Schellman & Company announced that Avani M. Desai has been named the new President of the company. As President of Schellman, Desai is now the only minority leader of a "Top 100" CPA firm. At only 37 years of age, she is also the youngest leader of a major accounting firm, and one of the few female leaders.
Desai's promotion will be effective immediately. Chris Schellman will continue to serve as CEO and will also assume Chief Operating Officer responsibilities.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead one of the most innovative companies in our space. I look forward to partnering with our talented team in our pursuit of providing the highest quality professional services to our clients." says Desai.
Since joining Schellman in 2012, Desai has held key leadership roles, serving most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Desai played an instrumental role in helping the company achieve many distinctions, including being the only CPA firm ever named to Gartner's "Cool Vendor" listing, as well as being named a top five consulting firm to work for by Consulting magazine.
In her new role, Desai will be tasked with further expanding Schellman's market leadership in compliance and attestation services. Her previous experience leading distributed teams in business development, sales, and client service delivery, as well as providing general oversight of operations, including marketing initiatives and service line expansion, position her to be a highly effective leader.
Desai is a certified public accountant prior to joining Schellman, she spent over a decade at KPMG, where she led IT risk management and privacy initiatives across national service lines. Desai is a certified public accountant and was recently named a global leader in the consulting industry by Consulting.
Desai will succeed Schellman, who co-founded the company in 2002 and has served as its President since 2009. Schellman had planned to serve as President until the company became one of the largest accounting firms in the U.S. That goal was achieved earlier this year when Accounting Today ranked Schellman & Company as the 89th largest American CPA firm, permanently memorializing the company as the largest CPA firm in history that does not provide traditional accounting services, such as financial audit or tax preparation.
"Avani is the most dynamic professional that I have ever worked with," says Schellman. "Her charisma inspires our team and her knowledge garners the trust of everyone she encounters. She is, by far, the best person to shape the future of this company."
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