Roger Lusby CPA Archives - Business RadioX ®

Tuff Yen, Seraph Group

February 21, 2023 by John Ray

Business Beat

Tuff Yen, Seraph Group

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Tuff Yen, Seraph Group

Tuff Yen, Founder and Managing Partner of Seraph Group, joined this edition of Business Beat to discuss his venture capital investment firm and their work. In a discussion with Frazier & Deeter’s Roger Lusby and Matt Foster, Tuff talked about Seraph Group and its mission, his move to Milton from the Bay Area, how Seraph is investing locally, trends he’s seeing, what Seraph is looking for in investments, how investors can get involved, and much more.

Business Beat is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter and is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®

Seraph Group

Unlike a traditional venture fund, Structured Angel Fund offers a 20+ portfolio of seed and pre-seed stage investment into high-risk/high return technology startups. Investors not only gain a diversified portfolio, but also have the opportunity to co-invest on a deal by deal basis above his managed portfolio. This two-prong approach provided investors with a managed fund by the General Partner and a self-directed investment portfolio by investors.

SAF is popular with C-level executives and entrepreneurs. For the busy individuals whose time is limited, the managed portfolio is not only a low-cost way of investing in startup, but a more efficient acquisition of diversification. For individuals who have strong domain knowledge and operating experience, SAF offers investors the opportunity to work with startups first-hand.

Seraph Group’s approach to angel investment addresses and solves many challenges experienced by localized angel organizations. Their national reach for deal flow, 400+ domain experts, professionally managed process and 19 years history of success established the company as the premier professional organization in the United States.

Seraph Research Foundation was founded to help the local community build a successful capital source for startups based on almost two decades of learnings from personally invested in 130+ companies. As technology continues to play a significant role in the economy, and many accelerators and incubators graduate companies, the growth of risk capital has not caught up with the demand.

Few communities or organizations have experience in organizing angel investment groups. Seraph Research Foundation will assist local communities in a public private partnership to help educate, train, organize and manage an angel investment group, a vital component of keeping promising companies local, translating into economic growth, job creation and tax revenues.

Seraph Research Foundation has established local angel investment groups in Austin Texas and Lubbock Texas.

Company website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Tuff Yen, Founder and Managing Partner, Seraph Group

Tuff Yen is the founder Seraph Research Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the education and training of angel investors and working with the local community to establish angel/seed investment organization to help the public and private effort on growing the economy. He is also the founder of Seraph Milton, a north Fulton Georgia based angel investment group.

Mr. Yen is also the founder of Seraph Group, an investment firm that brings together successful individuals to create wealth through ownership of private enterprises. Seraph Group was founded in 2004 and is now the largest, and only global angel investment fund group that specializes in backing high-tech startups.

Mr. Yen started his career in the biotechnology industry with a degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of California Berkeley. He worked at Genentech and Amgen, two leading biotechnology companies in northern and southern California. After graduating from the Yale School of Management in New Haven Connecticut, Mr. Yen began his venture capital career at Chemical Venture Partner, the private equity and venture capital arm of Chemical Bank, then managing $8 Billion in New York City. Chemical Bank later merged with Chase Manhattan Bank and then JPMorgan Bank, and the group became JPMorgan Partners which then managed close to $20 Billion. Mr. Yen subsequently joined a Hambrecht & Quist’s affiliated $1.6billion fund in San Francisco.

With an extensive venture capital background on both coasts, Mr. Yen saw an opportunity to deliver a new investment platform for accredited investors and launched Seraph Group in 2004. He introduced Structured Angel Fund™, a venture capital fund designed specifically for angel investors and family offices to gain access to a diversified portfolio of seed stage startups and with the right to co-invest on a deal-by-deal basis. This GP-managed and LP-curated fund attracted close to 400 investors from 120+ cities in north America, Europe and Asia, many of them Fortune 500 C-level executives, entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, investment and operating professionals.

Mr. Yen led Seraph Group and invested north of $120 million into 130+ companies. He reviewed between 300 and 400 investment proposals each year and was responsible for all aspects of an investment, from sourcing, investigating, conducting due diligence, and structuring. Mr. Yen has gained experience in investing in a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, entertainment, publishing, information technology, Internet, enterprise software, cybersecurity, aerospace, medical and life sciences.

LinkedIn | Twitter

Frazier & Deeter

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.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat can be found here.

Scott Jordan, Rose Sharif, and Matthew Ricks, Pinnacle Financial Partners

July 27, 2022 by John Ray

Business Beat

Scott Jordan, Rose Sharif, and Matthew Ricks, Pinnacle Financial Partners

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Scott Jordan, Rose Sharif, and Matthew Ricks, Pinnacle Financial Partners

On this edition of Business Beat, host Roger Lusby welcomed three seasoned banking professionals, Scott Jordan, Rose Sharif, and Matthew Ricks, who joined Pinnacle Financial Partners in order to start and build the bank’s North Fulton presence. Scott, Rose, and Matt shared why they joined Pinnacle, their perspective on the North Fulton economy, how they plan to grow, Pinnacle’s recognition as a “best place to work,” and much more.

Business Beat is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter and is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®

Pinnacle Financial Partners

The Pinnacle approach is a very people-centric one. It takes an unwavering focus and commitment of leadership to make it work.

The same five key business strategies Pinnacle has employed since its inception shape our focus today: Focus on businesses, real estate professionals, and consumers that desire a deep relationship with their financial partner. Provide distinctive service and effective advice. Hire and retain highly experienced and qualified financial services professionals. Offer a full line of financial services including banking, investments, mortgage, trust, insurance, and financial planning. Offer extraordinary convenience.

Pinnacle is much more than a bank. It’s a place for people to find true partners for their business. It’s a place where seasoned professionals give clients unmatched service and advice that betters their financial well-being. And it’s a place where people love coming to work every day.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook

Scott Jordan, Senior Vice President / Area Manager, Pinnacle Financial Partners

In 1999, Scott was accepted into the SunTrust Bank (now Truist) Management Associate Program. Upon graduation, he served in various roles including Financial Services Representative and Account Executive. He transitioned to BB&T (now Truist) in 2001 and served as a Financial Center Manager and Business Banker.

Scott was recruited by Accenture in 2004 as part of a new team focused on Bank Mergers & Acquisitions. He returned to BB&T (now Truist) in 2005 and spent the next 16 years in various business development and leadership roles including Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, Market President – North Metro Atlanta, Market President – Central Atlanta, and Market President – Northeast Metro Atlanta.

Currently, he is leading the newly created North Metro Atlanta Banking/Financial Services Division for Pinnacle Financial Partners.

Scott currently serves on the Boards of Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, North Fulton Community Charities, Forsyth Chamber of Commerce, and Leadership Forsyth. Furthermore, he is a graduate of Leadership North Fulton, Leadership Gwinnett, Leadership Forsyth, and Leadership Atlanta.

Rose Sharif, Senior Vice President / Office Leader, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Rose Sharif is the office leader for Pinnacle Financial Partners and will be opening the New Avalon office in Q4 of 2022. She works very closely with the Commercial lenders at her office to help expand current and new clients’ business and personal relationships.

Rose grew up in the Food and Beverage industry working for her family’s business. Once she married, she moved to Houston Texas where she worked as a food and beverage manager for Hilton Hotels and later for the 4 Seasons Hotels. But in 1990 she decided she was ready to raise a family and decided to enter the banking industry. She completed the Management Associate Program for C & S and has held multiple positions in retail bank and the private bank at various institutions.

Rose as a child lived in multiple states but at the age of 15, her parents moved to New Orleans LA where she attended and graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican College. She has a Major in Business Management and Administration with a minor in Finance. In 1985 she married her husband Kaz, and they have 2 wonderful sons, Armand and Cameron, and 2 grandchildren, Iris and Luka. She has lived in the Roswell area the entire time she has lived in Georgia but has worked in the Alpharetta market since 2004.

Matthew Ricks, Senior Vice President / Financial Advisor, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Matthew Ricks comes to Pinnacle Financial Partners with 18 years of banking experience, all of it with the Bank of North Georgia and Synovus. He began as a personal banker but quickly moved into lending after graduating from the Management Trainee program and began working with commercial clients in 2006.

Ricks earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. He was also a member of the 2013 class of Leadership Cobb.

Frazier & Deeter

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Jeffrey Smith and Dan Dunn, OneDirect Health Network, T-Rex Rehab and Restore Metabolix

May 20, 2021 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter's Business Beat: Jeffrey Smith and Dan Dunn, OneDirect Health Network, T-Rex Rehab and Restore Metabolix

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Jeffrey Smith and Dan Dunn, OneDirect Health Network, T-Rex Rehab and Restore Metabolix

Entrepreneur Jeff Smith has a goal to change sick care to health care through his three companies: OneDirect Health Network, T-REX Rehab, and Restore Metabolix. He and CFO Dan Dunn joined host Roger Lusby on Business Beat, presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Jeffrey Smith, CEO, OneDirect Health Network

Jeff founded Amendia, Inc., in 2008, a leading provider of innovative, minimally invasive spinal surgical instruments and implants. From that experience, he learned that after surgery there is a definite gap in recovery and compliance if the patient does not have adequate support with physical therapy.

In 2014, Jeff founded OneDirect Network to provide post-operative care to veterans and workers comp patients. They take the T-REX rehab machines into the home to provide physical therapy to improve recovery and compliance.

With a desire to shift the focus to wellness care from sick care, he also founded Restore Metabolix to address preventative maintenance for individuals with insulin resistance.

Jeff is formerly a banker with Synovus Financial Corporation and is an entrepreneur at heart.

OneDirect Health Network

OneDirect Health Network is a company based on the pursuit of improving medical care and the patient experience by creating relationships between alternative healthcare companies. We are working in synergy with Strategic Partners to accomplish:

Reducing Healthcare Costs
Growing Physician Practices & Opportunities
Advancing Efficiency and Profitability

From inception to distribution, OneDirect Health Network works with companies to establish meaningful relationships between partners to effectively create change and increase efficiency within the medical industry.

Company website

T-REX REHAB

Total Range Exerciser system offers breakthrough technology for patients in need of physical therapy. T-Rex works by emulating the high intensity stretching applied by physical therapists. This stretching elongates and breaks down scar tissue, allowing for a greater range of motion to be achieved in a shorter amount of time.

T-Rex is delivered and set up in patients’ homes by a trained technician. The system monitors patient progress and compliance and it has stop guards and pain scales to keep patients safe.

With repeated high-intensity stretches, T-REX knee and shoulder units get results and achieve plastic deformation of scar tissue.

T-REX is now available with a Smart tablet allowing for all sorts of new capabilities. Their Smart Technology helps improve transparency and compliance through remote monitoring and gives physicians the option to video chat with their patients. It is also HIPAA compliant.

Company website

Restore Metabolix

RestorMetabolix is a Physician-Directed Physiologic Insulin Resensitization therapy that provides a unique patented approach. Insulin is administered in an infusion that bio identically mimics insulin’s release as a hormone rather than a drug and targets the primary cause of diabetes: metabolic failure.

By utilizing insulin in a manner that bio-mimics normal physiology, the RestorMetabolix treatment is able to reduce insulin resistance which helps blood sugar more readily enter each cell and be converted into energy. Increasing cellular energy allows damaged tissues and organs to grow, repair, and regenerate. Thus, the RestorMetabolix approach not only stabilizes but in many instances has reversed complications of diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

The goal of this treatment program is to restore the natural communication between the pancreas and the liver, which ultimately helps patients find long-term relief from years of living with diabetes.

Company website

Frazier & Deeter

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.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation

March 17, 2021 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter's Business Beat: Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation

Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, joined host Roger Lusby to discuss the state’s budget, education funding, the impact of federal Covid relief, and much more. “Business Beat” is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Georgia Public Policy Foundation

A trusted, independent resource for voters and elected officials since its founding in 1991, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation provides actionable solutions to real-life problems by bringing people together. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation was created on the belief that good public policy is based upon fact, an understanding of sound economic principles and the core principles of our free enterprise system – economic freedom, limited government, personal responsibility, individual initiative, respect for private property and the rule of law.

State-focused, independent, non-partisan and market-oriented in its approach, the Foundation conducts scholarly research and analysis of state public policy issues, and works to educate citizens, policy-makers and the media.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Kyle Wingfield, President and CEO

Kyle Wingfield is a native of Dalton and a graduate of the University of Georgia. He joined the Foundation as president and CEO in April 2018 after spending nine years as an opinion columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has also worked for the Wall Street Journal, based in Brussels, Belgium, from 2004 to 2009, and for the Associated Press, based in Atlanta and Montgomery, Ala., from 2001 to 2004.

At the AJC, Kyle wrote often about state politics and policy, focusing especially on education and school choice, transportation, health care, and state and local taxation. He is a frequent guest on GPB’s “Political Rewind” show and was a finalist for the Reason Foundation’s Bastiat Prize for Journalism in 2013. Kyle’s weekly column continues to appear in 10 newspapers around the state.

Kyle received the UGA Grady College’s John E. Drewry Young Alumnus Award in 2006, was named to the UGA Alumni Association’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2012 and is a member of UGA’s Board of Visitors. He is a member of Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2018 and, as an Eagle Scout, remains an active volunteer in Scouting.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

An overview of the 2021 Georgia legislative session.
An overview of reforms under consideration that would affect education in Georgia.
A look at the budget picture for the state.
How the new federal COVID relief bill will affect Georgia (as well as how past relief bills have affected the state).
How the pandemic might affect healthcare in Georgia moving forward.

Frazier & Deeter

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.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Jerry Dvonch, Sonoma Pharmaceuticals

January 20, 2021 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter's Business Beat: Jerry Dvonch, Sonoma Pharmaceuticals

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Jerry Dvonch, Sonoma Pharmaceuticals

Sonoma Pharmaceuticals’ CFO Jerry Dvonch joins host Roger Lusby to discuss the company’s line of hypochlorous acid (HOCI) products and their applications, their financial turnaround, the headquarters move from northern California to Georgia, and much more. “Business Beat” is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Sonoma Pharmaceuticals

Sonoma Pharmaceuticals is a global healthcare leader for developing and producing stabilized hypochlorous acid (HOCI) products for a wide range of applications, including wound care, animal health care, eye care, nasal care, oral care and dermatological conditions. The company’s products reduce infections, itch, pain, scarring and harmful inflammatory responses in a safe and effective manner. In-vitro and clinical studies of HOCI show it to have impressive antipruritic, antimicrobial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Sonoma’s stabilized HOCI immediately relieves itch and pain, kills pathogens and breaks down biofilm, does not sting or irritate skin and oxygenates the cells in the area treated assisting the body in its natural healing process.

Sonoma also manufactures disinfectants that are distributed outside of the U.S. and in certain countries where it has received regulatory clearance to state the disinfectant kills the coronavirus causing COVID-19. The company’s products are sold either directly or via partners in 54 countries worldwide and the company actively seeks new distribution partners.

Jerry Dvonch joined Sonoma Pharmaceuticals in 2020. He is a CPA and has an MBA in Finance.

Company Website

Company LinkedIn

Jerry Dvonch LinkedIn

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

Investor Highlights
Business Development 2020
Key Opportunities
Accomplishments in 2020
Financial Highlights
Sonoma’s headquarters move from Northern California to Georgia

Frazier & Deeter

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.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: John Hightower, Arch + Tower, an FD Company

March 18, 2020 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: John Hightower, Arch + Tower, an FD Company

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Show Summary

John Hightower of Arch+Tower joined this edition of “Business Beat” to discuss the interplay of customer experience, employee experience, and operational excellence. Roger Lusby, CPA is the host of “Business Beat” and the series is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

John Hightower, Arch + Tower

John Hightower is the CEO of Arch + Tower. Arch + Tower, an FD Company, helps their clients win in the Experience Economy. We are helping close the experience gaps for clients’ – Customers and Employees – delivered with Operational Excellence. They call it their CX/Ex/Ox Framework(tm).

They work with business leaders by creating solutions that help clients bridge gaps, stand up under the weight of growth, and build for the future, hence the name Arch + Tower.

Their team partners with clients to deploy proven methodologies and a comprehensive approach – technology, data, people, processes – to deliver excellence within an organization.

Arch + Tower has served companies like Chick-fil-A, ChenMed, Peak Campus, Sunstate Equipment, Thrive Farmers, and others planning to scale solutions across multiple locations.

Arch + Tower has joined the Frazier & Deeter family of companies. They are excited to be helping to improve customer and employee experiences as part of an award-winning accounting and advisory firm with offices across the US and the UK.

Visit www.archandtower.com to discover the ways their team can help you span gaps and see farther with your people and projects.

Frazier & Deeter

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, Partner in Charge of Alpharetta office, Frazier & Deeter**

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frazier-&-deeter-llc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrazierDeeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frazierdeeter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Carter Barrett, Affinity Bank and Dime Capital

November 20, 2019 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter's Business Beat: Carter Barrett, Affinity Bank and Dime Capital

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Show Summary

Carter Barrett of Affinity Bank and Dime Capital joins host Roger Lusby, CPA to discuss how to make small businesses more valuable in a sale, the value of investing in relationships, the importance of great advisors, and much more. “Business Beat” is brought to you by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Carter Barrett, Affinity Bank and Dime Capital

Carter Barrett is the Market President of North Atlanta for Affinity Bank as well as a Founding Partner of Dime Capital.

Carter has almost 30 years of commercial banking experience in North Atlanta serving in different roles, including Forsyth County Executive for Wachovia and as the Senior Lender for Regions Bank in Forsyth County.

In December of 2006 he and two associates made a decision to start their own bank and over the next year they wrote a business plan, recruited a management team and Board of Directors, raised $16.8 million in capital, and obtained the necessary regulatory approvals to open.

Community Business Bank (CBB) was opened in January of 2008, with Carter serving as the original President, Sr. Credit Officer, and member of the Board of Directors. Within 8 months he was named CEO of the organization. Barrett led the bank during a tumultuous time for the industry and oversaw all aspects of day to day operations for the bank’s entire existence. He negotiated the sale to Community and Southern Bank in May of 2015, delivering a solid outcome for his shareholders.

After selling the bank, he and two friends started an investment company called Dime Capital, which has consulted with companies to help them improve operations, profitability, and enterprise value. Dime makes strategic investments in real estate and in small businesses.

Today Carter serves as the Market President of North Atlanta for Affinity Bank, which is headquartered in Atlanta and is especially gifted at serving professionals, small to mid-sized companies, and real estate investors. Carter and his associate, Andrew Bell, have been charged with planting a flag for Affinity Bank in North Atlanta and will focus on the GA 400 corridor.

Carter is honored to have served the community on various Boards of Directors including: United Way of Forsyth County; the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce; and the Forsyth Chamber. He is a graduate of Leadership North Fulton and Leadership Forsyth, has served as President of the Lanier Forsyth Rotary Club and as Membership Chairman for Rotary District 6910. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Advisory Committee of The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of North Georgia.

Carter Barrett is a 9^th generation Georgian from Augusta. He went to high school in Rome, Italy and has a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia. He has been married to Jamie Harden Barrett since 1995 and has two daughters, Eleanor and Cornelia.

Frazier & Deeter

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.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frazier-&-deeter-llc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrazierDeeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frazierdeeter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier and Deeter’s Business Beat: Mark Meersman, IPC Global

October 15, 2019 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier and Deeter's Business Beat: Mark Meersman, IPC Global

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**Roger Lusby, Donna Beatty, and Mark Meersman**

Show Summary

Managing Partner Mark Meersman and his team at IPC Global help companies gather their various collections of data, apply insightful analytics to that data, and makes those analytics easily accessible through cloud technology. He tells the IPC Global story on this edition of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat,” presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Mark Meersman, IPC Global

Mark Meersman is the founder of IPC Global. IPC Global is an enterprise system integrator of data + analytics + cloud solutions. We turn data into gold for numerous stakeholders. We leverage best in class technology, namely inProcess Data Factory, Qlik BI, DataRobot ML, and AWS Cloud.

Mark started IPC Global in 1998. The firm leverages best in class technology, namely inProcess Data Factory, Qlik BI, DataRobot ML, and AWS Cloud. IPC is a Value Added Reseller for Qlik and a Qlik Elite Solutions Provider.

The firm is an Enterprise Systems Integrator – as such they market, sell, service, train, support, host solutions for customers. IPC Global provides Enterprise Intelligence Solutions such as: Enterprise Applications for Business Users; Enterprise Data for Business Specialist; Enterprise Environments for IT Services and Enterprise Governance for Management.

To learn more, go to the IPC Global website. Email Mark or call 470-407-9100, ext. 101.

Frazier & Deeter

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.

Find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frazier-&-deeter-llc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrazierDeeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frazierdeeter

Past episodes of Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” can be found here.

Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Blair Cunningham and Elizabeth Burdette, SignatureFD

September 17, 2019 by John Ray

Business Beat

Frazier & Deeter's Business Beat: Blair Cunningham and Elizabeth Burdette, SignatureFD

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**Roger Lusby, Elizabeth Burdette, and Blair Cunningham**

Show Summary

Blair Cunningham and Elizabeth Burdette join Frazier & Deeter’s “Business Beat” to discuss the wealth management work of SignatureFD, particularly the philosophy that net worth involves more than money, but also purpose, generosity, talents, gifts, and meaning. “Business Beat” is brought to you by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter.

Blair Cunningham and Elizabeth Burdette, SignatureFD

SignatureFD believes people want to use their wealth to do something worthwhile – for themselves, those they love, and their community. Through integrated wealth management services, they help clients create a financial design for life that enables them to protect, grow, give and live their wealth – ultimately transforming their net worth into NET WORTHWHILE™. Our highly capable, collaborative, caring and coordinated team of investment, financial planning and tax experts are committed to proactively helping clients take control of their financial lives and achieve their goals. SignatureFD has 80+ passionate professionals who manage $4B and has had a client retention rate of 97% since opening its doors in 1997.

Blair Cunningham is a Partner with SignatureFD. Blair has worked alongside individuals and families, helping them do more with their wealth at every stage of life for more than 30 years. Two of the most important things that he continues to learn personally and as an advisor are the value of wisdom and the benefits of living a generous life. He believes both offer a perspective on the importance of using your life to make a positive impact. Blair brings both technical expertise as well as a passion for helping others to his work of helping clients build intentional generosity plans. Blair is a frequent speaker to groups and on webcasts about the benefits of generosity. Before joining SignatureFD in 2000, Blair was a partner with Ronald Blue & Co. and began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Blair has served on the boards of North Point Ministries, The Eagle Ranch Foundation, Passion City Church and Lighthouse Family Retreat. Blair and his wife Deanna have a passion for mentoring young couples about navigating marriage and family.

Elizabeth is a Director of Client Engagement with Signature FD. Believing that everyone has the ability to create meaningful change in their communities, Elizabeth helps guide individuals and families looking for ways to give back by providing resources and advice to empower their decision-making. She is a dedicated partner in creating personalized strategies to help clients reach their generosity goals and maximize the impact of their gifts An award-winning speaker and published author, Elizabeth has a unique skill set in fundraising, donor relations and engagement, program management, strategic communications, grant writing, and event design. Prior to joining SignatureFD in 2019, Elizabeth was the Director of Donor Relations at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta and a Fellow at the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. She also practiced law in both Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, specializing in business litigation in state and federal courts. She received her law degree from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree in American History and Spanish from Washington and Lee University.

To find out more about SignatureFD, go to their website here.

Frazier & Deeter

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.