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Burr Forman's Results Matter Radio

Month: October 2012

Atlanta World Showcase and Governor’s International Awards

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Today’s studio guests were recently featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle for the Atlanta World Showcase and Governor’s International Awards.

Emily Moerdomo Fu /Capital Investment International, Inc.

Winner – Individual of the Year

Emily Moerdomo Fu is the CEO and Founder of Capital Investment International, Inc. Emily is responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth and management of the team. In addition to fostering strategic growth, she serves as a mentor for The CII staff. Emily’s knowledge and experience of the ever-changing climate of the Global market enables her to guide the team towards the best possible client service available.  Her goal is to provide the highest level of business and real estate services internationally with the utmost integrity, reliability, and professionalism.

Wilson Faure/Advanced Global Partners

Finalist – New Company of the Year

Wilson Faure is President of Advanced Global Partners (AGP).  He is a global business executive having worked and lived in Brazil, Germany and the United States. Wilson has built a successful business career working in a variety of industries, functions and cultural settings. He has a unique career experience including business owner, Managing Director, Relationship Manager, Business Developer, Consultant and Program Manager allowing him to clearly understand all aspects of business. He is fluent in Portuguese and English and has a good conversational level in German and Spanish. He is recognized for his strong leadership skills and his ability to drive performance through workforce engagement and relationship building skills.

Wilson earned an electrical engineering degree with a specialization in software business in Brazil. He also earned an Executive MBA degree from the University of Georgia. He founded the Operational Excellence Society Chapter in Atlanta and is Volunteer at PMI Scholarship foundation.

Wilson lives in Woodstock, Georgia with his wife and two daughters.

Edward Brown/Burr & Forman

Ed Brown is Vice-Chair of Burr & Forman LLP’s Business section and a Partner in the firm’s Corporate law practice group focusing on taxation and estate planning.  He has over twenty-four years of experience in franchise law, mergers and acquisitions and personal planning, specifically with federal estate and gift taxation.  Ed represents venture capital companies and investors in funding early-stage and start-up companies and also represents both buyers and sellers in the purchase or sale of businesses, through tax-free mergers, stock purchase arrangements, and asset acquisitions.  Ed can be reached at ed.brown@burr.com.

Planning for the Inevitable — Death, Taxes & Change

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James M. McCarten/Burr & Forman

Jim is a Partner in Burr & Forman’s Tax, Trusts and Estates and Corporate practice groups, where his practice is best described as a general tax practice. Jim works with a broad spectrum of clients, from start-up businesses, to mid-market family businesses, to publicly traded entities and, finally, retired corporate executives and business owners.

His practice encompasses the entire range of tax planning, including mergers and
acquisitions, structuring and forming start-up businesses, asset protection, family business planning and estates, trusts and wealth preservation. In addition to his transactional planning practice, Jim is also active in representing clients during audits by the IRS and/or a state Department of Revenue.

Finally, as the parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum, Jim is very involved in special needs planning for clients who have family members with a disability.

Jason Meadows/Frazier & Deeter

Jason joined the CPA firm Frazier & Deeter (a Top 100 Firm nationwide) in December of 2000. Jason serves as both the Managing Partner of the firm’s Nashville office and as Head of the Frazier & Deeter Tax Department (firmwide).  As a Partner and Head of the Frazier & Deeter Tax Department, he primarily specializes in large corporation taxation consulting and compliance including effectively incorporating LLCs and partnerships into the corporate structure.

Jason has provided consulting services regarding corporate and equity compensation, including the use of stock options and partnership interests. On the transactional side, Jason has provided consulting services regarding mergers & acquisitions and business restructuring for purposes of asset liability protection. In addition, he has extensive experience in FAS 109 and the recently implemented (for public companies) FIN 48.

Jason has experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, real estate, service and technology. He is partner on several of the firm’s largest clients.

Jason is frequently involved with conflict resolution matters regarding the Internal Revenue Service, including representation of the client during the audit process. He has experience drafting successful Offers in Compromise as well as two favorable Private Letter Ruling requests.

Susan Tillery/Paraklete Financial

Susan M. Tillery is President and Co-Founder of Paraklete® Financial, Inc. Susan has over 30 years of experience in tax, philanthropy, and financial planning, as well as in the administrative and compliance areas encountered by affluent individuals and families. Susan’s firm designs and implements, comprehensive financial planning strategies. Paraklete® Financial, Inc.’s focus is on independence and objectivity in order to be the client’s financial advocate and as such, does not manage assets or sell products.

Susan’s experience at Harris myCFO, a multi-family office where she was responsible for the development and delivery of comprehensive family office solutions to affluent families, together with her work at Arthur Andersen, Ronald Blue & Co and other financial firms provides the framework for Paraklete.

Susan earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Accounting from the University of Georgia. She holds the professional designations of Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®).

Susan is a member of both the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Georgia Society of CPAs (GSCPA). In addition, she is a member of the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee and the GSCPA Estate and Financial Planning Committee. She has served as past Vice Chair for the Board of Directors for Partnership against Domestic Violence, as well as for Royal Treasure (an organization that energizes, motivates and educates women to be excellent biblical stewards).

John Ellard/Veracor

John Ellard, CLU brings 20 years of experience in the financial service industry to his work as a Principal at Veracor. John’s specialty area is in providing leadership to families and businesses in the area of wealth design and protection.
John is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. After graduation, he began his career with Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1998 he became a partner with The Benefit Company and in 2005 was a founding partner in Veracor.

John is energetically involved in the estate and wealth planning community having served on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and is a member of the Georgian Planned Giving Council and Philanthropic Advisor Leadership Institute. He holds the Chartered Life Underwriter designation from the American College. John is a Registered Representative with NFP Securities, Inc. and holds Series 24, 6, 63, 65 and 7 licenses with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Married for 17 years, John and his wife Laura have two children; Justin and Julia. He enjoys sailing, hiking the AT and anything the kids are doing. John is actively involved at North Point Community Church as a Transit leader and serves on the Board of Directors of Camp Highland, a high adventure camp for children.

Atlanta Corporate In House Counsel Winner

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Teresa Kennedy, Winner from the Atlanta Business Chronicle | Association of Corporate Counsel “ACC-GA” Atlanta Corporate In House Counsel Awards, joined us as a guest in the studio.

Teresa Kennedy/Cox Communications, Inc.

Teresa T. Kennedy is Assistant General Counsel for Cox Communications, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. Her responsibilities include providing legal counsel to Cox’s Content Acquisition Department and to Cox Media (Cox’s advertising sales subsidiary).  Teresa received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Counsel Awards in recognition of contributions to the legal profession.

Teresa currently serves as a board member of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) National Board of Directors. She is past-president of ACC’s Georgia Chapter. Teresa has published numerous articles in the award-winning ACC Docket and in Corporate Counsel magazine on topics ranging from establishing work-life balance, building trust between inside and outside counsel, to evaluating and creating effective compliance programs.

Teresa received a Bachelors of Science Degree, with highest honors, from Auburn University. She is a 1981 graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she served as Executive Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and received awards in Moot Court and American Jurisprudence.

Roundtable Discussion on Sustainability

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Aaron Bastain/City of Atlanta

Aaron Bastian is the Communications and Project Manager for the City of Atlanta in the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. Working to be a more sustainable city means reconciling the city’s developmental goals with its environmental limits over the long term. Aaron works as a part of the mayor’s press staff to ensure that consistent and effective messages around sustainability – including goals and successes – are delivered by the administration.

As part of the team that implemented the city’s first Sustainability Plan launched in October 2010, Aaron is an integral part in helping meet the mayor’s challenge of making Atlanta a top ten sustainable city. Meeting that goal means improving the programs and policies such as water and energy conservation, reducing solid waste and emissions and improving the rates of recycling. Additionally, Aaron serves as the city’s project manager for the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge – which aims to support President Obama’s goal of helping businesses save nearly $40 billion annually in energy costs, enabling them to grow, invest in new technology, and create American jobs.

Prior to his role at the city, Aaron worked for the Clean Air Campaign, which advocates for Georgians to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. As Employer Program Manager, Aaron forged and maintained relationships with C-level executives of both private and public partners and provided marketing and communications developmental support for the organization. Aaron earned a BA from Louisiana State University A&M College where he remains involved with the school’s Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach. Aaron also earned an MBA from Clark Atlanta University School of Business and remains active in the Urban Sustainability Directors Network.

Tom Boeck/Sustainable Options

Tom Boeck is a Principal of Sustainable Options, LLC and oversees the company’s entire consulting practice. He provides sustainable consulting, program and construction management services to clients seeking efficient, healthy buildings. He also manages and facilitates the LEED®, Energy Star and BEPA implementation processes for clients who need them. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Boeck also is the driving force behind the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance gap analysis. He continues to oversee and manage other facilities-related initiatives for both new construction and existing buildings, which have expanded to include LEED volume certification for portfolios of 25 buildings or more.

With more than 25 years of experience in commercial construction and development, Tom was a select member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Portfolio Committee, responsible for developing criteria for portfolio planning and standards for the implementation of “green” practices across multiple-building portfolios through the volume certification program.

Eryn Emerich/Footprint :: Sustainable Talent

Recruitment for the corporate conscience, Footprint Talent is a boutique recruitment firm that serves corporations, higher-ed, and non-profit/NGO institutions situated in the sustainability space and beyond.

Managing Director and founder of Footprint Talent, Eryn and the team partner with transparent organizations who are committed in both mission and action to responsible operating practices.

Bringing 10+ years experience in executive search, consulting and business development to each executive search assignment, Eryn and her team are acutely aware of the nuanced nature of identifying, attracting, and delivering the right fit for critical senior leadership roles. She is committed to her clients’ ultimate success during and beyond the life of those engagements, creating long-term dynamics of accountability, buy-in and trust.

Susie Spivey-Tilson/tvsdesign

Susie Spivey-Tilson is a LEED Accredited Professional, ISO 14001 Internal Auditor, is certified in the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) and is a certified Permaculture Designer. She holds an MS in Sustainable Systems and a BS in Anthropology and Sustainable Development. Her experience includes directing ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) certification and LEED® certification across multiple market segments. Susie has performed these services for general contractors, and architecture and engineering firms, such as tvsdesign, Skanska and BVM Engineering. Susie has provided training for sustainable design, LEED® certification and ISO 14001 certification. She is competent in LEED® for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Core and Shell, and Existing Buildings, EPA Target Finder and Portfolio Manager. Susie currently sits on the USGBC GA Chapter Board of Directors, the USGBC Atlanta Branch Leadership Group as well as chairing the Events and Education Committee for the Atlanta branch. She previously served on the Professional Development Committee of the USGBC and currently works as an Education Provider Reviewer for the USGBC.