Speakers

Koltin Consulting Group, Inc. is a Chicago-based consulting firm that specializes in working with professional and financial services firms in the areas of practice growth, practice management, human capital, and mergers and acquisitions.

Highly sought for his ability to engage and inspire audiences, Allan enjoys delivering keynote addresses at conferences throughout the professional services industry. His passion is facilitating strategic planning retreats for firm leadership and partners. His specialties include strategy, governance, profitability, compensation, growth, human capital, succession, and mergers and acquisitions.

For the last twenty-four years, Allan has been named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the accounting profession. In 2023, he was listed as the “Second Most Influential” in the profession. For the past twenty-three years, Allan was voted as one of the Most Recommended Consultants in the “Annual Survey of Firms” conducted by INSIDE Public Accounting. For the past decade, Allan has been named by CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in the profession and, in 2016, they also inducted Allan into the Accounting Hall of Fame. Allan was one of the first to be inducted into the Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame by the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM). He has also been a recipient of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analyst’s Instructor of the Year Award and winner of the Journal of Accountancy Literacy Award. Previously, he was recognized by the Illinois CPA Society with the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service and commitment to the profession.

A nationally recognized speaker and industry analyst, he has appeared on CNN, WGN and FOX TV and has been quoted frequently in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and New York Post, as well as Bloomberg News, BBC World Service, Business Week, Forbes and Reuters. He has also spoken nationally and internationally at hundreds of conferences, including those held by the AICPA, international CPA associations and state CPA societies.

Previously, Allan was the CEO of PDI Global, which was the largest provider of marketing products and services for CPA firms. Allan sold PDI Global to H&R Block in 1998, buying it back in 2008, and then selling it to Thomson Reuters in 2011. Prior to that, Allan was a partner in the Chicago-based CPA firm of FERS, where he served as leader of the Investment Banking and Law Firm Services Groups. At age 27, Allan had the distinction of being named the youngest partner in the history of the firm and was also a member of the Fim’s Executive Committee. FERS was acquired by H&R Block in 1998.

He is a founding member of The Advisory Board, a think tank for the accounting profession. For 20 years, The Advisory Board hosted the Winning Is Everything Conference. Allan has served on various advisory boards, including SS&G, Outsource Partners International (OPI), the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM), The National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), and H&R Block (HRB Business Services).

Koltin is the author-editor of three books for professional services firms: CPA Firm Merger Strategies That Work, CPAs That Sell and the AICPA’s Marketing a Consulting Niche. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of CPA Practice Advisor, the Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Today, Inside Public Accounting and Law Firm Management.

Allan attended both the University of Wisconsin – Madison and – Milwaukee and received degrees in accounting and marketing. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Sharon, his three children, Jack, Brian and Julia, and his two dogs, Bucky and Cody. His hobbies include travel, chess and all sports.

Gary Shamis is a highly experienced and accomplished business advisor, entrepreneur, and Certified Public Accountant with over 40 years of experience in the accounting and consulting industries. As the Managing Director of Winding River Consulting, Gary provides strategic guidance and support to accounting firms, helping them navigate the complex challenges of the modern business landscape.

Throughout his career, Gary has worked with hundreds of accounting firms across the United States, ranging from small local practices to large international organizations. He has a deep understanding of the challenges facing the industry, and has helped countless firms overcome those challenges and achieve long-term success.

Gary is a recognized thought leader in the industry and a frequent speaker at industry events. He has authored numerous articles and publications on topics related to accounting firm management, leadership, and growth. He is passionate about helping accounting firms achieve their full potential and has dedicated his career to this mission.

Prior to founding Winding River Consulting, Gary was a co-founder of SS&G, a top 50 accounting and consulting firm, where he served as Managing Partner for over 30 years. Under his leadership, the firm grew from a small local practice to a regional powerhouse with multiple offices and a diverse portfolio of clients.

Gary is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Akron.

With his extensive knowledge, experience, and passion for the industry, Gary has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor and mentor to accounting firm leaders across the country. He works closely with his clients to develop customized strategies that drive growth and profitability, and he is committed to helping accounting firms thrive in the face of the challenges and opportunities of the modern business world.

David Toth built his marketing expertise around a strong digital comprehension. Understanding the importance of data, he reasoned, should guide each step of the process, using informed decision making to adapt when and where necessary. Armed with the evidence, David challenges the status quo to drive results.

He is a strategic-thinker and believes the path to successful outcomes includes integrating technology with tried-and-true practices. As David sees it, when it comes to digital transformation there will always be new dots to connect. The challenge is having the discipline to make the connections that close the gap between marketing dollars and sales revenue.

David has served as an outsourced CMO, agency executive, and change agent for organizations in sectors from fast-growing start-ups to well established Fortune 500 companies. He has a knack for building meaningful relationships. David has found that while each business and industry is unique, the foundation to success is always the same — know your audience.

Scott Simon is a world-recognized author, keynote speaker, and corporate advisor on the topic of courage. A former commercial real estate CEO for 22 years, Scott understands the power of living and leading boldly, and he brings to life a question at the center of his work: what happens when leaders really lean into their courage?

The question found him mid-flight over the Atlantic, in the grip of a panic attack, when he wrote eight words in a spiral notebook: do one thing every day that scares you. He has kept that promise for more than 5,000 consecutive days. The practice grew into Scare Your Soul, a global courage movement.

Scott has delivered keynotes and courage experiences for organizations like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Logitech, Ritz-Carlton, Progressive Insurance, Keller Williams, Northwestern Mutual, and SXSW.

Scott's first book, Scare Your Soul: 7 Powerful Principles to Harness Fear and Lead Your Most Courageous Life, was published by Hachette in 2022. His new book, The Book of Questions: Courage, co-authored with Gregory Stock, whose original Book of Questions has sold more than six million copies, arrives in September 2026.

 Jennifer (Jen) Leary is the Chief Executive Officer of CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), A top 10 accounting and professional services firms in the United States. Under her leadership, CLA serves organizations across more than 120 markets nationwide and extends its global reach through the CLA Global network, a top 15 global network, and CLA Global U.S. Alliance.

A CPA by training and strategist by nature, Jen is helping redefine what professional services leadership looks like in an era of rapid technological change. She is widely recognized as a leading voice on the future of work, workforce development, artificial intelligence, and the evolving role businesses play in creating opportunities for people and communities. Her perspective is shaped by more than 25 years of experience spanning accounting, advisory, mergers and acquisitions, consulting, and international business operations. Before becoming CEO, Jen served in multiple leadership roles at CLA, including Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Principal of the Carolinas and Georgia.

Today, Jen champions a people-first approach to transformation. At a time when many organizations are offshoring work or reducing headcount, she has positioned CLA around investing in talent, building new pathways into professional services, and creating opportunities in communities across the United States. Through initiatives including the CLA Academy, high school internship programs, and workforce development partnerships, she is expanding access to the profession, preparing the workforce of tomorrow. 

Carla is Managing Partner of AAFCPAs, a U.S. Top 100 CPA and consulting firm based in New England. She is also former Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In 2024, Carla was named one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People and one of the Most Powerful Women in the Accounting Profession in 2020-2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. Her dynamic executive leadership, bold practicality, and enthusiasm to embrace change is setting the standard for mission driven, growth organizations.

Carla has been an instrumental force in the evolution of AAFCPAs, responsible for driving the expansion of services for our sophisticated clients beyond the core audit and tax, such as outsourced accounting, wealth management, robotic process automation, IT and cyber security, system selection and implementation, and data analytics. She thinks about the client in everything she does and puts AAFCPAs’ customers in the center, at the core of our business, to provide a positive experience and meet their evolving needs.

Carla recognizes the importance of setting an influential tone at the top to inspire AAFCPAs’ people-first culture and core values. In 2011, she launched AAFCPAs’ Women’s Opportunity Network (WON), which serves as a platform to ensure women have a clear path to leadership. In 2017, recognizing the need to expand on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Carla launched the firm’s Inclusion & Belonging initiative. In 2018, she established the firm’s Innovation Lab and Changemaker Challenge, where team members are encouraged to question everyday processes and think like entrepreneurs. And in 2021, Carla launched the firm’s Automation Initiative, supported by the firm’s in-house Data Analytics/Robotic Process Automation team, to help our teams realize measurable results through more efficient and effective working infrastructures. “We can only grow by nurturing and embracing innovation that helps us ‘work smarter, not harder’,” said Carla. In 2022, she launched the firm’s Zip2CPA credentialing accelerator program as well as the firm’s E3 Intern Accelerator Program, designed to provide opportunities for new accounting professionals who are traditionally underrepresented in the industry.

Carla commits a great deal of her personal time to mentoring young professionals and serving nonprofits so that both may benefit from her knowledge and experience in order to thrive. She leads with authenticity, and her commitment to service, volunteerism, and purposeful work is contagious. She inspires new pathways to growth, sustainability, and excellence.

Doug Meyer is CEO and co-founder of Brixey & Meyer, Inc. With Doug’s leadership, Brixey & Meyer has been recognized as one of the Fastest Growing CPA Firm in the US and Canada multiple years, a thirteen-time award winner of Best Places to Work, a winner of the Fast 25 Growing Company award, and a Winner for the Business of the Year Program. Additionally, Doug is a past 40 Under Forty winner and recently inducted as a Hall of Fame member.

As CEO, Doug serves as a trusted business advisor to Business Owners, CEOs, CFOs and Boards of Advisors. He works closely with those leaders in the areas of mergers & acquisition, deal structure, succession & ownership planning, strategic planning, and compensation planning.

Doug is also co-founder and Partner of Brixey & Meyer Capital. Brixey & Meyer Capital is a lower middle market private investment firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since its founding, BMC has closed fourteen investments and raised over $200 million in committed capital to invest in lower middle-market companies. Brixey & Meyer Capital currently manages four different platforms across a variety of industries.

Doug also serves as a valued board member for various closely held businesses. A variety of organizations regularly request Doug speak to their group regarding the ever-changing business landscape. His focus is deal structure and exit planning. Doug’s entrepreneurial passion has resulted in his equity ownership of multiple privately held organizations. Prior to founding Brixey and Meyer in 2002, Doug worked with Ernst & Young LLP.

Fun fact about Doug, he has visited every major league baseball park with his son.

Daniel brings discipline, resilience, and wellness to the forefront of leadership. As a performance coach and wellness strategist, he works with executives and leadership teams to optimize physical, mental, and emotional performance. He tailors efficient, structured fitness and nutrition programs for busy executives and corporate teams in demanding professional environments.

Combining his experience as a former professional athlete with his exposure to top athletic and Olympics trainers, and his tenure as a certified National Association of Sports Medicine personal trainer, Daniel delivers accessible, outcome-focused training through one-on-one executive coaching, small-group sessions, and large-scale bootcamps.

At Winding River Consulting, Daniel equips leaders with practical tools to sustain energy, sharpen focus, and build the resilience required to perform at a high level — both professionally and personally.