We are pleased to announce the members of AFP’s 2021 Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Advisory Council. These members represent a broad cross section of industries, size, and ownership structure, and are selected based on their contributions to the FP&A practice, expertise in specific areas, and desire to contribute to the advancement of their peers.

“AFP believes in strong engagement with the financial practitioner community. The Advisory Council builds on that tenet by encouraging constructive dialogue and enabling forward looking insight on topics of importance to the FP&A community,” says 2021 Council Chair Eric Ellis, vice president of Finance and Strategy at the National Restaurant Association. “I am pleased to serve as chair alongside with my fellow FP&A members.”

Joining the Council this year:

• Frank Chou, FPAC, CTP, Director, FP&A, Nevada Copper Corporation
• Scott Corvey, FPAC, Director, FP&A, FYISoft
• Kayla Davis, Vice President, Head of M&A, ABM Industries
• Ken Fick, Director, Strategy & Transformation, Morgan Franklin Consulting
• Cathy Jirak, Principal and Chief Operating Officer, QueBIT Consulting
• Betsy MacLean, Board Member, Chairman, Audit Committee, mCloud Technologies
• Nikita Miller, FPAC, Director, FP&A, The Kresge Foundation
• Hector Rubalcava, FPAC, Finance Manager & Business Partner, Amtrak

Continuing their service this year:

• Jeff Altman (past council chair), Director, Finance Talent Development, Verizon
• Craig Anderson, Vice President, Finance, Triplebyte
• Tracy Butler, CTP, CFO, Sound Transit
• Eric Ellis (current council chair), Vice President, Finance and Strategy, National Restaurant Association
• Camille Felton, FPAC, CTP, Sr Lead Analyst, Financial Analytics & Automation, Chick-fil-A Corporate
• Kristine Karlsen, FPAC, Strategy & Corporate Development Manager, WGL
• Kevin Lennon, FPAC, Associate VP, Finance, Aveanna Healthcare
• Raja Ramachandran, FPAC, CTP, Director, Financial Planning & Analysis, Pyxus International, Inc.
• Geetanjali Tandon (past council chair), Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis, CentralSquare Technologies
• Carmen Turner, FPAC, Director, Finance, SwipeSense Inc.

The Advisory Council was created to provide insight and counsel on what is happening in and across industries and regional markets, and fulfills three main functions:

Communication. The Advisory Council functions as the “eyes and ears” between AFP and the practitioner community through activities such as relaying topics of interest and providing feedback on the effectiveness and efficiency of AFP activities.

Thought leadership. The Advisory Council aids in the development of materials for members by providing (when requested) subject-matter expertise; referrals to and connections to expertise; and specific work products as agreed, which may include articles, surveys, guides, research, conference presentations, and webinars.

Promotion and advocacy. The Advisory Council helps to promote the FP&A profession by describing advancements and best practices in this evolving area of finance.

"Our FP&A Advisory Council members are some of our most engaged and respected members," says Bryan Lapidus, director of the FP&A Practice. "They bring depth and breadth to our content, and keep us focused on providing the most important, timely and applicable skills for the finance practitioner.”

We would also like to offer our sincerest thanks to the following members who have achieved their maximum service terms and are stepping down from the Council this year:

• Irena Barisic, FPAC (past council chair), Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, The Brookings Institution
• Emmanuel Caprais, SVP & CFO, ITT
• Pete Geiler, FPAC, Supply Chain Business Director, Stanford Healthcare
• Johnnie Goodner, CTP, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, KidKraft, Inc
• Mariya Guttoh, FPAC, VP, Senior FP&A Manager, Bank of the West
• DJ Masson, FPAC, CTP, Associate Clinical Professor of Finance, Indiana University
• Mitch Max, Partner, BetterVu
• Philip Peck, Vice President, Finance Transformation & Advisory Services, Peloton Group
• Michael Powers, Senior Manager, Treasury & Risk, Abt Associates
• Jim Robertson, CTP, Manager, Cloud Financial Management, Amazon Web Services
• Tom Russell, FPAC, Director Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
• Gaileon Thompson, FPAC, CTP (past council chair), Vice President, Finance, Conifer Health Solutions

Separately, Khaled Chowdhury, FPAC will be joining AFP’s Asia Pacific Advisory Council.

About AFP: AFP is your source for FP&A expertise. AFP also administers the Certified Corporate FP&A Professional designation, which serves as a benchmark of competency in the FP&A profession, and the Certified Treasury Professional designation. AFP hosts the largest educational and networking conference worldwide for corporate financial professionals, and FinNext, the preeminent FP&A conference.

JOH