Board of Advisors

To ensure relevance, accuracy and continued best practices, the Controllers Council is guided by the talented and experienced professionals of our Board of Advisors below. The Controllers Council Board of Advisors supports program and resource planning, and strives to represent our community of Controllers, Accounting and Finance professionals. Do you have questions or suggestions for the Board? Please use the Controllers Council contact form.  

Board Chair

Lindy Antonelli is Board Chair of the Controllers Council, and a Partner at Armanino, LLC, a Top 20 Accounting Firm where she leads the cloud technology practice. With over 25 years of experience in technology consulting, she began her career with the audit practice at Deloitte. Lindy is a frequent speaker for industry events, podcasts and webinars including the AICPA, Financial Executives International (FEI), Proformative, multiple state CPA Societies, Moore Stephens, Illinois Technology Association (ITA), and the annual Sage Intacct Advantage conference.

Lindy is a graduate of the University of Missouri, a past member of the California CPA Society, and an AICPA Certified IT Professional. Lindy most recently served on the Armanino Women’s Advancement Network Board, the Naper Settlement/Naperville Historical Society Board of Directors, and founded the Cloud Accounting Institute. 

Advisor

Ted Weitzel is VP of Finance and Operations at Logik.io Commerce Engine. Prior to Logik.io Ted was SVP Finance & Operations at G2, the world’s largest tech marketplace. Prior, Ted was Controller at both G2 and then- sister company SteelBrick. Other experience includes Capital One and BigMachines software. Ted was and integral part of the team that managed the sale SteelBrick and BigMachines to SalesForce and Oracle respectively. Ted is a CPA, and earned a Bachelor of Science Business, Accounting from Miami University, Ohio.  Ted is an active member of the AICPA, and speaker at the Illinois Technology Association (ITA), Next Series Club, and Financial Executives International (FEI).

Advisor

Raykhan Bekimbetova is Controller at (ISC)², an international nonprofit association based in Clearwater, Florida with more than 144,000 members focused on cyber security, and best known for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®) certification. Prior to her Controllership, Raykhan was Finance Manager, and Senior Accounting and Tax Analyst for (ISC)².  In addition, Raykhan held multiple finance roles in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she grew up. 

Raykhan earned a Bachelor of Science, Accounting from Tashkent Finance Institute, and a MBA, International Business, from Schiller International University (Largo, FL). Raykhan is fluent in English, Russian, Uzbek, and Kara-Kalpak, and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Advisor

Mike Polaha is Senior Vice President of Finance Solutions and Technology at BlackLine, and a member of the BlackLine Executive Management Team.

Prior to BlackLine, Mike was responsible for the development and execution of the Digital Global Finace at Johnson & Johnson.  He had product ownership and deployment responsibilities for a multitude of Finance enabling technologies and responsibility for a Finance technology competency center to support and continuously evolve the transformation roadmap.

Mike is a recognized thought leader and speaker on the topic of Finance Transformation and enabling technologies. He is a graduate of Lehigh University, with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and an MBA with a concentration in Accounting. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), a Certified Cash Manager (CCM), and has earned the Project Manager Profession (PMP) designation.

Advisor

Shannon Nash is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at WING, an Alphabet Company. Prior to WING, Shannon was CFO at Reputation after being promoted from Chief Accounting Officer (CAO). She is a C-suite leader with deep experience in financial and operations, fundraising, M&A, treasury, accounting, FP&A, cash management, corporate law, and people (HR) operations. Shannon started her career as a corporate and tax CPA/attorney with KPMG, K&L Gates LLP, and Cooley LLP. She has also served as a senior attorney with Amgen, CFO of Sunseeker Media, COO of Aspire University, VP Finance/Head of Human Resources for Cumulus Media’s San Francisco market.  She was featured on Accounting Today’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting, and named one of 2020’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor. 

Shannon is an attorney and a Certified Public Accountant, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and a J.D. from the University of Virginia. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce, and Chair of the National Society of Black Certified Public Accountants.  Shannon has also held leadership roles in various organizations including, former Chair of the National Bar Association Tax Law Committee, Secretary of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, and Treasurer of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. She is a member of the AICPA, CalCPA, NSBCPA, NABA, ABA, and the American Academy of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants.

Advisor

Brandt Kucharski is Chief Accounting Officer of Ethos, a San Francisco-based technology company disrupting the life insurance category. Prior to Ethos, Brandt was an early stage employee of Grubhub where he helped manage/raise 5 rounds of investment capital, and led an effective IPO with SEC under 3 months of time. At Grubhub, Brandt developed the entire accounting/finance department, implemented all Sox 404 public company controls, technical accounting policy, and established initial framework. He implemented diligence and executed integration of 10+ acquired companies. Prior to Grubhub, Brandt was in public accounting at Crowe Horwath.

Brandt’s mission is to give back to his profession and society by volunteering time and expertise to causes including the Holiday Heroes Foundation, Chicago Leadership Alliance, and MeetAdvisors. Brandt is a frequent guest speaker and panelist at FEI, Illinois Technology Association, and the Controllers Council. Brandt earned a BS-Accounting, and Masters-Accounting from Northern Illinois University where he is on the NIU Accounting Department Board of Advisors.

Advisor

Jhemma Winkworth is VP Corporate Controller at Fortra, a leading cybersecurity software company. Other roles included Global Controller at project44, and Controller at Relativity. Jhemma started her career in public accounting at Plante & Moran. She also spent some time in Sydney, Australia working in HLB Mann Judd’s audit practice. Jhemma earned her Bachelors and Masters of Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jhemma is a CPA and member of the AICPA society and The CFO Leadership Council.

Advisor

Jim Treleaven is President/CEO of Via Strategy Group, LLC (VSG). VSG advises CEOs, Boards of Directors, and other C-level executives on growth and turnaround strategies, M&A transactions, and also serves interim C-level roles. Jim is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Department of Information and Decision Sciences where he teaches courses in strategy, information systems and analytics. His successful career includes CEO roles at both public and private technology companies ranging in size from $40 to $500 million. Most recently he was President and CEO of Catalyst International, a NASDAQ listed supply chain software company.  He also served as CEO of Global CommerceZone and Visual Intelligence Corp., and as President of the Enterprise Solutions Division of GEAC (D&B Software).  He served as Managing Partner at Battelle Venture Partners, the Venture Unit of the Battelle Memorial Institute. His storied career includes positions IBM and Chase Manhattan Bank. 

Jim received his BS Degree in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an MBA from the University of Minnesota, and a PhD in Management (Information and Decision Sciences) from Case. He has taught at Case, the University of Illinois and has lectured at several other leading universities.  Jim has published extensively in journals on such topics a data analytics, information systems, corporate strategy, marketing, finance and human-computer interaction. He is co-author of the book X-Formation, Transforming Business Through Interim Executive Leadership. He is a frequent speaker and has been featured on CNN and the Financial News Network.

Jim currently serves on the Board of the Illinois Technology Association (ITA), the Chicago Engineers Foundation (President), and has served as Chair of the National Computer Graphics Association (NCGA), and on the Board of TechAmerica. He serves on the Advisory Boards of three graduate Business Schools and on the Boards of several private companies. 

Executive Director

Neil Brown is Executive Director of the Controllers Council, and a professional association manager. Neil is chief marketing officer (CMO) of Modern Marketing Partners, and Chairman of the Construction Marketing Association. Neil started his career as a Brand Manager, then promoted to CMO. Over his career, Brown has provided marketing services to Fortune 500 and start-ups alike, across multiple industry verticals, and has worked extensively with accounting and finance organizations. Neil is a frequent speaker, author and contributor to Advertising Age, Marketing News, Adweek magazine and many others. He is author of two books including “Breakthrough Branding: Brand Naming Tips & Trade Secrets”, and “Tools of the Trade: Modern Marketing for Construction Brands”. Brown earned an MBA from Northern Illinois University, and a BS-Marketing Cum Laude from Southern Illinois University.