Grant Thornton LLP admitted Demek Adams as Advisory principal in the firm’s Alexandria, Va. office, Andrew Clements as Audit partner in the McLean, Va. office, Dawn Lobecker and Brad Marchand as Advisory principals in the Alexandria, Va. office, Ellen Martin as Tax partner in the Washington D.C. office and Stacy Tselekis as Advisory principal in the Alexandria, Va. office. The firm also promoted Ben Harder to managing director in the firm’s McLean, Va. office and Tim Lawler to managing director in the firm’s Alexandria, Va. office. Across the firm, Grant Thornton admitted 47 new partners and principals and promoted 29 professionals to managing director.
Partners and principals admitted to the firm are proven leaders that have demonstrated excellence in embracing the firm’s values and helping clients achieve smart, quality growth in all aspects of their businesses. Noted for their exceptional contributions to Grant Thornton, these experienced professionals demonstrate a great ability to build relationships with clients and people at all levels of the firm. Managing directors are the highest-level employee position in the firm and are important members of the firm’s leadership team.
“Demek, Andrew, Dawn, Brad, Ellen, Stacy, Ben and Tim have consistently demonstrated long-term leadership in both the profession and their communities, and they have provided tremendous value to our clients, as well as to our firm,” said Jamie Fowler, Grant Thornton’s Atlantic Coast managing partner. “These promotions highlight Grant Thornton’s commitment to building a healthy, high-performance culture, which goes hand in hand with supporting the career development of our leaders at all levels across the firm.”
“Our Public Sector practice is rapidly growing and we’re pleased to recognize these talented individuals,” said Carlos Otal, national managing partner of Grant Thornton’s Public Sector. “Across the Washington D.C. area, our partners, principals and managing directors continue to strengthen the firm by demonstrating the highest level of leadership, excellence and agility.”
Adams joined the firm in 2008 and has more than 10 years of experience in financial management transformation in the public sector. His specialization includes federal financial accounting and reporting, financial business process reengineering, audit remediation, as well as functional support of financial system implementations and shared services. Prior to being admitted as principal, Adams served as a senior manager in Grant Thornton’s Public Sector Financial Management Transformation practice.
Adams is a Certified Government Financial Manager. He is also a board member of the Data Foundation and the Education Committee co-chair of the Association of Government Accountants DC Chapter. Adams received a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and computer information systems from the American University.
Clements began his career with Grant Thornton in the United Kingdom in 2003 before joining the U.S. firm in 2007. He has more than 12 years of experience in accounting, business operations and information technology matters through audits of both public and private companies in the government contracting, technology and real estate industries. He has served a wide range of clients, from venture capital backed start-ups to multinational group audits. Prior to being admitted as audit partner, Clements served as a senior manager.
Clements is a certified public accountant (CPA), a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a member of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and financial management from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.
Lobecker joined the firm in 2004 and has more than 15 years of experience in information technology and management consulting in both the public and private sectors. She leads organizational transformations and IT modernizations to help clients achieve their strategic objectives, improve their performance and reduce their risk. Prior to being admitted as a principal, Lobecker served as a senior manager in the firm’s public sector practice.
Lobecker is a certified Scaled Agile Framework Program Consultant (SPC), certified Scrum Master, certified Change Agent and Project Management Professional (PMP). She also holds a Chief Information Officer University Certification from the General Services Administration. Lobecker received a master’s degree in information systems technology from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Marchand joined the firm in 2011 and has more than 25 years of experience providing business consulting and technology solutions services, specifically with federal financial enterprise resource management systems, spanning the full systems development lifecycle from business case development and requirements analysis to implementation and organizational change management. Prior to being admitted as principal, Marchand served as a senior manager.
Marchand is a certified PMP. He is a member of the Association of Government Accountants, the American Council for Technology–Industry Advisory Council, and the Professional Services Council. He received a bachelor’s degree in management and economics from DePauw University.
Martin joined the firm in 2005 and has more than 15 years of experience in public accounting. She specializes in tax accounting methods and periods, including revenue and expense recognition under cash and accrual methods; deferred revenue; depreciation; capitalization of tangibles and intangibles; inventory methods such as LIFO and uniform capitalization; section 199 deduction for domestic production activities; and accounting period changes. Prior to being admitted as a partner, Martin served as a senior manager.
Martin is a CPA and a member of the Missouri and the District of Columbia Institutes of CPAs. She is also a member of the AICPA, where she serves on the Technical Resource Panel for Tax Methods & Periods. Martin received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business/ finance from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Tselekis joined the firm in 2005 and has nearly 20 years of experience in management consulting. She specializes in strategy and performance improvement and helps government clients design programs, realize performance improvements and implement large-scale change through strategic planning, organizational assessments, processes analyses, performance measurement and change management. Formerly, Tselekis was a senior manager with Arthur Andersen and Unisys, and a research associate with the Urban Institute. Prior to being admitted as a principal, Tselekis served as a senior manager.
Tselekis is an internationally certified knowledge manager and Prosci-certified change manager. She is a member of the World Future Society, Federal Foresight Community and National College of Healthcare Executives. Tselekis received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah.
Harder joined the firm in 2013 and has nearly 15 years of experience helping public and private sector clients address IT audit security concerns, information assurance and internal control, as well as the remediation of issues contributing to non-compliance. He currently serves as a regional leader for IT Assurance across the East Coast at the firm, and is a national SAP subject matter specialist and a national IT audit methodology resource. He has extensive experience with systems and process assurance, including specialization in IT general computer controls reviews with emphasis on Sarbanes-Oxley 404 readiness and compliance. Prior to being admitted as managing director, he served as a director in the Business Risk Services practice.
Harder is a Certified Information Systems Auditor. He received a bachelor’s degree in decision information sciences from the University of Florida.
Lawler joined the firm in 2008 and has more than 40 years of experience advising public sector clients in financial management and information technology. He has assisted management with addressing government-wide challenges, including shared services, process improvement, internal controls and audit remediation. Prior to being promoted to managing director, Lawler served as a director at Grant Thornton. He has also served as a senior executive at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lawler is a certified PMP and a member of the Association of Government Accountants. He is also a Certified Government Financial Manager. Lawler received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and French from the State University of New York at Brockport.
