Movers in South Florida

Managing director for Mesirow Financial Consulting

Randall Kominsky has been hired as managing director for Mesirow Financial Consulting in New York. He will continue to live in Miami and previously worked at Alliance for Financial Growth.

Senior auditor Appelrouth, Farah & Co.

Miramar resident Julie T. Harrison has been hired at the accounting firm of Appelrouth, Farah & Co. as a senior auditor.

Principal at forensic accounting and consulting firm Lewis B. Freeman & Partners

John W. White has been hired as a principal at Miami-based forensic accounting and consulting firm Lewis B. Freeman & Partners.

Previously, he was senior vice president and senior relationship manager for Wachovia Bank in Miami. 

Principal at forensic accounting and consulting firm Lewis B. Freeman & Partners

Wayne Klein has been hired as a principal at Lewis B. Freeman & Partners, a forensic accounting and consulting firm in Miami.

Previously, he was the director for the Utah Division of Securities, the state agency responsible for licensing of securities professional, registration of securities, and investigation and prosecution of suspected investment fraud.

Partner at accounting firm of Jordan Castellon Ricardo

Matthew Hartmann has been hired as a partner at the Coral Gables accounting firm of Jordan Castellon Ricardo.

Previously, he worked for CBIZ McClain Accounting, Tax & Advisory.

Tax partner at Grant Thornton

Leo Chomiak has been hired as a tax partner at the accounting firm of Grant Thornton.

Previously, he was the local tax lead partner for KPMG’s South Florida business unit.

McDougal Consulting Group opens, specializes in community development finance

Peter McDougal has formed the McDougal Consulting Group, a firm in Coral Gables specializing in community development finance. He is president of the firm.

He previously co-founded the South Florida SBA Lenders Group.

Director and portfolio strategist at Stanford Group Company

Eddie M. Carreño has been hired as director and portfolio strategist at Stanford Group Company in the Miami Private Client Group office.

He was previously an international wealth management advisor from Merrill Lynch & Co. Global Private Client Group in Coral Gables.

Shareholder at Miami accounting firm Mahoney Cohen & Company

Carol Surowiec has been admitted as a shareholder at the Miami office of Mahoney Cohen & Company, an accounting and business advisory firm. She was previously senior manager.

Investment management and financial planning firm Cathy Pareto and Associates opens in Coral Gables

Cathy Pareto [pictured left] has formed Cathy Pareto and Associates, a Coral Gables-based investment management and financial planning firm that provides services to investors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Karla Arguello is the executive vice president and co-founder of the firm, which is located at 2332 Galiano Street.

Board member at the Coral Gables Trust Company

Matthew S. Greer, chief executive officer of Carlisle Development Group, has joined the Board of Directors of the Coral Gables Trust Company.

Senior vice president at Coral Gables Trust Company

Gene C. Witherspoon has been appointed as senior vice president of business development at Coral Gables Trust Company. Previously, he was a partner with Moya Insurance Group.

Financial advisory firm WTAS opens in Fort Lauderdale

WTAS, a consulting firm that provides financial advisory services, has opened a new location in Fort Lauderdale at 401 East Las Olas Blvd., Suite 1400.

Chair of the accounting and auditing section for the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Marc A. Berenfeld, a senior partner of the Coral Gables accounting firm Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter & Sheer, has been named chair of the accounting and auditing section for the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Vice president and controller for CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services

Sean L. Greene has been hired as vice president and controller for the Florida offices of CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services.

Previously, he was a director in the internal audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Partner and senior advisor at Singer Xenos Wealth Management

Ana Cela Harris has been hired as a partner and senior advisor at Singer Xenos Wealth Management in Miami. Most recently, she worked at Carlton Fields.

Board member for the Partners for Self-Employment

Fernando Capablanca, president and chief executive of Union Credit Bank, has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Partners for Self-Employment. The Miami-based, non-profit organization helps low-income families be financially self-sufficient.

New wealth management firm in Coral Gables

Diane de Vries Ashley and and Joseph P. Nader have formed Zenith Capital Partners, a Coral Gables-based wealth management firm.

Ashley most recently served as head of Bank of America’s wealth management group for Miami and Latin America.






Nader was formerly chief investment officer for the Cisneros family office in Miami.

Regional managing partner at Deloitte

Cesar Clavero has been appointed as office managing partner for the Florida/Puerto Rico practice of Deloitte, a financial advisory firm.

He succeeds Carlos Sabater, who was named southeast region audit and enterprise risk services managing partner in December.

Board member at Miami chapter of ALPFA

The Miami Chapter of Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting has appointed Brett Friedman, director with McGladrey & Pullen, to its Board of Directors.

Promotions at Silver Hill Financial

Silver Hill Financial, a real estate lender specializing in small-balance commercial loans, has promoted several individuals on its management team.

• Jorge Alvarez has been promoted to senior vice president of risk management. He joined the company in 2004.
• David Purisch has been promoted to vice president of sales. He joined the company in 2004.
• Eliot Gelber has been promoted to vice president of operations in Miami. He has been with the company since 2005.
• Joe Sanchez has been promoted to assistant vice president of information technology. He joined the company in 2004.
• Amy Treese has been promoted to assistant vice president of marketing. She joined the company in 2004.

President of GenSpring Family Offices in Miami

Julie Neitzel has been promoted to president of the Miami office of GenSpring Family Offices (formerly Asset Management Advisors), a wealth management firm for high net-worth families.

She joined GenSpring in 2003 and previously was the head of its national business development team.

Business unit president at CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services South Florida

Anthony Tortolini has been promoted to business unit president of the South Florida region for CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services.

Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co. merges with Koch Reiss & Company

Miami accounting, tax, audit, and consulting firm Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co. has merged with Hollywood-based accounting tax, audit, consulting and investment firm, Koch Reiss & Company.

The new firm name will be Goldstein Schechter Koch.

Senior vice president at Drake Finance Group

Patrick Fournie has been hired as a senior vice president for international trade financing at Drake Finance Group in Miami.

He was most recently with Republic Federal Bank.

Senior manager at Mallah Furman

Patricia Green has been hired as a senior manager in the tax department of the accounting firm Mallah Furman, based in Miami.

General counsel at Eric Copeland and Associates

Teresa Gonzalez has been hired as general counsel for the real estate consulting firm Dade Property Tax Advisor: Eric Copeland and Associates. The private firm specializes in property tax appeals.

Partner and principals at Rachlin

Employees from Barbee & Associates, a firm specializing in bankruptcy and related litigation, have joined the accounting firm Rachlin.

Alan Barbee joined Rachlin as a partner of the firm.

Hylton Wynick [pictured left] and John Heller joined as principals, and Teresa Licamara joined as manager. They will work in the firm’s West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale offices.

Tax partner at Bloom, Gettis & Habib

Susan Messier has been promoted to a tax partner at Bloom, Gettis & Habib, an auditing, tax and business advisory services firm in Coconut Grove. She was previously a senior tax manager with the firm.

Senior vice president at Silver Hill Financial

Steve Demarest has been hired as senior vice president at Silver Hill Financial, a commercial real estate lender in Miami.

He was previously senior vice president at the international bank ABN AMRO.

Partner at Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co.

Diana Levi has been promoted to partner at the accounting, tax, audit, and consulting firm Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co. in Miami.

Senior vice president at Southern Auto Finance Company

Parkland resident Brian Switalski has been hired as senior vice president of operations at Southern Auto Finance Company, based in Fort Lauderdale. He is responsible for the day-to-day credit and collection activity for the indirect auto finance company. 

Prior to joining the company, he worked as retail marketing manager with Ford Motor Credit Company.

Board member for BAC Funding Corp. and Affiliates

Terrell West, vice president and senior real estate analyst for Colonial Bank, has been appointed to the BAC Funding Corporation and Affiliates Board of Directors.

BAC is based in Miami and extends commercial credit to African-American owned businesses in the form of asset-based revolving credit lines and joint venture agreements.

Partner and directors at Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co.

Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co., a full-service accounting, tax, audit, and consulting firm in Miami, has hired three people. They are:

Gerald Teitelbaum as partner. He specializes in financial planning, taxation and administration of estates, trusts, charitable organizations and individuals. He is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Personal Financial Planning Division of the AICPA. He's also a member of the Board of Trustees of the City of Miami Fire Fighters and Police Officers Retirement Fund.

Christine Suchyna as director of marketing. She will be responsible for planning, developing, and implementing the firm’s marketing strategies, marketing communications, and public relation activities, both external and internal.

Barbara Ruiz as director of human resources. Prior to joining the firm she has held various management roles supporting organizations and senior management in the areas of recruitment, compensation, performance, benefits administration, training and development, employee relations, acquisitions/mergers, and employee communications.