Accounting Alumni & Friends

Elexis is an Assurance Manager at EY, based in the Detroit office. She manages audit engagements for both SEC registrants and privately held companies, serving clients across diverse industries including mobility, media and entertainment, and financial services.

Elexis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting (2018) and a Master of Science in Accounting (2019) from Michigan State University. During her time at MSU, she held several leadership roles, including Resident Assistant, Teaching Assistant for the Residential Business Community, and Graduate Assistant for the MSA program. She also served as President of the Student Activities Board.

Actively involved in EY’s campus recruiting efforts, Elexis is passionate about mentoring students and supporting the next generation of professionals. She is a licensed CPA and a member of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Brandon is a Director in the Accounting Advisory Services practice within Deal Advisory and has over 10 years of experience helping both private and public multinational companies across the automotive and industrial manufacturing industries. Brandon’s transaction experience includes both buy-side and sell-side support services, including acquisition accounting, opening balance sheet preparation, accounting policy alignment, discontinued operations, finance integration under both US GAAP and IFRS, and project management. Brandon serves as the Industrial Manufacturing industry lead for the Accounting Advisory buy-side service line.

Additionally, Brandon has extensive experience in capital market readiness and IPO support services, primarily with SPAC transactions. His experience with public transactions ranges in deals with a market value of $550 million to $20 billion.

Prior to joining the Accounting Advisory Services practice, Brandon was a Senior Manager in the external audit practice, where he provided professional audit services in accordance with PCAOB, AICPA and SOX requirements. While in the audit practice, Brandon also did an 18-month rotation in the KPMG Business School, where he served as the Learning Experience Design Content Lead for trainings targeted at 2nd year associates and experienced hires. These trainings were designed for audit professionals, ranging from 30 – 2000 professionals. He managed a group of 30 – 40 professionals on the proper facilitation and delivery of learning solutions at a national level.

Brandon received his B.A. in 2010 and M.S. in 2011 from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.

Nathan is an accomplished audit partner with over 19 years of experience delivering assurance services across a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, construction and technology. A proud graduate of Michigan State University, and part of a large MSU family, Nathan began his career with Grant Thornton with a strong foundation in accounting. Working around the globe beginning early in his career, Nathan quickly developed a reputation for precision, integrity, and client-focused leadership. His expertise spans both private and public entities, with a particular emphasis on serving international organizations navigating complex accounting topics and cross-border operations.

Throughout his career, Nathan has led audit engagements for multinational clients with operations across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, helping them manage risk, improve internal controls, and meet evolving compliance standards. Known for his collaborative approach and technical acumen, Nathan is a trusted advisor to CFOs and audit committees, offering insights that go beyond the numbers. He is also actively involved in mentoring emerging professionals and contributing to thought leadership within the firm, reflecting a deep commitment to the profession and its future.

Bob is a Director in PwC’s Chicago Mergers and Acquisitions Tax practice. He advises on domestic and cross-border transactions for private equity and strategic clients on both the buy side and sell side. He specializes in transactions involving tax due diligence, structuring, and modeling. He also has experience providing advice with respect to debt restructuring, computing limitations on tax attributes pursuant to section 382, conducting studies of tax basis and earnings and profits, and analyzing the deductibility of costs related to certain acquisitive transactions. Other services include researching and drafting various memoranda, opinions, and private letter rulings on a variety of US federal income tax topics.

Prior to joining PwC, Bob was a member of the M&A practice of another Big 4 accounting firm as well as a member of BDO’s Core Tax Services practice group where he provided federal, state, and international tax compliance and consulting services.

Bob holds an LLM in taxation from Northwestern University School of Law, a Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University College of Law, and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan State University.

Steven brings over a decade of expertise in financial due diligence and transaction advisory, having executed 70+ transactions spanning from pre-profitability startups to enterprises with EBITDA exceeding $1.3 billion. Steven has led engagements across the transaction lifecycle, including integration / separation planning, TSA management and exit strategies, interim financial leadership, and post-close purchase price adjustments.

Before joining DPO&Co, Steven spent nearly 13 years at EY, where he began in audit before transitioning into strategy and transactions advisory. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Steven pairs deep technical expertise with forward-looking strategic insights, enabling clients to enhance profitability, streamline operations, and mitigate risks.

Steven earned both his BA and MS in Accounting from Michigan State University, graduating summa cum laude as part of the Honors College. He is a licensed CPA in Michigan and Illinois.

Tony Facione is the Vice President and Corporate Controller of Penske Automotive Group, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Penske Automotive Group is a diversified international transportation services company, operating automotive dealerships in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Australia, as well as commercial truck dealerships across North America.

Tony joined the company in 2007 and has held various roles in accounting and treasury. Prior to that, he began his career at Plante Moran in audit and assurance, where he served both public and private clients in the financial services sector.

Tony earned his B.A. (2004) and M.S. (2005) in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a registered CPA in Michigan.

Ryan Green is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Re:Car, Inc. He has held CFO positions previously at Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Rivian Automotive and May Mobility. Ryan focuses on building company financial capabilities in the areas of People, Process & Systems and strives to explain complex financial topics in an easy-to-understand fashion for his stakeholders. He is passionate about being a servant leader, making sure the needs of his customers are met first and foremost. Ryan’s extensive experience with start-up companies has allowed him to create finance and other corporate service organizations from scratch. He seeks career development opportunities for his staff so they can achieve their career goals.

Ryan earned his BA in Finance from Michigan State University in 1995 as well as his MBA from Wayne State University in 1998. Ryan has been married to his wife Erin since 2001 and they have two daughters, Olivia & Avery.

Dave is a partner with KPMG in Cleveland, OH where he provides professional audit and related services to both public and privately held companies. He has served companies in a variety of industries, primarily industrial manufacturers, both domestic and multinational. Dave also spent part of his career in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice in New York where he focused on technical accounting areas such as business combinations & restructurings, revenue & inventory, leases & long-lived assets, and reporting & SEC matters.

Throughout his career at KPMG, he has taken on several important roles within the firm, including being an instructor for the firm’s national training program and an active participant in the firm’s performance management and mentoring programs. Dave also serves as the partner champion for Cleveland’s Employee Council which focuses on initiatives regarding recognition and appreciation, work-life balance, coaching, mentoring and teamwork. He also serves as a member of KPMG’s Audit Quality Support Network which focuses on the firm’s audit quality initiatives.

Dave graduated from the Eli Broad College of Business with a B.A. in Accounting in 2006.

Wendy Hillman serves as the Director of Finance and Budget for the Charter Township of Northville. In her role, Wendy is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Township’s financial operations, including the preparation and management of the Township’s $70 million annual budget. Her duties encompass treasury and investment functions, accounting, purchasing, utility billing and the development of the Township’s annual financial report.

A key focus of Wendy’s leadership is to maintain and enhance public trust by ensuring financial integrity and transparency. She is committed to implementing best practices in financial management, while also mitigating risks through sound fiscal policies and controls.

Prior to her role with Northville Township, Wendy spent 14 years with Plante & Moran, PLLC, performing audits and consulting work for governmental clients. Wendy graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Accounting and is a registered Certified Public Accountant. In addition Wendy is a member of various external organizations including the Michigan Township’s Association, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and Michigan Governmental Finance Officers Association.

Mike is a state and local tax partner with PwC based in Michigan. He has more than 16 years of experience assisting clients solve their unique challenges related to state and local taxation compliance, controversy, and consulting matters. He has extensive state and local tax compliance, consulting, and controversy experience with Fortune 1500 and private companies on complex multi-state and local income tax matters. In addition, he has extensive experience with accounting for income taxes, including analysis related to state uncertain tax positions and state tax controversy. He has diverse experience and knowledge related to tiered flow-through structures, property tax, and is a state tax technology and automation innovator and driver. Mike is a champion on the MSU recruiting team and enjoys his visits back to campus and the Eli Broad College of Business. Mike also is very involved with Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and has a passion for food security.

Mike earned his B.A. (2004) and M.S. (2005) in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a CPA licensed to practice in Michigan. Mike is also a member of the MICPA and AICPA.

Matt is a business finance manager for Dow based in Houston, TX. He began his career in 2010 working at Dow’s headquarters in Midland, MI, and spent his initial years in financial accounting and fixed assets where he supported Dow subsidiaries and joint ventures in North America. During this time, he participated in several large M&A projects and the implementation of a new global SAP platform. Matt relocated to Houston in 2015 as a cost analyst supporting Dow’s Hydrocarbons business and later in 2017, moved to a role in Packaging & Specialty Plastics as a finance analyst. In these roles he partnered with the commercial and supply chain functions to provide finance support for the business units. In 2021, Matt transitioned to a role as an audit project manager in Corporate Auditing where he led global internal audits in a variety of functional areas such as manufacturing, supply chain order management, and finance. Matt accepted his current role as a business finance manager in 2024 working for Univation Technologies, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow, based in Houston.

Matt holds a B.A. (2009) and M.S. (2010) in Accounting from Michigan State University. Matt is a registered Certified Public Accountant. Matt enjoys the opportunity to mentor new hires and attract talent to Dow through university recruiting initiatives.

Crystal is the Manager for Financial Reporting at OneStream Software in Birmingham, MI. OneStream delivers a software platform that unifies core financial functions and broader operational data and processes within a single platform. During her time with OneStream, Crystal actively participated in the preparation and filing of the Company’s Form S-1 with the SEC for their initial public offering in July 2024. In her current role, Crystal leads the SEC reporting process and the implementation of new accounting technical standards and SEC regulations. She also assists with valuation and integration of mergers and acquisitions and provides accounting guidance for corporate transactions and initiatives.

Crystal began her career at Deloitte in audit and assurance where she served public and private audit clients in the consumer and industrial products and real estate sectors.

Crystal has a B.A. in Accounting (2016) and a M.S. in Accounting (2017) from Michigan State University. While attending MSU, she served as a teaching assistant and graduate assistant for ACC 202. She is a CPA and CMA and holds membership in the MICPA, AICPA, and IMA.