Leadership is the lifeblood of an organization. As we grow HBK, the onus is on us to ensure our most talented professionals are in leadership positions, so that we are prepared for our future and our brand remains relevant. As we begin the 2023-24 fiscal year, please join me in recognizing the following HBK professionals on their promotions.
Congratulations to the following HBK professionals promoted to Principal:
Jeff Bergamo, CPA, works out of our offices in Sarasota. He has been with the firm since 2021. He began his public accounting career with PwC in 2010 and spent time in its Tampa, Boston, and London offices, serving a wide range of clients with a focus in the financial service and asset management sectors. His experience ranges from small private clients to public multinational financial services firms. His focus was auditing, but he also developed and facilitated audit and accounting training programs, and served as project manager for software program development.
Jeff earned his B.A. in Accounting from the University of South Florida. He holds CPA licenses in Florida and Massachusetts, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
LeAnn M. Davids, CPA, CFE, serves HBK clients out of our offices in Erie. She has been with the firm for 12 years. Her areas of specialization include manufacturing, employee benefit plan audits, dealership operations, and academia.
LeAnn received her B.S. in Business Administration from West Virginia University, and a Master of Professional Accountancy from West Virginia University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. She has been involved with Athena since 2020.
David Mailliard, CPA, works out of our offices in Erie. His areas of experience include partnership taxation, mergers and acquisitions, Pennsylvania state tax, and real estate taxation.
David earned his B.S. in Accounting at Edinboro University, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Tim Gagen, CPA, of our Pittsburgh offices has been with the firm since 2015. He has more than 15 years’ experience in public accounting, including eight years at regional firms, specializing in the post-secondary education, manufacturing, and nonprofit sectors. He serves a wide variety of businesses, including manufacturers, nonprofits, service companies, distribution companies, insurance providers, and claims processors. He provides audit and assurance services and assists with CFO-level services through HBK Client Accounting & Advisory Services.
Tim received his B.S. in Accounting and his Masters in Information Security and Assurance from Robert Morris University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and serves as Treasurer of the Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Association.
Nick Walters, CPA, works out of the Pittsburgh office. He joined HBK in 2021 after eight years with two national public accounting firms. He provides tax planning, consulting, and compliance services to corporations, pass-through entities, and high net-worth individuals. He has worked with multi-state and international organizations, and provided services to clients in multiple industries, including manufacturing and distribution, energy, private equity, technology, maritime, and professional services.
Nick earned his B.S. in Accounting at The Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has serves as board treasurer and member for Community Human Services in Pittsburgh.
Thomas J. Dockray, CPA, MST, works out of the HBK offices in King of Prussia, Pa. He joined the firm in 2021 after four years in private industry. Previously, through 12 years in public accounting in the greater Philadelphia area, Tom served at a small regional firm, a mid-sized Center City firm, and a large national firm. His experience in private industry provided a client-side perspective and insights on the passions, goals, and challenges of business owners and their employees. He has worked with small businesses and their owners and high net worth individuals, providing federal, state, and local tax consulting, and compliance and planning support. His work includes forecasting, budgeting, and accounting department support for small businesses.
Tom earned his Master of Taxation degree from Thomas Jefferson University and his B.S. in Accounting from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Joel Van Horn, CPA/CTIP, CISA, works out of our Columbus, Ohio office. He is a member of HBK Risk Advisory Services. His areas of specialization in Accounting include financial statement preparation and other comprehensive basis of accounting services. In Assurance, his expertise includes agreed-upon procedures, audit, System and Organization Controls (SOC) 1 and 2, and internal controls and fraud prevention. As a member of the HBK Risk Advisory Services team, he specializes in attestation, advisory, and cybersecurity services.
Joel received his B.S. in Business Administration in Accounting from The Ohio State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and its Central Ohio Chapter.
Congratulations on the promotion to Senior Director:
Kristi Hackworth, CPA, started her career in our Meadville office in 1994 and transferred to the Pittsburgh office in 2001. She works primarily with small to mid-sized clients, providing accounting and tax services to a wide range of industries. She is also actively involved in our new-hire orientation/intern process and training, and leads the Pittsburgh team in our firm’s community service initiative, HBK Cares.
Kristi earned her B.S. in Accounting from Grove City College, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
In addition to the new principals and senior director positions, the following individuals have also been promoted:
Senior Managers
Katie Brown, Human Resources
Alicia Gunter, Hermitage
Angelica Revelant, HBK Valuation Group
Eric Swierzinski, Stuart
Jeremy Mirabito, King of Prussia
Tyler Tomalavage, Holmdel
Robert Petersen, IT
Michael Estrich, Marketing
Joshua Pinkerton, CAAS
Bryan Holm, SALT
Gal Hen, Cannabis
Managers
Jelena Melnichenko, Holmdel
Jesse DeFuria, Holmdel
Eleanor Lowry, Hermitage
Hillary Ison, Ft. Myers
Scott Ruyevcan, Vertilocity
Matt Brancho, Vertilocity
Darrin Hyde, Meadville
Angela Jones, Cannabis
Paul Rivera, Cannabis
Dylan Mitchell, Erie
Haley Nicolai, Cherry Hill
Kyle Smith, Cherry Hill
