The word “disruption” has risen to the top of our buzzword business vernacular. Businesses, including ours, are facing massive changes stemming from advancements in technology, the retirement of an entire generation, the advancement of an entirely new generation and a job market that favors the job seeker, which increases competition among companies to seek out and secure top talent. As a result, we’re seeing distinct differences between businesses poised to persevere amidst these changes and those that run the risk of becoming obsolete.
As a CPA and business consulting firm fueled by a leadership team committed to long-term sustainable growth, we’ve chosen to embrace the disruption in our industry as a means for innovation in the way we do business, recruit top talent and nurture our relationships with the young leaders in our firm. Our journey of disruption will be ongoing and we will continue to seek out ways to be more efficient in the way we do business. Not because we are afraid of becoming obsolete, but because disruption is built into the very fabric of our firm.
As our existing leadership team inches closer and closer to retirement, the Rea team has begun to morph into one that’s younger, energetic and overflowing with new ideas. What’s more, these young leaders are craving an opportunity to shape the future of the firm and their careers in it. In 2018, we assembled the Young Advisory Board, a group of young leaders that meets monthly to discuss ways to help Rea attract, keep and develop the firm’s next generation while sharing candid opinions on a variety of firmwide issues.
“The board is a great platform to bring together various views held by our young people across the firm,” said Cole Reynolds (Dublin). “The board is used as a two-way educational tool to teach us about policies, procedures and goals, and share a different viewpoint with firm leaders.”
CULTURE IS KEY
As we continue on our quest to seek out the best and brightest, Rea has worked hard to stand out among the sea of competition for top talent. We’ve amplified our existing internship program and have tapped some of our past interns to serve as Rea Ambassadors during recruitment fairs to offer a real-world glimpse into the internship experience at Rea. But what has really been exciting is the rate at which we’ve been able to recruit experienced professionals to join our team, which says great things about the Rea culture and opportunities we provide for professional growth. Take a look at the strategic hires we were able to bring on this past year: • Jeff Barber, senior manager (Cleveland) • Michael Camardo, senior manager (Cleveland) • Melissa Dunkle, tax manager (Dublin) • Paul Gregory, principal (Amherst) • Doug Houser, director of construction and real estate services (Zanesville) • Kathy LaMonica, senior manager of state and local tax technology and consulting (Cleveland) • Kerry McElroy, senior manager (Zanesville) • Cody Niese, manager (Lima) • Jennifer Pederson, senior manager (Amherst) • Michael Schultz, manager, business valuation and transaction advisory services team (Dublin) • Justin Slaby, senior associate (Mentor)
Members of the 2018 Young Advisory Board included, Kealey Bricker, Allison Hesson, Cody Kiser, Rachael Pelagalli, Judy Mehalic, Cole Reynolds, Gabrielle Moore.