Finance and Investing is pleased to announce The Top 25 CFOs of Jacksonville for 2023. Jacksonville, the largest city in the continental United States, is a rapidly growing metropolitan city in Northeast Florida. The local economy is driven by significant industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare, and logistics. With one of the most diversified industry bases in Florida, Jacksonville’s economy is more resilient to ups and downs in any one sector than other major metropolitan areas in Florida. Many of our awardees help steer companies in these sectors with their financial acumen and wealth of experience.
Among this year’s awardees is Erik Hoag, Chief Financial Officer at FIS, who during his 14-year tenure, has been instrumental in charting the company through a transformational period of modernization and growth. Awardee Ben Diersing, Global Chief Financial Officer of Pontoon Solutions, developed the go-to-market pricing and strategy for the company’s products and services. Also awarded is Philip Monti, the Chief Financial Officer of The Planet Group. Monti is a forward-thinking CFO adept at overseeing complex financial systems serving enterprise-level organizations with thousands of employees.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 CFOs of Jacksonville for 2023.
1. Emily Lloyd
Chief Financial Officer, HCA Healthcare
Emily Lloyd is the Chief Financial Officer of HCA Healthcare’s Orange Park Medical Center. Previously, Lloyd was the Chief Financial Officer of HCA Healthcare’s Coliseum Health System. She was responsible for the executive oversight of the hospital system's financial affairs, including Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital. Before that, Lloyd was the Assistant Chief Financial Officer for HCA Healthcare’s Grand Strand Health, a multi-facility health system in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She joined their leadership team in January 2019 after spending more than nine years in the internal audit department at HCA Healthcare’s corporate office.
Lloyd received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and German from Belmont University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner.
2. Mark Rathbun
Chief Financial Officer, AdventHealth
Mark Rathbun is the Chief Financial Officer of AdventHealth. In this role, he utilizes 30 years of experience in finance and accounting. He is a proven leader with hands-on experience in several industries, including healthcare, banking software, wholesale distribution of construction materials, public accounting, non-profit, education, and franchising.
Before AdventHealth, Rathbun was the CFO of Florida Hospital New Smyrna, formerly Bert Fish Medical Center. Previously, he was the Assistant Vice President of Finance at Florida Hospital Waterman. He also held financial roles at Temenos, Fiserv CBS Worldwide, Hughes Supply, and BDO Seidman, LLP. Rathbun graduated from UCF College of Business with an MBA and from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
3. Erik Hoag
Chief Financial Officer, FIS
Erik Hoag is the Chief Financial Officer at FIS. He oversees all aspects of the company’s financial operations, including controllership, treasury, investor relations, financial planning and analysis, and corporate development functions. He also oversees the FIS capital allocation strategy. Hoag served as Deputy CFO before assuming his CFO role in November 2022. During his 14-year tenure with FIS, he has been instrumental in charting the company’s course through a transformational period of modernization and growth. He has developed the financial strategy and plan behind a series of mergers, acquisitions, and long-term capital spending and investment programs that have positioned FIS in a dominant market position for the future.
Prior to joining FIS, Hoag held multiple leadership roles in the finance sector, including positions at Bank of America, SunTrust, and HSBC. He served as a Director on Capco and Reliance Trust's boards, participating in Capco's divestiture in 2020. Hoag has a dual Bachelor of Science degree in finance and economics from Florida State University.
4. Tony Park
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, Fidelity National Financial
Tony Park is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Fidelity National Financial. He is on the Board of Directors at J. Alexander's LLC, O'Charley's LLC, Fidelity National Title Group, Inc., and Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. Park is a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance, and claims management services. As CFO, he is responsible for Fidelity National Financial’s corporate finance, accounting, and reporting functions.
Prior to being appointed CFO, Park served as the Chief Accounting Officer of Fidelity National Financial. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of corporate accounting and the production of the company’s consolidated financial statements. Before that, he served as Controller and Assistant Controller of Fidelity National Financial. Park earned an MBA from Jacksonville University and a BA in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
5. Kathy Shippey
Chief Financial Officer, D.R. Horton
Kathy Shippey is the Chief Financial Officer of D.R. Horton. Since 2002, D.R. Horton has been the number one homebuilder in America. Shippey has been with the company for over 24 years, first joining in 1999 as a Division CFO.
Before joining D.R., Horton was the President at Shippey & Associates Refrigeration Services, Inc, a company that provided mechanical contracting, industrial refrigeration construction, and service in the mid-Atlantic region. Shippey graduated from Christopher Newport University with an undergraduate degree in accounting.
6. Kareen Dorsett
VP & Chief Financial Officer of Medicare, Florida Blue
Kareen Dorsett is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Medicare of Florida Blue. She leads a team of 32 people with direct accountabilities for financial planning, analysis, and performance management; budgeting and administrative cost structure management; capital expenditure oversight; and medical expense, network, and vendor analytics.
Dorsett first got her start in 2001 as an Actuarial Analyst at Florida Blue. From there, she went on to Milliman before eventually rising to the VP of Enterprise Financial Performance and Analysis at GuideWell, her most recent position before rejoining Florida Blue. Dorsett graduated from Georgia State University with an undergraduate degree in actuarial science.
7. James Todd
Chief Financial Officer, Landstar
Jim Todd is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Landstar. He is responsible for safeguarding the company’s assets and managing the entire financial and accounting operation of the company, leading the accounting, finance, tax, treasury, and credit functions. Todd joined Landstar in 2013 and has held various management positions in finance with the company.
Prior to joining Landstar, Todd worked in the audit division of KPMG for three years, where he served as an Independent Auditor on the Landstar account. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Todd earned a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Flagler College.
8. Sharon Birkett
VP & Chief Financial Officer, Multi-Color
Sharon Birkett is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Multi-Color. Birkett oversees finance and accounting, corporate control functions, financial planning and analysis, budget preparation for boards of directors, compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. She joined Multi-Color as part of the Collotype Labels acquisition in 2008, where at that time, she served as the Chief Financial Officer.
Previously, she served as the Director of Finance for Avery Dennison Materials Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Avery Dennison Corporation. Birkett graduated from the University of Adelaide with an MBA and from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts.
9. Jay Madara
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, PGA Tour
Jay Madara is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PGA Tour. Headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the PGA Tour co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments, including the PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Series-China.
Before joining PGA Tour, Madara was the CFO of Operations and Technology at NBCUniversal Media. Before that, he was the CFO at Golf Channel. Earlier in his career, he worked with Ernst & Young as a Senior Auditor. Madara graduated from the Fox School of Business at Temple University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance.
11. Philip Monti
Chief Financial Officer, The Planet Group
Philip Monti is the Chief Financial Officer of The Planet Group. Monti has over two decades of senior financial leadership and a deep understanding of the global consulting and staffing industries. Monti is a forward-thinking CFO adept at overseeing complex financial systems serving enterprise-level organizations with thousands of employees. He has a track record of guiding companies through mergers and acquisitions.
Before joining The Planet Group, Monti was Chief Financial Officer of DISYS, where he helped guide the firm as a global staffing leader. Previously, he served in a variety of similar executive-level corporate finance roles with Signature Consultants and Acosta Sales & Marketing. Monti has a master’s degree from the University of North Florida and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida.
12. Ben Diersing
Global Chief Financial Officer, Pontoon Solutions
Ben Diersing is the Global Chief Financial Officer of Pontoon Solutions. He oversees financial planning and analysis, data governance, and financial partnership across the organization’s business units. Diersing joined Pontoon in 2015 and has led the commercial finance team throughout his tenure, developing the go-to-market pricing and strategy for its products and services. He partners closely across Pontoon to ensure it delivers top service to its customers that will be competitive while enabling the company to reach its financial goals.
Prior to joining Pontoon Solutions, he was at Convergys. as a Pricing Consultant. Before this, he was a Transaction Manager at Merrill Lynch. Diersing graduated from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business with an MBA and the University of Central Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance.
13. Adam Johnston
Vice President of Finance, Healogics
Adam Johnston is the Vice President of Finance of Healogics. Healogics is the nation’s wound healing expert. He first joined the company in 2018 as the Director of FP&A.
Previously, Johnston was the Director of Treasury and FP&A of Florida East Coast Railway. Before that, he was the Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis at CSX. Earlier in his career, he worked with F.N.B. Corporation as a Credit Analyst. Johnston earned an MBA in finance from the University of Florida and an undergraduate degree in finance from Penn State University.
14. Tom Alston
Vice President of Finance & Administration, Carlisle Interconnect
Tom Alston is the Vice President of Finance and Administration of Carlisle Interconnect. Carlisle Interconnect Technologies is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of high-performance wire and cable, including optical fiber.
Previously, Alston was the VP of Finance of Thermo King, VP of Finance - Climate Solutions Asian Pacific for Ingersoll Rand, and Business Unit Controller of CTS Corporation. He has also held various financial roles for Honeywell Process Solutions and EDS, an HP Company. Alston graduated from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business with an MBA and from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in finance.
15. Martin Cass
CFO & Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services, Daytona State College
Martin Cass is the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services of Daytona State College. Cass joined Daytona State College in 2008 as the Assistant Controller.
Before joining the organization, Cass was an Adjunct Accounting Instructor at Keiser University. Prior to that, he was a Loan Officer at American Home Mortgage. Earlier in his career, he worked with Purvis, Gray, and Company as a Senior Auditor. Cass graduated from the University of North Florida with a master’s degree in accounting and from the University of Florida with an undergraduate degree in accounting.
16. Randal Freebourn
SVP of Financial & Facilities Management & CFO, Jacksonville University
Randal Freebourn is the Senior Vice President of Financial and Facilities Management and Chief Financial Officer of Jacksonville University. Freebourn is a performance-driven higher education veteran with extensive fiscal expertise.
He was previously the Vice President for Finance and Administration and Assistant Treasurer at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Prior to that, he was Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services and Comptroller within the Purdue University system at its Calumet regional campus. Prior to Wittenberg and Purdue, Freebourn was Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer for 11 years at St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind. He also served in several leadership capacities at Allegheny College, including as Assistant Vice President for Administrative Services. Freebourn earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major from the University of Dayton.
17. Sara Grilliot
Chief Financial Officer, CentralSquare
Sara Grilliot is the Chief Financial Officer of CentralSquare. As CFO, Grilliot brings nearly twenty years of broad finance experience in the technology services industry. She is passionate about driving transformative change to enable sustainable organizational success. In addition to her role as CFO, Grilliot serves as the executive sponsor of Elevate, CentralSquare’s Women’s Leadership Network for employees.
Prior to joining CentralSquare, Grilliot served as Vice President of Financial Strategy, Planning, & Analytics at Automatic Data Processing (ADP). Grilliot also served in various roles, including VP of Investor Relations and numerous operational support and traditional finance roles. Before working at ADP, she was an auditor at EY. Grilliot has a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA degree from the University of North Florida. She earned her CPA designation in the state of Florida.
18. Brenda Baker
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, Flagler Health+
Brenda Baker is currently the EVP and Chief Financial Officer at Flagler Health. Prior to her current position, she served as the CFO of Riverview Hospital, where she was responsible for finance, patient financial services, physician billing, health information, case management, and revenue integrity departments. Before this, she was the Controller of Terre Haute Regional Hospital, CFO of Focus by the Sea, and CFO of Mesilla Valley Hospital. Earlier in her career, Baker was the Facility CFO of Behavioral Healthcare of Northern Indiana for Ardent Health Services. Baker has an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Ball State University.
19. Lev Cela
Chief Financial Officer, Baker Distributing Company
Lev Cela is the Chief Financial Officer of Baker Distributing Company. Baker Distributing is a wholesale distributor of HVAC, food service, commercial refrigeration equipment, parts, and supplies. Cela first got his start in 1998 as a Senior Auditor at Ernst & Young LLP. From there, he went on to SmartDisk Corporation before eventually rising to Treasurer and VP of Investor Relations & Corporate Development at Interline Brands, Inc. He held various financial roles at Viragen, Inc. and Burger King Corporation. Cela graduated from the University of Miami with an MBA and an undergraduate degree in accounting and from Miami Dade College with an undergraduate degree in business administration.
20. Justin Cappers
Vice President of Finance, Hickory Foods
Justin Cappers is the Vice President of Finance of Hickory Foods. Hickory Harvest Foods is a leading provider of products to retailers in the multi-billion dollar and growing healthy snacks sector.
Before Hickory Foods, Cappers was a Controller at Gibraltar Industries, where he was previously the Accounting Manager. Before this, he was a Controller at Conner Industries, Lagniappe Pharmacy ServicesLagniappe, and Gold Metal Recycling. Earlier in his career, he was a Division Controller at Republic Services. Cappers graduated from Liberty University with an MS in accounting and Tarleton State University with an undergraduate degree in economics.
21. Todd Pulley
Chief Financial Officer, Beeline
Todd Pulley is Chief Financial Officer at Beeline. Beeline offers vendor management system software and implementation, support, training, and vendor administration services. Pulley is a seasoned finance executive with over 20 years of leadership experience, including nearly 15 years in the staffing industry.
Prior to joining Beeline, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Adecco UK, Ireland, North America, and South America. Pulley has a proven track record leading multinational staffing firms and has extensive experience in strategic and financial planning and analysis as well as global audit, tax, and compliance issues. He’s also held various financial roles at Lee Hecht HarrisonLee, HIT Entertainment, and Freeman, Shapard & StoryFreemon. Pulley graduated from the Midwestern State University with a BBA in accounting and Hardin-Simmons University with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
22. Lydia McRae
Chief Operations Officer & CFO, Optimum Healthcare IT
Lydia McRae is the Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Optimum Healthcare IT. Optimum Healthcare IT is a leading healthcare IT consulting services firm based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Before joining Optimum Healthcare IT, McRae was the Director Of Finance at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, where she was responsible for all finance and accounting activities, including providing financial strategies to the CEO, financial reporting to the Board of Directors, preparing and maintaining budgets preparing monthly and annual financial statements. Before that, she was a Senior Internal Auditor at Unisource Worldwide. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Senior Internal Auditor with FARO Technologies. McRae graduated from Florida State University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance.
23. Mindy Barker
Chief Financial Officer, Porch Group
Mindy Barker is the Chief Financial Officer for the InsurTech division of Porch Group, which consists of Homeowners of America (HOA), Elite Insurance Group, and Porticus Re. Barker previously served as Interim CFO of HOA. Barker brings a diverse background in corporate finance, public accounting, consulting, and mentorship.
Throughout her career, she has held several executive positions, including Controller of Kemper Services Group, CFO of American Surety and Casualty Company, CFO of OptaComp, a worker’s compensation company and a subsidiary of Florida Blue, and CFO of Chartwell Capital, a private equity firm. Barker has a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Converse College and is a Certified Public Accountant in Florida and North Carolina.
24. Kevin Gannon
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, The Suddath Companies
Kevin Gannon leads administrative, financial, and risk management operations that guide financial decisions across The Suddath Companies. Since joining Suddath in 2002, he has served in a variety of roles, including Vice President and Controller, Senior Vice President of Finance, and Chief Financial Officer of Operations. With over nine years of public accounting experience with a focus on taxation, he has served as Suddath’s Chief Financial Officer since 2016.
Before he joined Suddath, Gannon was a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche, providing tax, auditing, transaction, and consulting services to his clients. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Florida. Gannon has a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Florida Fisher School of Accounting and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.
25. Mark Sirota
SVP of Business Planning & CFO, Jacksonville Jaguars
Mark Sirota is the Senior Vice President of Business Planning and Chief Financial Officer at Jacksonville Jaguars. Sirota is responsible for providing integrated financial oversight across the portfolio of sports and entertainment properties owned by the Khan family. This includes developing and implementing strategic initiatives and applying business analytics and insights across the organization.
Before joining the Jaguars, Sirota was with the Boston Red Sox, where he was the Financial Planning and Analysis Manager. He also served on the investment committee for DF Residential I, LP. Previously, he was the Head of Finance (Pro Bono) for We Care to Give. Sirota has an MBA from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and a BS in business management from Boston College.
