Paraclae Business Services

CATHERINE A. Thomas, CPA

Managing Director - ACCOUNTING SERVICES

Cathy Thomas has built a well deserved reputation for hands-on client service, the provision of creative forward looking advice, and the insight that capitalizes on her willingness to bring the right experts to the table to offer collaborative as well as specialized perspectives rather than assuming that any individual, no matter how knowledgeable, knows it all.

Cathy will partner with you, your business and your family in a confidential and consultative way, bringing a wealth of experience, a truly strategic perspective and a sense of deep respect for the success you have earned. She, too, has achieved such success and does not take it for granted. She recognizes the value of your time and never wastes it. In fact, you will be impressed at how much you can accomplish together in a single session.

Cathy’s 17+ years at Deloitte and Touche focused intensely upon business transactions of significant size, international scope and complex tax and accounting implications, thereby attuning her to the confidentiality and sensitive timing of such moves, as well as the need for consultation with experts on matters with far-reaching implications. Cathy's focus was always performed with an eye toward reducing costs and optimizing business practices. This additional care and sense of ownership has created working relationships that span two decades with many of her clients. As her client base included a considerable number of prestigious family-owned businesses, she also developed an aptitude for serving the distinct needs of private clients, recognizing the tremendous stamina and vision that propels private firms and their founders.

Cathy recognized that the service and advice she was providing to firms through their boardrooms could be just as valuable when tailored and applied to the personal financial needs of executives, entrepreneurs, and other successful professionals.

Wendy Mitchell

Director & Senior Strategist- Accounting Services

Like so many of her clients, Wendy constantly serves in multiple roles—she provides devout attention to the needs of her customers and maintains a firm grasp of the internal systems, deadlines and developments within her back office. In both arenas, she excels. Not satisfied with “the status quo” Wendy streamline reconciliations and accounting processes rather than plodding along in the inefficiencies of the past. Whether the situation involves investment partnerships, trusts or foundations, Wendy adeptly monitors the pulse of current activity while maintaining a smooth and efficient process for preparation of financial statements, compliance with regulatory requirements and mastery of business continuity planning and testing. Initially, Wendy worked with one organization at a time, becoming intimately familiar with a wide range of operational and financial issues, honing her ability to identify the best solution to implement. For the past 6 years, she has worked in the family office setting, serving a number of clients simultaneously, enabling her to share her insights with a wider audience.

Due to the legislative requirements of Dodd Frank, Wendy had the pleasure of implementing Custody Rule revisions and managing over 50 separate financial statement audits in the first year of adoption. Her “can do” attitude is vital to her high net worth families and private clients as they transition to more formalized month and year end closings and the initiation of financial statement preparation. She is equally versed in establishing new 401k plans, implementing benefit plans, instituting HR functions to orient, reward and discipline personnel and creating municipal and other vendor bidding procedures. She never disappoints a client—readily juggling multiple locations and providing analysis and guidance for budgets from thousands to multi-millions. Her strength is not limited to the financial side of the house; she is also adept at managing and implementing the IT functions needed within her client’s and her own back office. Wendy’s skills are not restricted o the upward trajectory; she is no stranger to the challenge of winding down a business and preparing subsidiaries for sale.

Engaging Wendy to be your Senior Strategist feels like finding that missing piece to a puzzle. She immediately merges into your team and quickly emphasizes the twin priorities of efficiency and profitability. Through our family office practice, her skills consistently transform chaos into order, enabling families, foundations and businesses to regain focus and achieve success.

TANYA WINKLEY

Director & Senior Strategist- Accounting Services

Providing wealth management services to meet the unique needs of multi-generational families and entrepreneurs is the driving motivation for Tanya Winkley. For more than 17 years, Tanya has provided wealth planning and implementation of family wealth transfer strategies. Early in her career, she recognized the vital importance of incorporating legal advice into strategic planning for her clients, electing to augment her degree from San Francisco State with paralegal, Trust and Estate coursework. She is highly efficient at coordinating the work of attorneys and conversant in the process for both combining and unwinding asset structures for both marriage and divorce.

Tanya has “seen it all.” Preserving the confidentiality and dignity of her clients as they navigate through challenging terrain is a skill she has honed not only through experience but also through education in conflict resolution. As a gifted administrator of accounting and reporting for as many as 150 investment portfolios at a time, she treats each household and foundation with her full attention, easily managing the tax returns, SEC compliance audits and trading responsibilities. With one hand she juggles prenuptial arrangements and in the other she deftly facilitates loan processing.

Tanya readily establishes new clients within the Paraclae family office system, promptly implementing customized portfolio and custody arrangements, supervising trust and investment accounting, administering new or established multi-million dollar foundations and charitable trusts, processing portfolio trading and producing accurate and timely reporting. Tanya makes it her priority to work collaboratively with all members of the team to ensure a smooth transition.

Tanya devotes a portion of her time to achieving additional professional certifications to better serve her clients; however in her free time, she serves as Treasurer for a number of non-profit organizations in order to better serve her community. Tanya looks forward to serving as your Senior Strategist.

Rick Bryson

Director and Senior Strategist -FINANCE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
To say that Rick has been busy during his notable career is an understatement. In the last 10 years alone, he has served as a CFO for a major hedge fund, a growing telecommunications provider and over 8 small and medium scaling businesses in the west. Rick worked in direct equity at Citibank for over 5 years before taking the entrepreneurial plunge.  Rick successfully started and ran his own equity Fund, MBIC for over 3 years. His skills were highly valued at Bank of America where he worked in mezzanine debt and restructurings and started the Emerging Telecomm Group. Rick has channeled his extensive finance experience into highly strategic guidance for the Family Office sector. He has worked with a number of Family Offices converting complex challenges into realistic strategies while maintaining a clear focus on each family’s unique priorities. 

When Rick joins your team, he brings his significant IPO experience, his deep knowledge of the intricacies of finance, financial instruments and the many pitfalls that can beset the uninitiated, as well as the sensitivity necessary to serve the needs of top tier firms and individual clientele. He is exceptionally accomplished at raising capital, over $1.9 billion and climbing. Rick will bring ingenious advice to bear upon the challenges that you and your customers face.

Rick has deftly served multiple industries with a client list which includes Cahir Capital Inc., Tracy Toyota Inc., Cerebellum Capital Inc., PacWest Telecommunications, Plantronics, Inc., Norcal Waste Systems, Optical Coating Labs (JDS Uniphase), San Francisco Girls Chorus, Michaels of Oregon, Moviemade Productions and Tom’s Farms Inc., to name a few. Identified early on as a candidate for success, he received a BA in Economics from Hamilton College of New York on a Full Academic Scholarship and capped that off with an MBA in Finance from the University of Rochester with the backing of a Regents Scholarship. Rick gives back to the community through his service on the Boards of St. Patrick’s School, St. McCrina Episcopal Church and Dot Green Registry Corporation.

SASKIA HANSELAAR CHOUDRY

Senior Strategist- Accounting Services

Saskia Choudry commenced her career after graduating from Santa Clara University with a degree in accounting by perfecting her client service skills and deepening her conversancy with cost and corporate accounting in the high tech sector. Driven to expand her expertise beyond the roller coaster of high tech, she transformed her focus from a single sector through the multi-dimensional professional environment of serving the clients of KPMG in implementation of Oracle’s Manufacturing and Financial Solutions. Saskia’s laser-like attention to profitability and efficiency quickly advanced her position from a staff to a management role. However, Saskia found her true calling when she migrated to serving individual clients through my CFO/Harris and now Paraclae, bringing her extensive strategic experience with corporate and partnership clients to bear upon the unique needs of high wealth clientele.

Saskia’s flawless project management skills enable her to simultaneously attend to multiple facets of each private client. Able to readily adapt to changing circumstances, Saskia easily implements the revisions that arise when family structures flex and change or when asset management objectives are re-balanced in light of local or global market shifts or when clients make acquisitions or disposals.

Saskia enjoys interacting with the visionaries behind successful businesses. She sees the immediate positive impact her strategic advice can have upon the families she serves in a way which was never possible in the anonymity of corporate America.

Kathleen Haley

Senior Strategist

Kathleen has more than 13 years of progressive accounting and finance professional experience. Kathleen’s accounting foundation was built by working in private industry before becoming an auditor for a public accounting firm. As an auditor, Kathleen gained invaluable experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, technology, non-profit and financial institutions. Kathleen’s experience includes helping clients with complex accounting transactions, consolidated financial statement and footnote presentation, internal control, cash management, personnel oversight and budgeting.

After working in public accounting for 9 years, Kathleen decided to go into consulting several years ago, after the birth of her daughter. Kathleen has been working part-time consulting for clients as a Controller for the past three years.

Kathleen lives in Martinez with her husband and two children. In her free time, Kathleen enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, reading, cooking, house renovation projects and watching movies.

Human Capital Services

Neil Kreuzberger, MBA, inactive CPA

Managing Director - HUMAN CAPITAL

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SREE ARIMILLI, BS (Accounting)

Director - HUMAN CAPITAL

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