High-performing firms don’t grow by accident—they follow a deliberate, repeatable strategy. In this panel, industry leaders will break down how they define, operationalize, and execute on growth initiatives that scale. From setting a clear strategic direction to aligning leadership, resources, and accountability, learn how top firms are turning growth plans into measurable outcomes.

Gusto is more than a payroll platform. It’s the partner firms use to run clients’ payroll, benefits, and HR while growing their own practice. One system cuts manual work and surfaces advisory opportunities like 401(k) and health insurance automatically — backed by revenue share and dedicated partner support.

Byron is building AI agents for tax preparation. We automate tax preparation for accounting firms across Individuals (1040), Partnerships (1065), C-Corps (1120), and S-Corps (1120s). Where firms today spend hundreds of hours per return stitching together PDFs, spreadsheets, and offshored prep, Byron’s agents do the work end-to-end. Check it out at www.usebyron.com.

Jennifer S. DuBois, CPA, CGMA, serves as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Hantzmon Wiebel LLP, a full-service CPA and advisory firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia. With more than 30 years of experience in accounting, advisory services, taxation, and firm leadership, Jennifer has advised a broad range of clients, including individuals, businesses, employee benefit plans, private foundations, trusts, and estates. She is a past chair of the Virginia Society of CPAs Board of Directors and the first female chair of the Allinial Global Americas Regional Board. Recognized by Virginia Business Magazine as one of the 2025 and 2026 Women in Leadership honorees, Jennifer remains actively engaged in the profession through her commitment to innovation, operational excellence, mentorship, and community involvement. She brings practical leadership experience and a forward-looking perspective to help her firm and its clients grow with confidence.

Waseem Daher is a founder at Pilot.com, makers of Meridian, the AI accounting platform that completes the month-end close from start to finish. Prior to Pilot, Waseem cofounded Ksplice (acquired by Oracle) and Zulip (acquired by Dropbox). He studied computer science at MIT. 

Rachel S. Ellis, CPA, CISA, is the Owner of Ellis CPA, LLC, a full – service CPA firm based in Hyattsville Maryland. Named a 2025 and 2026 Forbes Best In-State CPA Firm, Rachel has over 12 years of experience in financial statement audits across multiple sectors, including Technology, GovCon and Non- Profit. Ms. Ellis has developed a deep understanding of accounting and finance through her experience as a manager in Big Four Public Accounting and now as an entrepreneur. As a MACPA Champion and member of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business Accounting Advisory Board, she stays at the forefront of industry trends and best practices in entrepreneurship.  Ms. Ellis brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to help businesses successfully gain access to capital and scale.

Rightworks enables accounting firms and businesses to significantly simplify operations and expand their value to clients via our award-winning intelligent cloud and learning resources. This is possible with Rightworks OneSpace, the only secure cloud platform purpose-built for the accounting and tax profession, and our premier community for firm optimization, growth, and professional development. Founded in 2002, we’ve grown to serve over 10,000 accounting firms in the US—from single practitioners to Top 10 firms. For more information, please visit rightworks.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jonathan Priestley is IRIS’ General Manager for Global Accountancy Solutions and Transformation, where he drives market strategy, product positioning, and commercial enablement for our accountancy business.

Over the last seven years at IRIS, JP has held several leadership positions across product marketing, sales, and most recently as Interim Chief Marketing Officer. Before joining IRIS, Jonathan held senior marketing leadership roles at Sage, MultiTaction and HP, where he led brand repositioning, market expansion, and the development of high-performing go-to-market strategies. Prior to that, Jonathan served as Director of Corporate Strategy & Business Planning for BMC Software, where he developed multi-year strategic plans, led acquisition roadmaps and M&A integrations, and directed cross-functional teams across product development and solutions delivery.

Committed to supporting the evolution of the accountancy sector, Jonathan is focused on delivering solutions that empower firms to adapt, grow, and thrive in a rapidly changing market.

Michael is the Executive Director of BDO Alliance USA, the largest association of U.S.-based independent accounting, tax and advisory firms, comprised of over 260 US-based CPA firms and 150 advisory firms and vendors (Business Resource Network). Michael leads a team of 30 professionals dedicated to maximizing the value of collaboration between member firms, as well as with BDO in the USA and BDO Global. When national firm resources are deployed in local communities through entrepreneurial CPA firms, everybody wins.

Michael joined BDO’s Alliance team in 2002. He was previously a tax partner with a Big Four firm, where he helped to create an Alliance with independent accounting firms.