Speakers

Scott J. Allen, Ph.D., is an award-winning educator passionate about working with people at all levels and across industries. He serves as an instructor in SMU’s Cox School of Business Executive Education and spent more than 18 years as a professor of management. His areas of expertise include leader development, the future of work, and executive communication.

Scott has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He’s the co-author of several books, including The Little Book of Leadership Development: 50 Ways to Bring Out the Leader in Every Employee; Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: A Guide for College Students; Discovering Leadership: Designing Your Success; and Captovation: Online Presentations by Design. Scott hosts Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders, ranked among the world's top 2.5% of podcasts. Along with the podcast, he publishes a weekly newsletter called The Leader's Edge.

Scott frequently serves as a keynote speaker. In addition, he consults, facilitates workshops, and leads retreats across industries. Recent engagements include Lubrizol, Key Bank, Progressive, Nestle, EY, Siegfried Group, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Sherwin Williams, Whiting-Turner, Toyota Motor North America, Lexus, Gee Automotive, Crestron, NASA-Glenn, Elbit America, Oatey, Dominion/Enbridge, Endeavor Energy Resources, TransAlta, FedEx Custom Critical, Thompson Hine LLP, Nordson, and Cleveland Clinic.

Scott served on the board of the International Leadership Association, Association of Leadership Educators, and Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society. He was named an ILA Fellow by the International Leadership Association in 2021.

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.

• BA, Communications, John Carroll University
• Former Member, U.S. Martial Arts Team
• United States Federal Law Enforcement Academy (FLETC)
• Certified, International Sports Science Association (ISSA)