BPM Alumni Newsletter October 2017 Edition

BPM ALUMNI

October 2017

bpmcpa.com/alumni

WELCOME TO THE BPM ALUMNI NETWORK NEWSLETTER!

ALUMNI EVENTS: KICK OFF NETWORKING EVENT

Dear Alumni,

On August 24, 2017, we hosted an alumni networking happy hour at Sens Restaurant in San Francisco, with over 50 alumni and current BPM employees in attendance. Everyone was excited to see familiar faces and reconnect with friends and colleagues. Julie West, Chair of our BPM Alumni Network, toasted to our attending alumni and emphasized the many alumni relationships throughout the BPM community. Our alumni may have left BPM, but we are still connected through our successes, lasting friendships, and commitment to clients.

The key to success, whether in business or community, always begins with a network. Our network of both current and former colleagues is what brings the BPM brand promise, “Because People Matter,” to life. Whether you worked at BPM for one year or ten, we hope you take pride in the impact you’ve made on our clients, culture and community. As we continue to revamp our alumni program, I am excited to share the first issue of our BPM Alumni Network Newsletter. Through these newsletters, we explore the extraordinary things our alumni are doing and share their stories. We also talk about what’s happening at BPM, talk about upcoming alumni events and share resources to help you throughout your professional journey. We are proud of the achievements of our former colleagues and our goal is to keep those connections strong. Thank you for your contributions, and thank you for your continued interest in BPM. We hope you enjoy our first issue and encourage you to share your stories!

Julie West

To stay connected with other alumni, we invite you to join the BPM Alumni Network page on LinkedIn. Thank you for your continued support of BPM and we hope to see you at the next event! Event invitations are sent from ‘BPM’ with the email address [email protected]. In order to receive our communications, please make sure to add us to your Safe Senders List. This will ensure that our alumni event invitations arrive in your inbox instead of being blocked by your spam filter or directed to a junk folder. Top left: Julie West, BPM Alumni Network Chair

BPM Alumni Network Chair

Above: Gina Primerano (2006–2010), Jim Wallace, BPM CEO and Mary Quisenberry (2008–2011) Julie West leads BPM’s Corporate Tax Practice and co-leads the Firm’s Life Science Industry Group

BPM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER | October 2017

MORE PHOTOS |2

BPM organizing team, Julie West, Ana Villeda and Yung Ling Jenny Matheson (2010–2017) and Eric Harrison (2014–2016) Bart Tolley (2005–2008)

Paul Alexandrov and Maga Kisriev (2010–2013)

Fanny Zha (2014–2017) and Monica Fein (2014–2017)

Cristano Arroyo (2010–2014) and Carlo Apalis (2007–2012) Jenny Matheson (2010–2017), Maree Succar, Kopal Jhalani (2015–2017), Ilene Lee (2014–2016), Erick Rivera, and Elise Weber

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Please take a moment by clicking here and taking our short event survey to help our Alumni Committee plan for future events and programs.

Linda Jiang, Francis Sameon, Sruhad Hirpara and Geoff Bosloy

Janice Oeming and Lena Ajamian (2011–2013)


Avril Li, Nina Bigornia (2008–2014), Clifton Wahlberg (2012–2015), Jenny Matheson (2010–2017) and Sanny Ryan

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CELEBRATING OUR ALUMNI – SPOTLIGHT ON ESTHER SCANLAN Our pledge to our colleagues extends beyond the office. We are proud to be a part of our alumni’s success, and applaud their accomplishments. We caught up with Esther Scanlan, a former Advisory Manager, who ventured out to build her own consulting firm, Scanlan Consulting.

What does it take to start and own your own business? A whole lot of energy! You need a clear vision of both what you want to do, as well as why you want to be doing it. It truly takes a lot of effort and risk to strike out on your own. If your vision is unclear, you can burn out before “making it;” however, with a clear vision and the motivation to do what it takes to make it happen, it’s really quite rewarding.

Esther Scanlan Esther Scanlan was a Manager in BPM’s Advisory Practice between 2012 – 2014.

How do you stay sane in the midst of these demands?

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL “I hope I will continue to have the opportunity to work with more people like Esther. Professionally, she’s at the top of her game. She has been an invaluable partner for our business. She knows her clients well and knows how to prevent pitfalls before they happen, making her a trusted and reliable team member. She is fun to be around and easy to relate to, and after working with Esther on three different companies, I can wholeheartedly recommend her for her great work and great to work with personality.” BPM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER | October 2017

I laugh as much as possible – for those who know me, it’s no surprise. I surround myself with awesome and positive people, I talk to my clients about building their companies to glean kernels of wisdom and I travel as much as I can. This year I’ve been to Paris and Mexico already and head to Kenya in December!

How did your experience at BPM contribute to your success? My time at BPM was a very important and pivotal point in my career. What I loved about BPM was that it’s a “choose your own path” kind of work environment – the more you put in, the more you get out. I was involved in SAC (Staff Advisory Committee), recruiting, training, business development, in addition to my core work responsibilities. It gave me a broad range of experience, which has been helpful ever since. Many clients have recommended Esther’s work so we thought we would include one client who has engaged her team for three separate engagements.

Have a personal or professional update you want to share in the next edition of the BPM Alumni Network Newsletter? Click here to submit a maximum of 2-3 paragraphs and include your function while at BPM. |4

LIFE AT BPM, FOR THE SECOND TIME across M&A, SALT and R&D, which gives me more opportunity to do all of the work I love to do. Also, our BPM1 service model is an active part of the culture, which means offices are actively working together from various locations, across different practice groups and industries.

How did you decide that coming back to BPM was the right choice for you? Gladys Tam Gladys Tam is a Tax Director in BPM’s Corporate Tax Practice.

Tell us your story – why did you leave BPM, where did you go after, and what brought you back? I was with BPM from 2007 to 2012, splitting my time between the Firm’s Corporate Tax and Private Client Services Practice Groups. I really enjoyed the corporate tax projects and thought I would gain more experience at a bigger firm. In the summer of 2012, I left BPM for an offer at a national CPA firm and eventually left that position to work in-house for a couple of tech companies. After two and a half years, I decided to get back into public accounting. When working in-house, I felt like my opportunities to continue to learn and grow professionally were limited since I was only exposed to the work that applied to that company. At a CPA firm, I work with different clients and learn new things every day. Deciding on the firm was simple. For me, people are the most important factor in any working environment and therefore coming back to BPM was a no brainer.

How was your experience at BPM different the second time around, vs the first time you were here? There’s definitely a lot more resources now. As the Firm continues to grow, the niche service lines do too. The Corporate Tax Practice has expanded in all areas


I thought about what made me stay with BPM for five years (the first time around), and what made me leave. My experience at BPM was so great and my desire to focus solely on corporate work was the reason I left. When I made the choice to get back into public accounting I talked to several peers, including the contacts I had maintained at BPM, many who have been with the Firm for over 10 years. All of them said that same thing about the culture, expansion of specialization and industry focus which all aligned with my career goals. I also had the chance to speak directly with the Chair of Corporate Tax who reaffirmed my decision to come back and invest in my future.

What is unique about BPM that makes it a great place to work? Because people matter! Great people, company culture and commitment to client service.

What advice do you have for others that are interested in returning to BPM? Know what you are looking for. It’s always helpful to talk to people at different levels and find out what BPM has to offer.

If you’ d like to reconnect with BPM or know someone who may be interested in our opportunities, feel free to reach out to Talent Acquisition Manager, Kiersten Sattler at [email protected] |5