Senior Team

Neal McNamara

Chief Executive Officer

 

Brian Heckler

Head of Strategy and Development

 

Brian Ottaviano

Chief Operating Officer

 

Linda Imonti

Senior Advisor

 

Dino Mauricio

Senior Advisor

 

John Chapman

Senior Advisor

 

Patricia (Novosel) Person

Senior Advisor

 

Timothy P. Czmiel

Co-Founder

 

Michael C. Bellach

Managing Director & Northeast Leader

 

Chris Stanley

Managing Director

 

Truc To

Managing Director

 

Ofri Porat

Managing Director

 

Tom DiEnno

Managing Director

 

Jennifer Fondrevay

Managing Director

 

Kevin Hughes

Managing Director

 

Jon Hunt

Managing Director

 

Greg Meseck

Managing Director

 

Jim Van Hoof

Managing Director

 

Erin McNamara

Senior Director

 

Jeff Klitzke

Senior Director

 

Craig Pace

Managing Director

 

Joe Giordano III

Senior Director

 

Jared Kelso

Senior Director

 

Chris Martin

Senior Director

 

Ted Sullivan

Senior Director

 

Mark Downey

Senior Director

 

Steve Casari

Senior Director

 

Redding Thomas

Senior Director

 

John Sengenberger

Director

 

Matthew Albanese

 Director

 

Ben Lester

Director

 

Olamide Esan

Director

 

Bob Thomson

Director

 

Carlo Piccirillo

Director

 

Amy Oglesby

Director

Timothy P. Czmiel, Co-Founder 

Tim is a Co-founder of Virtas Partners. He is focused primarily on performance improvement. Over the past 30 years, Timothy has served as the Financial Advisor, CEO, and CRO for numerous private equity-backed and privately-held companies. Former partner and Midwest practice leader of Corporate Recovery Services for a national accounting/consulting firm. He holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and was awarded a Certificate in Advanced Strategy from INSEAD Euro-Asian Centre in Fontainebleau, France. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional, has been awarded the Turnaround Management Association National “Turnaround of the Year Award,” and has served as a Board Member of the Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals.

Neal McNamara, Chief Executive Officer

Neal is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Virtas Partners. Prior to founding Virtas, Neal led the Accounting Advisory Services business for KPMG.

Neal has supported private equity firms and corporations across the ownership lifecycle for more than 25 years. Mandates have included separation/divestiture planning, negotiation, and execution (including numerous spin-off and corporate divestitures), carve-out financial statement preparation, IPO preparation and execution, finance transformation, interim CFO and restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Michael C. Bellach, Managing Director and Northeast Leader

Mike is a Managing Director in the firm’s New York Metro office and is responsible for growing the firm’s client service in the Northeast.

Mike joined Virtas after more than 20 years at a Big 4 accounting firm, including nearly ten years as a partner where he served the critical needs of public, private and emerging companies. He is deeply technical across accounting, finance and M&A issues that are critical to Virtas’ clients, including technical accounting interpretation and adoption, restatements, carve-outs, internal controls and financial system implementation. Mike has operated across a variety of industries including industrial manufacturing, consumer products, retail, life sciences, technology and media.

Jennifer Fondrevay, Managing Director

Jennifer leads the Human Capital service offering within the firm’s Integration & Separation practice. She advises the firm’s clients to proactively address issues related to culture, change management, onboarding and offboarding, and communications. The founder of Day1 Ready LLC, Jennifer has advised senior leadership of numerous Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and small businesses in executing growth strategies. As a former C-Suite executive who led teams during three separate multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, her focus is in ensuring the people component – such as culture, engagement and talent retention — remains a focus of M&A due diligence and integration planning.

Following three years of research, including 60+ executive interviews, Fondrevay authored the 2019 best-selling M&A book, NOW WHAT? A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving through Mergers and Acquisitions, Jennifer frequently shares her expertise as a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Inc., Forbes and Thrive Global; is a sought-after podcast guest and keynote speaker for associations, conferences and companies, including Express Scripts, Livongo and Teladoc, helping leadership navigate the emotional journey of business transitions and post M&A-deal integration.

Greg Meseck, Managing Director

Greg is a Managing Director within the firm’s Integration & Separations practice. He primarily focuses on supporting corporate clients with carve-outs, divestitures and spin-offs and private equity clients acquiring carve-outs. He joined the firm with more than 30 years of experience in M&A consulting and corporate strategy. Prior to joining Virtas, he was a Managing Director in the Strategy & Transactions practice at EY, where he served a number of multinational clients on buy-side and sell-side transactions.

Craig Pace, Managing Director

Craig serves as a Managing Director within the firm’s Performance Improvement practice. He has proven expertise in helping underperforming businesses through crises, transitions, and financings in a wide range of sectors including technology, manufacturing and packaged foods.

He has exceptional experience in guiding under-performing businesses to restored profitability, including in interim management roles. Craig also has a successful track record in delivering value in exits and financings for both performing organizations and distressed assets, including arranging financings for storied credits.

Ofri Porat, Managing Director

Ofri holds over 20 years of success helping clients with buy-side and sell-side transactions. He has led multiple projects where he oversaw the IMO, functional integration planning and synergy realization across all functional areas. Porat also has deep experience and expertise in M&A and sell-side due diligence, divestiture/separation planning, and all Office of the CFO disciplines. He started his career at GE and then moved to PwC where over 10 years he provided his clients with the methodology, approach and tools necessary to execute detailed merger-integration and buy-side and sell-side carve-out transactions across the deal continuum. After PwC, Ofri served as a Managing Director at FTI Consulting and Accordion Partners. In both companies he was a leader in the Merger Integration & Carve-out practices, responsible for go-to-market strategy, product development, recruiting and engagement delivery. Most recently Ofri served as an Associate Partner with A.T. Kearney in their Transactions practice where he led the revamp of their M&A Solution program for private equity clients and corporates.

Chris Stanley, Managing Director

Chris leads the firm’s Healthcare Practice as Managing Director. He has especially deep expertise in Finance & Accounting Optimization and leverages experienced resources from throughout the firm to serve healthcare clients in need of other critical capabilities, including Merger & Acquisition services, Capital Structures & Placement, and Restructuring & Turnaround services. Chris joined Virtas Partners following nearly 20-years at a Big Four accounting firm, where he was a Partner, focused on serving Healthcare organizations. He is a Certified Healthcare Finance Professional and Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Truc To, Managing Director

Truc is a Managing Director within the firm’s Quality of Earnings practice where he specializes in buy-side and sell-side due diligence, and quality of earnings analysis. He joined Virtas Partners following a distinguished, 29-year career at KPMG, where he was the national leader of the Chemical segment within the Transaction Services practice. Truc has led cross-border deals in 46 countries and lived on four continents. He has a wide range of buy-side, sell-side, and joint venture deal experience in a broad range of sectors, including: chemicals, aerospace and defense, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, IT/SAAS, construction, insurance, payments, sports, health care providers, hospitality, energy, manufacturing, media, mining, business services, telecommunications and transportation. Services provided include: diligence, purchase price disputes, integration and synergy evaluation to private equity and corporate clients.

Tom DiEnno, Managing Director

Tom brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the Virtas Partners team, particularly our Quality of Earnings solution. With a foundation built on five years of audit experience at PwC, followed by over 15 years of focusing on Financial Due Diligence at KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice, Tom has honed his expertise in guiding clients through complex financial transactions with precision and efficiency. 

Tammi Flowers, Managing Director

Tammi is a Managing Director in the firm’s Integration and Separation Practice. She is an executive with broad corporate experience, including 20+ years in M&A. Before joining Virtas, Tammi Served as Executive Director, Strategy – Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, one of the four business segments of Raytheon Technologies. Prior to that role, she served in a variety of executive legal roles at United Technologies (now Raytheon Technologies), including its Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace divisions. She has vast experience in public and private M&A, joint ventures, commercial transactions in highly regulated industries, corporate governance, securities, regulatory divestitures, antitrust, and corporate finance.

Jeff Klitzke, Senior Director

Based in our Houston office, Jeff is a Senior Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice. He leverages his 18 years of combined Big 4 consulting and private equity experience to guide our clients through highly complex transactions. He has vast experience in capital markets transactions, buy-side and sell-side offerings, valuation services, operational integration and separation, and technical accounting matters. 

Erin McNamara, Senior Director

Erin is a Senior Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice. She focuses on preparing companies for exits including carve-outs, private sales and IPOs, as well as standing up carve-outs purchased by private equity firms.

Erin has served publicly traded and privately held companies in the U.S. and abroad, operating as Interim CFO for a variety of organizations, including a private foundation, software developer and textile manufacturing company. She served as a Director in KPMGs Financial Management Consulting practice where she spent 15 years, starting her career as an audit CPA and later moving to the consulting practice, including a three-year assignment as the COO for a $70M consulting business in KPMG’s Zurich, Switzerland office.

Ted Sullivan, Senior Director

Based out of New York, Ted is a Senior Director in the firm’s Integration & Separation Practice. He has over 18 years of experience in the execution of numerous large and complex transactions including cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures. Before joining Virtas, he held roles with Pratt & Whitney and EPAM Systems where he specialized in international M&A, deal sourcing, due diligence, and post-merger integration.

Redding Thomas, Senior Director

Redding is a Senior Director in the firm’s Performance Improvement practice. He is an accomplished operations and strategic finance executive with extensive skill and experience in leading, transforming, and managing successful companies and business units – in both large and highly structured corporate and entrepreneurial environments. He holds in-depth industry experience in media & entertainment, digital technology, financial services, and commercial retail.

Redding specializes in corporate turnaround, strategic planning, business and financial modeling, new business development, project management, corporate risk management, and market opportunity assessment for new partner ventures and service line/product roll-outs.

John Sengenberger, Director

John is a Director at Virtas Partners. John focuses on M&A Integration & Separation advisory and has 19 years of industry and consulting experience. For the past 10 years, John worked at leading advisory firms, primarily focused on Industrial Manufacturing clients, particularly in Aerospace & Defense, and has served both private equity (PE) portfolio companies and public corporations. John has executed over 40 engagements, with significant experience in strategy, operational due diligence (ODD), mergers & acquisitions (M&A), cost reduction and operational transformation. Functionally, he has experience in corporate strategy, data and analytics, engineering, finance, human resources, manufacturing and operations, product development, project management, quality, research & development (R&D), and supply chain. Prior to pivoting into advisory, John worked as an engineer in product validation and launch roles in the automotive industry with Navistar. He began his career with engineering roles in structural analysis and fatigue tracking on fighter jet programs at The Boeing Company, most notable the F/A-18 Super Hornet. John has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

 

Matthew Albanese, Director

Based in Houston, Matt serves clients within the firm’s CFO Advisory and Quality of Earnings practice groups. Matt leads or supports Quality of Earnings assessments, pre- and post-acquisition integration, standing up finance organizations and providing development and support of FP&A organizations.

Prior to joining Virtas, Matt served as the CFO of an engineering and contracting firm. Previously, he worked in operational finance roles at private equity portfolio companies.

Bob Thomson, Director

Bob serves clients within the firm’s CFO Advisory Practice. He has proven expertise in budgeting, forecasting, complex modeling and big data, and especially deep experience in the pharmaceutical sector.

Before joining Virtas, he served clients as an independent consultant, including as the CFO of a private specialty pharmaceutical company and as CFO/COO/CIO of another specialty pharma company. He has supported the Finance organization for the U.S. subsidiary of a major European biopharmaceutical company. Earlier in his career, Bob led revenue forecasting and analysis activities at Mylan for EpiPen® and other branded products. His earlier roles included asset manager for a NYSE-listed infrastructure company and Director, Corporate Development & Investor Relations for a NYSE-listed pharma development company. He previously worked at two investment banks after starting his career at Mobil Oil.

Olamide Esan, Director

Based in San Diego, Olamide brings to our CFO Advisory team a combination of Big 4 and boutique consulting experience, as well as deep operational finance and accounting expertise. She advises clients on financial and accounting matters, including technical research, audit preparation and financial due diligence.

Prior to joining Virtas, Olamide worked at an outsourced accounting and finance consulting firm where she assisted clients in preparing cash flow projections (forecasting), capital raise processes and providing entrepreneurs a better understanding of the results of their business using key performance indicators and identifying cost savings opportunities. Olamide has Big 4 public accounting experience in Financial Audits and M&A due diligence and has worked with both public and private companies in various industries including life sciences, consumer products, distribution and manufacturing.

Joe Giordano III, Senior Director

Joe is a Senior Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice who brings over 25 years of public accounting and private company experience. He is an experienced CFO of both publicly traded and private equity-owned companies. Before joining Virtas, Joe was Corporate Controller & Treasurer of a publicly traded company for more than five years. He also has over eleven years of public accounting experience at Big Four firms.

Joe’s capabilities include strategic analysis, talent development, acquisitions, financial reporting, working capital management, internal controls, technical accounting, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, debt offerings / capital markets, taxes, treasury, forecasting, executive compensation, and investor relations.

Chris Martin, Senior Director

Chris focuses on Integration & Separation advisory and has 16 years of industry and consulting experience. Chris has worked with leading industry and consulting firms with experience in aerospace and defense and other diversified industrials leading major transformation initiatives to drive operational and EBITDA improvements across the deal cycle. Chris has executed numerous engagements, with significant experience in strategy, operational due diligence (ODD), mergers & acquisitions (M&A), government contracting, cost reduction and operational transformation.  Functionally, he has experience in corporate strategy, engineering, finance, manufacturing and operations, product development, project management, quality, research & development (R&D), and supply chain. Prior to advisory, Chris was a build team leader at Bell Helicopter responsible for the successful design, production, and delivery of experimental aircraft for the US Navy.

Amy Oglesby, Director

Based in our Houston office, Amy is a Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice. She joined Virtas with 16 years of experience acquired in publicly traded and private equity-backed corporations as well as Big 4 public accounting. Before joining Virtas, Oglesby utilized a strong technical research and financial reporting background to bring value to her clients at ESG Lynk where she developed ESG disclosure strategies and reports based on common frameworks and industry practices. She has assisted companies with a variety of complex accounting matters including those related to revenue recognition, business combinations, share-based compensation, and variable interest entities.

Jared Kelso, Senior Director

Jared is a Senior Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice who specializes in leading carve-out initiatives for financial services companies. Before joining Virtas, he was a finance executive for eight years at two small financial services firms. Jared began his career as a CPA with KPMG where he spent 12 years in both the audit and accounting advisory practices, including three years in Switzerland, where he focused on technical accounting implementations, IPO readiness, bankruptcy, and carve-outs.

Brian Ottaviano, Chief Operating Officer

Based in the firm’s Atlanta office, Brian serves as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer. He has deep expertise in accounting and in financial analysis and M&A integration. Before accepting the position of COO, Brian served as a Director with Virtas where he helped clients with unique solutions to finance-based problems, including custom budget and forecasting models, cash flow analysis, and ERP implementation project management.

Prior to joining Virtas, Brian worked for more than 15 years at EY accounting firm, where he formed and led a regional tangible asset practice. He also has two years of experience serving in a lead FP&A role, launching six startup companies born out of orphaned intellectual property from Fortune 500 companies.

Brian Heckler, Head of Strategy and Development

As Head of Strategy and Development, Brian leads business development, strategic planning, our solution portfolio, and our inorganic opportunities as Virtas executes its aggressive growth strategy over the next 3 years.

Brian joined Virtas after a storied 39-year career at KPMG, where he led KPMG’s Industrial Manufacturing sector and served as a Global Lead Account Partner for several Fortune 100 Manufacturers and Conglomerates in the Automotive, Aerospace, Energy and Healthcare Equipment, HVAC and Security Systems manufacturing and services companies. He is also an innovative leader who has launched new business opportunities for KPMG from conceptualization to scale and on-going long-term value creation, including KPMG’s Accounting Advisory Services.

 

Carlo Piccirillo, Director

Serving clients from our New York Metro office, Carlo serves as a Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice. Prior to joining Virtas, he was the CFO of two growth stage companies in the food and beverage industry. He specializes in start-up and growth stage infrastructure development, financial analysis, and scaling operations.

Ben Lester, Director

Serving clients from our Dallas office, Ben serves as a Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory practice. After working for 10 years at a large public accounting firm, Ben joined Virtas in 2022. He primarily assists our clients in navigating complex accounting transactions and implementations including the new revenue recognition and leasing standards, financial statement close, audit support, and operational accounting support and process Improvement. 

Jim Van Hoof, Managing Director

Jim Van Hoof is a Managing Director at Virtas Partners. With over thirty years of experience, he helps clients develop and execute strategic and transformational initiatives during periods of growth, change, and disruption.  Prior to joining Virtas Partners, he was Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel at Electriq Power, Inc. heading up Operations, Supply Chain, Product Management and Legal. Prior to his time at Electriq Power, he held positions at United Technologies Corporation (“UTC”) (NYSE: RTX), Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE: HUBB) and Ionic Materials.  He currently serves on the board of trustees at Saint Anselm College where he chairs the Audit & Finance Committee. 

Linda Imonti, Senior Advisor

Prior to joining Virtas, she spent over 17 years at KPMG, where she held numerous high-profile roles including National Ignition Leader, Office Managing Principal of the Chicago regional HUB, and serving as a Director on the KPMG U.S. Board of Directors. As Senior Advisor, Linda actively engages with our PE and corporate clientele across all of our solutions.  She also plays a key role in our Business Services Solution suite, a tailored solution to address the unique needs and capabilities required to evaluate, on-board, create value, and manage Business Services enterprises.  

She currently serves as a board member for the American Heart Association, Chicago Metro; Civic Committee; The Chicago Network; The Executives Club of Chicago; United Way of Metro Chicago; and World Business Chicago.

 

Dino Mauricio, Senior Advisor

Dino brings 25 years of experience advising private equity firms and PE-backed companies on strategy, M&A and value creation as well as Interim CEO/COO/CRO roles.  Having delivered over 120 successful M&A transactions, integrations and transformations, Dino leverages a deep reservoir of best practices, enabling tools and actionable insights for private equity clients.

Recently, Dino served as President & CEO for Ducker Carlisle, a PE-backed global market analytics, strategy and M&A advisory firm where he delivered 3x revenue and 6x EBITDA growth within 3 years in advance of a successful exit. Previously, Dino served as U.S. Financial Services M&A Lead and New York Office Co-Chair for KPMG, advising primarily Fortune 500 and PE clients on Strategy, M&A, Performance Improvement and Digital Transformation.   Dino has additional experience at LEK, General Electric, Getzler Henrich and Berkshire Group Private Equity.

 

Said Nashashibi, Senior Advisor

Said is a Senior Advisor in the firm’s New York office and is actively engaged in growing the firm’s client coverage across mid-market private equity and infrastructure. 

Said has over 16 years of principal investing experience in infrastructure including having spent over 12 years with Astatine Investment Partners (formerly Alinda Capital Partners) and more recently with American Triple I.  His experience spans a range of sectors, including transportation, digital and utility related infrastructure, and he is well versed in complex carve-out, post-acquisition integration and start-up matters. 

 

John Chapman, Senior Advisor

John was a member of KPMG for 39 years, where he held many high-profile roles including Global Chair of KPMG’s Pharmaceuticals Practice, Global Chair of KPMG’s Chemical Practice, Senior Audit Partner, and member of the Board of Directors of KPMG LLP and KPMG Americas.

Holding significant industry experience in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and consumer products, John served as the Global Lead Partner for some of KPMG’s most significant clients, including Pfizer and PepsiCo where he led global client service teams, interacted with senior C-Suite and Board executives, and provided strategic advice on mergers, acquisition, IPOs, spin-offs, carve-outs, divestitures, and other related transactions.

As Senior Advisor, John actively engages with our PE and corporate clientele across all of our solutions.  He also plays a key role in our Business Services Solution suite, a tailored solution to address the unique needs and capabilities needed to evaluate, on-board, create value, and manage Business Services enterprises. 

 

 

Patricia (Novosel) Person, Senior Advisor

Patricia was a key member of EY for over 18 years, where she was the as well as the Global Client Service Partner for Mondelez International and Kraft Foods. She was responsible for growing the Americas $1 billion Consumer Products practice within EY. During her time as practice leader, she aided in stimulating greater than 20% growth while helping her clients with both growth and cost reduction strategies.

Her proven results in business development and her mentoring history is a strong addition to further enable our workforce in its professional growth and development.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Casari, Senior Director

Steve is a Senior Director at Virtas Partners. With over thirty years of experience, he helps clients develop and execute strategic and transformational initiatives during periods of change, disruption and steady state.  Prior to joining Virtas Partners, he held various C-Suite positions with Fortune 200,  Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies including Controller, Chief Audit Executive, Vice President of Process Improvement and Robotic Process Automation, and Head of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations. Prior to that he was a Director with PwC’s Transaction Services Advisory Practice assisting private equity and public clients with M&A due diligence and divestures. He also has served as divisional CFO for various international public and private companies.   He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Downey, Senior Director

Based out of the New York office, Mark is a Senior Director in the firm’s CFO Advisory Practice.   He is an active CPA currently serving as Interim CFO and COO for several Private Equity-backed ventures across diverse global sectors such as Digital Marketplace Technology, Manufacturing and Distribution, Professional Services, Consumer Products, Financial Services, and Fin-Tech. 

Mark’s focus is on strategically executing business plans and enhancing financial controls to drive disciplined growth.  With extensive experience in over 20 Global M&A and Carve-Out transactions, he specializes in managing post-deal integrations, financial and operating turnaround initiatives, and negotiating and implementing shared service agreements.  Mark has optimized global financial operations through robust data reporting systems using Power BI technology.  His background also covers both public and private equity portfolio companies, where he has successfully guided private entities through public-listed IPO transitions and SEC and SOX legal and compliance environments.  Additionally, Mark has navigated the complexities of financial leadership and investor relationships by managing capital structures, leading funding rounds, and fostering close collaboration with investors and lenders. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Hughes, Managing Director

Kevin holds significant Energy, Power and Utilities industry experience with both domestic and international public companies. After a National Office rotation in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice, Kevin served as a Quality Assurance Partner in the Dallas and Houston office of KPMG for over 25 years. 

Most recently, Kevin served as an Executive Advisor for CFGI, a Carlyle and CVC portfolio company, focusing on accounting advisory and sustainability services to the Energy industry. As a Managing Director, Kevin oversees delivery of our suite of services to the Southwest market and more broadly to the Energy, Power, and Utility industry. 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Hunt, Managing Director

Jon has established himself as a trusted advisor, assisting clients with navigating complex business and financial issues, meeting the needs of boards of directors and their constituents, and executing audits within AICPA, SEC and PCAOB guidelines to serve the public interest. He brings a wealth of knowledge in US GAAP, US GAAS, SEC, and PCAOB regulations, as well as experience working with C-suite executives, audit committees, and boards. His technical expertise covers a wide range of issues, including revenue recognition, business combinations, debt/equity transactions, income taxes, compensation and IT.