Host Dawn Ely interviews Atlanta’s C-suite business executive in the city’s small and mid-size companies to uncover what works and what doesn’t in today’s challenging environment. On today’s show she interviewed Jonathan Freedberg, Greg Charleston, CPA & Betty Reed CPA.
Jonathan Freedberg
Aberdeen Funding, Inc.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa 61 years ago, Jonathan Freedberg moved to the United States in 1985 with his wife and two children, after a career in Finance and Accounting and some years in Education in South Africa and London. Freedberg earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1970 from the University of Cape Town and a post-graduate professional qualification as a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) in 1972 (The “Chartered Accountant” designation is used to describe what we call a CPA in the United States). In 1972, he moved to London where he worked as Chief Accountant for Colibri Lighters. Since then, he has held several senior positions including Financial Director of a private hospital, Financial Director of a chain of bookstores, owner and operator of an Accounting college, and teacher of Post-Graduate Taxation and under-graduate Accounting and Auditing at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town. Freedberg moved to the US to take a position with the National Firm of Public Accountants in Dallas, Texas in their Bankruptcy and Forensic Accounting practice. He moved to Atlanta in 1988 as Executive VP for Soft Warehouse, Inc the first computer super-store was CFO for a Shoe Manufacturing and Design Company and currently lives in Atlanta running the accounts receivable finance company he began in 1994, Aberdeen Funding.
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Greg Charleston, CPA, Sr. Managing Director
Conway MacKenzie and Certified Turnaround Professional
Greg Charleston is senior managing director of Conway MacKenzie and leads the firm’s Atlanta office. He draws more than 19 years of experience in turnaround consulting, financial crisis management, mergers and acquisitions, and business valuation. Greg is a Certified Turnaround Professional, Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Before joining Conway MacKenzie, he was vice president of finance with, Thomson Gale, a major publishing firm. Prior to that, he was with Ernst & Young where he provided consulting services in the areas of corporate restructuring and reorganization, mergers and acquisitions, and business and asset valuation.
Greg is the secretary and serves on the board of directors of the Atlanta Turnaround Management Association and is also a member of the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the CFA Institute.
He has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
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Betty Reed, CPA, Certified Management Accountant, Principal
Abraxas Business Services
Betty E. Reed is a Principal at Abraxas Business Services, to which she brings over 20 years of experience in banking, business operations and financial management.
Betty has worked in a wide variety of capacities and industries during her career. She was most recently the COO/CFO of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Florida; before assuming that role, was a Board Member for Harbor Branch and Chair of its Audit Committee. Prior to Harbor Branch, she spent six years with Resources Global Services, a spin-off from Deloitte. Resources is an international professional services firm serving Fortune 1000 clients through internal audit, information management, human resources and supply chain services. Betty helped build Resources Atlanta office and started, de novo, the company’s first Tennessee office in Nashville.
Earlier in her career, Betty spent ten years with NationsBank, now Bank of America, in various roles. When she left the Bank, she was a Senior Vice President in Global Corporate Finance. During her time with the Bank, Betty provided a wide range of financing products from commercial loans to securitizations; her customers were diverse, from Fortune 500 companies to start-up enterprises, and served varied industries.
Betty holds two master degrees: a masters in taxation (MTX) and a masters in business administration (MBA) from Georgia State University in Atlanta and Nante, France. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) (currently inactive) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
