Pete is a CPA with over twelve years of public accounting and consulting experience. He started his career in public accounting in the Charlotte audit practice at Arthur Andersen, LLP. In 2002, Pete left Arthur Andersen and joined Grant Thornton, LLP as a senior manager. During his career with Grant Thornton, he spent his time in both the Carolinas and South Florida markets. He has experience with both public and private companies ranging in activities from public offerings, SOX implementations, integrated audits, M&A strategy and due diligence and risk assessments. After leaving public accounting, Pete spent time as a Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for several roles including finance, accounting, capital raising activities, regulatory compliance and marketing. Pete holds a Certified Public Accountant Certificate and is a member of the AICPA. Pete is a cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Ali began her career in public accounting in the Charlotte Audit Division with Arthur Andersen and then Deloitte. Ali then joined Time Warner Cable's Corporate Headquarters in their Financial Reporting Division. After TWC, Ali joined Bank of America as a Senior Financial Analyst for a Technology group within the Bank. Ali graduated from Appalachian University with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Accounting. Ali is a Certified Public Account and is a member of the NCCPA organization.

Renèe has over 11 years experience in the IT industry as a recruiter, sales manager and most recently as a National Account Manager for a large privately held consulting firm. She has opened and built two branch divisions in the industry (Midwest/Southeast) and launched multiple multi-million dollar accounts. Her customer driven focus, ability to build strong relationships, drive to maximize account retention and goal to improve customer loyalty have made her an industry leader and top performer over the last decade. Renèe is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor's degree in English.

Lance began his career in public accounting in the Raleigh audit practice of Arthur Andersen LLP. As an auditor, Lance's primary industries were manufacturing and energy. Lance received his Bachelor of Science from East Carolina University and his Master of Accounting from the University of North Carolina.

Tom began his career in Texas banking. He then ran international capital markets offices in Tokyo and Singapore and headed capital management business units for Chase and First Union in New York and Charlotte, respectively. Tom joined Vaco as a recruiter in 2005 and is a trained executive coach and career management consultant. He currently serves as the Charlotte Chapter Chairman of The Financial Executive Networking Group. He is a graduate of Rice University, Houston, Texas.