Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Grant Edwards and Kevin Carlson, TechCXO
Grant Edwards and Kevin Carlson of TechCXO are more than just “interims-for-hire” filling a role. As a fractional CFO and fractional CTO, respectively, Kevin and Grant become a part of their respective clients’ teams to bring seasoned executive knowhow and collaboratively drive impactful solutions. They joined host Roger Lusby on this edition of “Business Beat,” presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.
TechCXO
TechCXO provides companies with on demand executives. TechCXO was founded on the premise that high potential companies can greatly benefit from proven, interim executives who they otherwise may not be able to access due to cost, availability or because they do not necessarily need them full time. Our purpose is to provide the best executive talent available… on demand.
Grant Edwards, Partner, TechCXO
Grant Edwards is a hands-on, results-driven executive with expertise in finance operations, SEC reporting, corporate governance, and strategic planning. Grant has been the CFO for multiple early stage companies, many of which of had successful exits. These include an energy company that grew from inception to over $70 million in annual revenues, an entertainment and theatre company, a durable medical equipment company, a receivable factoring business and an executive travel company.
His Big 4 CPA experience includes positions with Deloitte & Touche and Arthur Andersen. He also served as Senior Director of SEC Reporting and Corporate Controller for Shinogi & Co. (formerly Sciele Pharma) where he launched all initial accounting policies and procedures, designed to shepherd the company through a period of massive growth, from $100MM to over $500MM in annual revenue. He effectively managed a team of 32 employees and a full spectrum of corporate finance functions, including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, financial reporting (internal and external) and revenue recognition.
As Vice President, Corporate Controller & Treasurer for Harbinger Group, Inc., Grant managed all finance, accounting, and treasury functions for this NYSE-listed BDC/Holding Company/Private Equity company, while contributing additional service as an active member of the Disclosure, Pension and 401K Committee.
Grant is also an adjunct professor for accounting at Georgia State University.
Kevin Carlson, Partner, TechCXO
Kevin is a veteran technology executive with a unique combination of technology expertise and business acumen. A four-time CTO of both services and product companies, he has worked with numerous organizations across various industries in technology leadership and executive-level roles in North America and Europe. He is also a technology thought-leader, with in-depth working knowledge of current technologies such as mobile application development, AI, predictive analytics, privacy, security, and technical architecture.
Serving as fractional CTO for a number of companies, he is an expert at helping clients leverage technology effectively and manage the change inherent in the technology world. Seeing companies transform through the thoughtful application of technology solutions has been a career-long goal. Throughout his career, Kevin never lost the desire to code and prototype solutions . He believes that in order to gain a full understanding of how things work, it’s necessary to get into the details and determine how they apply to solving a business problem. Equally as rewarding as helping business strategize and plan on technology solutions, he still likes get in the trenches with software engineers and work through making a system more performant or find an elusive bug.
A founder of multiple startups, he stays active in the startup community by mentoring founders and providing technology leadership. He is currently a mentor for The Farm, Comcast’s Accelerator located in Atlanta, GA.
Among Kevin’s career highlights he is serving or has served as:
Board of Advisors, ChartSpan Medical Technologies – As an advisor to Chartspan whose flagship product is a first of it’s kind, fully automated personal healthcare record management system that operates on a mobile platform. Chartspan allows an individual to take ownership of their personal health information, manage the information for an individual or entire family and control which healthcare providers receive the information.
Vice President of Development, DataFinch Technologies – Led and managed development teams for three products, mentoring and fostering collaboration between team members in development, user experience, quality assurance, project management, and technical writing. Responsible for helping set technology strategy, working with product management to prioritize effort, and ensuring the timely delivery of quality software.
CTO/CSO, Optaros – Set technology direction and strategy for world-class digital agency focused on eCommerce for B2C and B2B. Responsible for global technical resource pool and for working with partners and clients to set eCommerce technology strategy.
CTO, Verteris – Chief Technology Officer for firm that provides software and information services to legal and financial services organizations.
CTO, Delivery Services, Viant – Responsible for technical strategy and direction for Viant in all areas of the company. Key responsibilities include business development, enterprise marketing, recruiting, service model development, and other broad ranging managerial duties within the technology community. Responsible for the management of over 500 technology staff members in 8 offices worldwide.
Founder & Managing Partner, Advanced Systems Group – Founded and managed a technology focused consulting firm that provided focused services to companies developing software either for internal use or the retail market. Flagship clients include: IBM, Peachtree Software, Equifax.
In addition, Kevin is a published writer, songwriter, blogger and speaker. When he isn’t busy helping his clients, he is active in the music industry and voting member of NARAS. Several of his original songs have been licensed for TV shows and he actively writes and records new music.
Kevin received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University; and completed executive education studies in Leadership in Professional Services Firms from the Harvard Business School.
Read more of Kevin’s insight at his blog: FractionalCTO and on Twitter @thatcarlson.
The Alpharetta office of Frazier & Deeter is home to a thriving CPA tax practice, a growing advisory practice and an Employee Benefit Plan Services group. CPAs and advisors in the Frazier & Deeter Alpharetta office serve clients across North Georgia and around the country with services such as personal tax planning, estate planning, business tax planning, business tax compliance, state and local tax planning, financial statement reviews, financial statement audits, employee benefit plan audits, internal audit outsourcing, cyber security, data privacy, SOX and other regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions and more. Alpharetta CPAs serve clients ranging from business owners and executives to large corporations.
Roger Lusby, host of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat,” is an Alpharetta CPA and Alpharetta Office Managing Partner for Frazier & Deeter. He is also a member of the Tax Department in charge of coordinating tax and accounting services for our clientele. His responsibilities include a review of a variety of tax returns with an emphasis in the individual, estate, and corporate areas. Client assistance is also provided in the areas of financial planning, executive compensation and stock option planning, estate and succession planning, international planning (FBAR, SFOP), health care, real estate, manufacturing, technology and service companies.
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