund audits and financial statement reviews for a wide variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies. He earned a Master of Science in accounting and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Texas Tech University.

Following his promotion, Alex transferred from Weaver’s Dallas office to its Pasadena, California, office. His California CPA reciprocity is in process.

 

Angela Joseph, CPA  |  Austin

Partner, Tax Services

Angela’s career spans 22 years and includes deep experience in federal and state tax compliance, provisions and tax planning for both private and public middle market companies. She serves technology clients, as well as those in financial services, professional services and manufacturing with a special emphasis on those that have multi-state operations. Angela is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA). She earned a Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Administration in marketing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

 

Brandi Kleinman, CPA, CFF  |  Dallas

Partner, Forensics and Litigation Services

Brandi has more than 20 years of experience evaluating the financial and economic aspects of complex, commercial disputes, including serving as an expert witness in state and federal court and in arbitration. She performs fraud and forensic accounting investigations and has industry experience in banking, construction, energy, health care, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, retail and technology. Brandi is a certified public accountant and is certified in financial forensics by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Brandi received a Master of Science in accounting and information management from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Texas.

 

Jennifer Krieger, CVA  |  Oklahoma City

Partner, Valuation Services

For almost a decade, Jennifer has provided financial reporting, analysis and valuation services for clients in a wide range of industries. She has experience performing valuations of business entities for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), financial reporting compliance, tax compliance and mergers and acquisitions, including fairness opinions, entity dissolution and litigation. She is a certified valuation analyst and earned a Master of Business Administration in finance and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of St. Thomas. She is a co-chair of the Texas Center for Employee Ownership and a member of the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts, the National Employee Ownership Center and the ESOP Association where she sits on the valuation advisory committee.

 

Michael Lipsett, CPA  |  New York City

Partner, Investment Fund Audit Services

Michael has more than 11 years of public accounting experience where he focuses on audit and other assurance services for clients across the investment management industry. He has deep experience working on audits for venture capital, hedge, private equity and public mutual funds, as well as digital asset and fund-of-fund clients. Michael is a certified public accountant and earned a Master of Science in accounting and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Bentley University.

 

Meri Matevosyan, CPA  |  Woodland Hills

Partner, Investment Fund Audit Services

Meri has over 11 years of public accounting experience with a focus on audit services for both public and private entities. Her proficiency encompasses financial statement audits, reviews and agreed-upon procedures for various financial services entities, including venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, real estate and fund of funds. Meri is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in accountancy from California State University, Northridge.

 

Tony Miller, PE  |  Virtual

Partner, Energy Compliance Services

Tony has nearly 18 years of environmental and energy experience and helps clients understand the challenges and opportunities in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Department of Energy’s renewable energy and efficiency programs. At the EPA, Tony provided oversight of nationwide fuels enforcement, led the development of its Moderated Transaction System, wrote, implemented and enforced the fuels regulations (Part 79, Part 80, Part 1090) and testified in multiple criminal RFS cases. He is a licensed professional engineer and earned a Master of Engineering in sustainable energy engineering and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland.

 

Bruce Mills, CIA, CFE  |  Houston

Partner, Asset Management Consulting Services

Bruce has more than 30 years of experience in the asset management sector specifically within internal audit, risk, compliance and operations. He has led internal audits, compliance reviews and risk assessments for pensions, public and private funds, ETFs, registered investment advisers, third-party risk management and ESG programs. Bruce is a certified internal auditor and a certified fraud examiner. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Nicole Mulanaphy, PE  |  Virtual

Partner, Energy Compliance Services

Nicole has more than 20 years of experience in environmental regulatory consulting services where she supports clients regarding transportation fuels governed by the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Nicole performs engineering reviews required by RFS regulations and has experience managing environmental projects, conducting compliance audits and applying an engineering analysis for technical audits. She is a licensed professional engineer and an accredited lead verifier within the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) verification program for the California Air Resources Board (CARB). She earned a Master of Science in environmental engineering and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Rhode Island.

 

Tyler Ridley, CPA  |  Austin

Partner, Valuation Services

For more than a decade, Tyler’s career has focused on the intersection of technical life sciences and financial advisory, and he currently supports the development of life science companies and their intersection with private equity sponsors. His experience encompasses detailed valuations required for tax and financial reporting, including purchase price allocations after merger and acquisition activity as well as valuations of equity units, especially in cases of complex capital structures. Tyler is a certified public accountant and holds a Master of Science in applied biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University where he specialized in translational tissue engineering. He graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance, accounting and pre-med.

 

Matthew Slack, CPA  |  New York City

Partner, Audit Services

Matthew has more than 12 years of public accounting experience with a focus on the real estate and infrastructure sectors, serving public and private companies as well as investment funds. He delivers audit and attest services under GAAP and IFRS accounting standards and has experience providing SEC filers with services related to annual and quarterly reporting, and debt and equity issuances. Matthew is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) – Suffolk chapter and a chairperson of its real estate and construction committee. He earned a Master of Science in accounting from Baruch College and a Bachelor of Science in finance from Bryant University.

 

Leanne Sobel  |  Virtual

Partner, Motor Fuels and Excise Tax Services 

Leanne has more than 15 years of experience in federal tax, state tax and trade matters in crude oil and refined petroleum products. With a deep understanding of crude oil, petroleum product and biofuel importation into the U.S., Leanne advises clients on these topics along with trade preference programs, Foreign Trade Zone matters and issues resulting from the Jones Act. Leanne is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), the New York State Bar (NYSB) and the District of Columbia Bar (DCB). She graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in jurisprudence.

 

Katie Wood, CPA  |  Houston

Partner, Audit Services

Katie has over 12 years of experience in public accounting and primarily serves clients in the industrial services and construction industries, as well as employee benefit plans. Katie focuses on financial statement audits, reviews, compilations and employee benefit plan audits and has worked extensively with first time audit clients, usually after an acquisition or recapitalization. She is a certified public accountant and a member of the Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University.

 

Helga Zauner, CVA, CFE, MAFF  |  Houston

Partner, Forensics and Litigation Services

Helga is a testifying expert witness with more than 30 years of experience in litigation consulting, financial analysis, banking, research and teaching. She has served a wide range of industries over her career and currently focuses on financial modelling and statistical techniques with extensive experience in quantitative data analysis. Helga is a certified fraud examiner by the Association of Fraud Examiners and a certified valuation analyst and master analyst in financial forensics by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts. She earned an MBA from Boston College Carroll Graduate School of Management and holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Facultad de Matemáticas of the Universidad de Guanajuato.