Stanley Barsky Partner, Co-Leader, National Tax 

Eisner Advisory Group LLC 

Justin Berutich Head of Tax Insurance

Euclid Transactional

Justin Pierce Berutich is Managing Director and Head of Tax at Euclid Transactional, where he is responsible for leading Euclid’s tax insurance practice and developing bespoke, commercial solutions to diverse tax matters.  A former M&A and transactional tax attorney, Justin enhances client value through the promotion and underwriting of tax indemnity insurance solutions. His corporate, tax, and insurance experience allows Justin to bring a unique perspective to each matter.  Prior to joining the insurance world, Justin, a licensed attorney in three states and the District of Columbia, facilitated efficient and timely negotiations, planning, and structuring for Fortune 500 companies and high growth businesses, providing tax and business-centric advice to help his clients achieve objectives and avoid costly disputes. Justin is a frequent speaker at industry events and on tax focused podcasts and has published multiple articles on tax and tax insurance. He holds an LL.M. in taxation from the NYU School of Law, a J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School, and a B.A., magna cum laude, in chemistry from Florida Atlantic University.

Maury Cartine Managing Director

Prospect Capital

Maury Cartine is a Managing Director providing tax and related services for the Prospect Capital team.  Previously, Maury was the partner-in-charge of the NYC tax department and the co-partner-in-charge of the alternative investment group tax department of Marcum, LLP. He is a certified public accountant in New Jersey and New York and an attorney in New Jersey.  Maury has advised clients on tax and regulatory matters affecting hedge funds and investment advisers beginning with the start-up phase and continuing throughout the life of the fund. Maury attended Seton Hall University (SHU) in South Orange, NJ, where he earned a B.S. in accounting in 1970. Upon graduation, he accepted a full-time position with the IRS as an examining agent and later advanced to the position of reviewer and classroom instructor. During this time, Maury also attended SHU School of Law in the evening where he earned his J.D. in 1976. In addition, he worked at the School of Law’s free legal clinic for clients struggling to overcome alcohol and drug addictions. Maury also served in the New Jersey Army National Guard and completed his service as an Officer in 1976. Rothstein, Kass invited Maury to lead its newly created tax department in 1980. During a twenty-five year career at Rothstein, Kass, Maury served as the principal-in-charge of the worldwide tax practice, the firm’s vice president and a member of the board of directors. Maury was a key contributor to the firm’s fund administration business which was acquired by BISYS in 2005 and he was selected to lead the operations during the transition period following the acquisition. Following completion of the transition period, Maury joined Marcum, LLP. Maury has been a frequent speaker at financial services conferences throughout the world given by some of the biggest names in the conference industry. He has also presented seminars to various groups, including the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Foundation for Accounting Education, and the financial services industry. Maury served as an adjunct professor teaching estate and gift tax at the Seton Hall University Masters in Taxation Program and he continues to serve as a mentor in the Leadership Development Honors Program at Seton Hall. Maury serves on the President’s Advisory Council for Seton Hall University and is a member of the board of advisors to the Seton Hall University W. Paul Stillman School of Business and the Seton Hall University School of Law. His professional affiliations include memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), the American Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Association. Maury served as the chairman of the NYSSCPA Taxation of Financial Instruments & Transactions Committee and previously served as the vice-chair and chairman of the committee’s annual conference. Maury served on the search committee that selected the Dean of Seton Hall Law School. Maury has been actively involved in a number of charitable activities. He served on the grant committee for Hedge Funds Care, an alliance of hedge fund industry professionals dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and treatment of those who have been victimized. Previously, Maury served on the young leadership cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal. He has also served as the public spokesperson for the municipalization of the Montville Township Public Library and participated and contributed to the first two children’s playgrounds in Montville. Maury served as a member and the vice chair of the Montville Township Zoning Board of Adjustment for 14 years. More recently, Maury serves as a Director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the environmental protection of the upper Delaware River.

Shehan Chandrasekera Head of Tax Strategy

CoinTracker

Shehan is one of the handful of CPAs in the country who is recognized as a subject matter expert on cryptocurrency taxation. He is the Head of Tax Strategy at CoinTracker, a Forbes Crypto Tax Analyst and a CPE instructor who has won multiple awards: 2020 & 2019 CPA Practice Advisor 40 under 40 accounting professionals, Outstanding Young CPA of the year, Rising Star of Texas & Among 21 accountants mentioned on Accounting Today who will be helping shape (and reshape) accounting in 2020 and beyond by Accounting Today. Shehan is a renowned speaker who has done speaking engagements with many organizations including Google, Coinbase, Square, Consensus, Coindesk, Lyft, AICPA, American Bar Association, and a plethora of state CPA Societies.

Caroline D. Ciraolo Partner

Kostelanetz LLP 

Caroline Ciraolo, former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, is a partner with Kostelanetz LLP and founder of its Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on federal and state civil tax controversies, including representation in sensitive audits, administrative appeals, and litigation, providing tax advice, conducting internal investigations, and representing individuals and entities in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions. She also serves as a consulting and testifying expert witness and an independent mediator in tax disputes. 

During her tenure with the Justice Department, Caroline was actively involved in all aspects of Tax Division operations and responsible for approximately 500 employees, including more than 360 attorneys in 14 civil, criminal, and appellate sections.   

Caroline is former President of the American College of Tax Counsel and former Chair of the Civil & Criminal Tax Penalties Committee of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Section of Taxation. She served as the ABA Tax Section’s inaugural Vice Chair for Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion, and inaugural Chair of the Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship Program. Caroline also served as an instructor with the IRS Military Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Ft. George G. Meade.   

She is recognized by Chambers (USA: Tax Fraud (Nationwide) (Band 1), Tax Controversy – Nationwide (Band 3), Tax (DC) (Band 1), High Net Worth: Tax-Private Client – USA (Band 1)); Legal 500 (Leading Lawyer); Benchmark Litigation; Best Lawyers in America (Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law, Lawyer of the Year – Litigation and Controversy – Tax (DC – 2022 and 2024, MD – 2012)); Lawyer of the Year – Tax Law (DC – 2025); ITR World Tax (Tax Controversy, World Tax - Highly Regarded and Women in Tax Leader); Super Lawyers (DC (Tax), Maryland (Tax), Top 10 in Maryland, Maryland cover story in 2013), Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards (Best in Tax Dispute Resolution) (2014), and The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence.   

Caroline is a recipient of the ABA Section of Taxation’s Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award, the IRS Chief Counsel Award, the highest honor that can be conferred by that office, and the Tax Excellence Award from the Taxation Section of the Maryland State Bar Association. 

Caroline is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center (International Tax Controversies and Criminal Tax Law and Procedure) and taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law Graduate Tax Program (Tax Practice and Procedure and Criminal Tax). 

Caroline co-chairs the annual NYU Tax Controversy Forum, the D.C. Bar Tax Conference, and the International Tax & Disputes Cambridge Forum. 

Caroline represents clients throughout the United States and beyond. She is licensed to practice in Maryland, District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Courts (Maryland, District of Columbia), U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Courts of Appeals (Fourth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Second Circuit, and Federal Circuit), and U.S. Supreme Court. 

Erica England Chief Financial Officer

The Wolcott Organization 

Erica England is the Chief Financial Officer of the Wolcott organization, which includes the Wolcott Family Office and Wolcott construction firm. Erica is responsible for the organization’s accounting, finance, human resource, tax and information technology systems. Erica also oversees the investment portfolio, including asset allocation, due diligence of investment managers and tax planning.

Erica’s experience in the alternative investment space includes asset management, compliance, financial reporting, taxation, and valuations, with a focus on real estate. Erica holds a BS in Business Administration and Management from Boston University and has held her CPA license since 2003.

Before joining Wolcott, Erica was the Chief Accounting Account Officer for Redwood Real Estate Administration, a fund administration firm, where she was responsible for setting accounting policies, developing the business, and mentoring a team of accounting professionals. Prior to Redwood, Erica served as the Chief Compliance Officer and Controller of JCR Capital, where she was responsible for the financial management and compliance programs for the firm’s private equity real estate funds and corporate entities. Previously, Erica was at The Carlyle Group, where she held the roles of Corporate Accounting Manager responsible for the financial management of all U.S. operating entities and Senior Accountant responsible for the accounting and investor reporting for numerous global private equity funds. 

Seth Factor Partner | Alternative Investments | Tax

KPMG

Seth Factor is a tax partner based in the New York office. Seth provides tax services to the Firm's Financial Services clientele. For the past 26+ years, he has been specializing in the securities area with emphasis on tax planning for investment partnerships, investment advisors, hedge funds and their investors, venture capital companies, investment partnership management companies and general partner entities. He also assists highnet-worth individuals with investment, trust, estate and charitable contribution planning.

Seth has serviced some of the largest investment partnerships in the country. He oversees tax issues and consults on a variety of trading strategies, including straddles, constructive sales, wash sales, swaps and mark to market. On many of his engagements, he assists clients with tax planning strategies, the preparation of technical reports and the tax implications of securities transactions.

Seth is a certified public accountant in New York. He graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and earned his Master’s degree in taxation from Pace University. Seth is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). Seth is also an active instructor for the Firm’s internal training program.

Miri Forster Partner and National Tax Controversy Leader

Eisner Advisory Group LLC

Miri Forster is a Partner and National Leader of the Tax Controversy practice, specializing in providing tax dispute resolution services to public and private corporations, partnerships and high net worth individuals on a wide range of technical and procedural issues. She has over 20 years of IRS practice, procedure, and tax controversy experience.

Miri represents businesses and individuals before the IRS Examination and Appeals Divisions on complex domestic and international tax issues. She also obtains private letter rulings from the IRS National Office, including 9100 relief requests for missed elections. Miri assists clients with voluntary disclosures of inadvertent income, international information return, withholding, and payroll tax compliance errors, obtains penalty abatements and refunds, resolves IRS account issues, and advises on a broad range of IRS practice, procedure and dispute resolution matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Miri was a Tax Controversy Principal at a Big 4 firm. Miri also previously served as an Attorney-Advisor at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C., and is an attorney licensed in the states of New York and New Jersey as well as Washington, D.C.
Miri is a frequent speaker on IRS enforcement trends, the centralized partnership audit regime and its impact on pass-through entities and investors, voluntary disclosures of inadvertent tax compliance matters and related penalties, and other IRS practice, procedure and dispute resolution topics.

Miri was named a 2022 honoree of the Executive Women of New Jersey’s Policy Makers. She also serves as Co-chair of Women of EisnerAmper, New Jersey Chapter.

Philip Gross Partner

Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C. 

Phil counsels clients on structuring and restructuring funds; structuring investment managers and general partners; compensating managers and employees; investing in funds; and seeding, buying and selling management entities.

He also advises clients on planning and structuring securities transactions, foreign investment in U.S. real estate, acquisitions and dispositions of assets, nonqualified deferred compensation, Puerto Rico tax planning, ERISA matters, and numerous other tax issues.

Phil speaks at many conferences on fund tax issues and is an active member of a number of tax groups.

Phil has been named a New York Super Lawyer since 2014 and listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (Tax Law) since 2021.

Justin Headley Senior Manager

Warren Averett 

Justin Headley joined Warren Averett in 2016 and is a Senior Manager in the firm’s Risk Advisory & Assurance Services Group. He has over a decade of combined experience in public accounting and industry. With a robust background in technology, cybersecurity and risk management, his experience helps business leaders by providing tailored risk management solutions that align with business objectives and regulatory requirements. Justin excels in providing his clients with comprehensive technology and cyber risk assessments, SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports and business process reviews. He also assists his clients with navigating a complex regulatory environment by providing IT internal audit outsourcing and IT control testing for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. In addition to his professional services, Justin is a published author and a speaker on a variety of technology topics. His insights and thought leadership in the field continue to drive his success in an ever-evolving environment.

Malcom S. Hochenberg Partner

Proskauer 

Malcolm S. Hochenberg is a partner in the Tax Department. Malcolm’s practice involves helping clients achieve all tax and other commercial objectives in an array of industries. 

Malcolm often works with companies in the context of an M&A transaction and then becomes a day-to-day advisor to the organization and/or its owners. Malcolm also has extensive experience restructuring companies in distressed and non-distressed situations. Within the Firm and among clients, he is known for his proactive, solution-oriented approach.

Geralyn Hurd President

K1x

In 2009, Geralyn Hurd was honored with the ICPAS Woman to Watch Award and she’s been a woman to watch ever since. With 35 years (32 in public accounting), Geralyn didn’t follow the traditional path followed by most CPAs. Rather Geralyn focused on transforming the industry by developing unique technology solutions – first as Tax Transformation and Technology Leader of her firm and now as President & Co-Founder of K1x, Inc.  

Geralyn has multiple patents and patent applications published in her name both for tax preparation software for tax exempts, AI-powered K-1 extraction technologies, a digital K-1 and K-1 Exchange. She advanced to key senior leadership roles at her firm but even more rare, carved out a technology business from her firm and created an independent technology start-up. Today, software co-developed by Geralyn is being used by most of the largest accounting firms in the country.  

Geralyn has had many leadership roles within the CPA profession and served on Illinois and AICPA committees, IRS Technical Resource Panels and the Illinois CPA Society Board of Directors. As a thought leader, inventor and entrepreneur, Geralyn has been a role model and mentor to hundreds of people in the profession.  

Mark Leeds Partner

Mayer Brown

Mindi Lowy US Fund of Fund Tax Sector Leader

PwC

Mindi Lowy is a Tax Partner in PwC’s Alternative Investment practice, with close to 20 years of experience serving private equity investment partnerships, secondary funds, fund of funds, hedge funds, publicly traded partnerships, and open and closed end mutual funds.

Mindi has a proven track record of providing both tax consulting and tax compliance services to her client base which includes some of PwC’s largest multinational financial institutions, large alternative investment management firms, and start-up asset managers. Her experience includes advising on fund structures, consulting on financial instruments, and advising on the tax implications to blockchain products. Additionally, Mindi is viewed as a leader in helping clients transform their operating model.

Mindi has been a driving force in thought leadership relating to alternative investment funds, regulated investment companies, security taxation and virtual currency. She served as the chair of the NYSSCPA (New York State Society CPA) Taxation of Financial Instruments and Transactions Committee. Additionally, Mindi is a frequent speaker at numerous conferences including those sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA), New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) and the Committee of Banking Institutions on Taxation (CBIT). Mindi’s work has been published by Tax Notes and CCH.

Mindi is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and New York State Society CPA (NYSSCPA). She is a graduate from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting where she graduated summa cum laude.

Christopher Mears Audit Partner, Asset Manager 

KPMG  

Background 

Chris is an audit partner as well as KPMG’s NEFS Asset Management Practice Leader for the audit function.  Chris is responsible for setting the strategy for the practice and overseeing execution.  He focuses the Firm’s assurance and audit solutions for the asset management industry, including all activities for business and practice development, operations, technology, audit quality, and capacity management.  

Professional and industry experience 

Chris has over 25 years of experience in asset management, with a particular emphasis on alternative investments. He advises alternative investment clients regarding various matters involving Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, PCAOB Auditing Standards, industry practices, transactional matters, and other regulations that may have an impact on an asset management complex. Chris has assisted asset management clients with matters involving operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, management reporting, performance reporting, financial management and budgeting, accounting, auditing and internal control. Chris has previously testified as an expert on accounting standards and practices in the alternative investment industry. 

Prior to KPMG in July 2014, Chris was Rothstein Kass’ Chief Operating Officer and served as the firm’s Executive Committee. 

He is a member of the AICPA and NJSCPA and he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in 2 states. 

Publications and speaking engagements 

Chris is a frequent speaker at various conferences as well as firm marketing events, has been quoted by various publications including the Wall Street Journal and has authored articles pertaining to alternative investments, inclusive of those sponsored by: 

• Various Prime Brokerage Annual Hedge Fund Summits 

• Managed Funds Association 

• Regulatory Compliance Association 

• Financial Research Associates-Hedge Fund Audit and Accounting Issues/Challenges of Hard to Value Securities 

• Author: “ASC 820 Fair Value Measurements: Implementation Challenges for the Alternative Investment Industry,” Rothstein Kass Accounting Implementation Guide (whitepaper) 

• Author: “Side Pockets: The Convergence of Hedge Funds and Private Equity,” Financier Worldwide Magazine 

Cameron Momeni VP of Solutions Engineering

K1x

Camron is the leader of the solutions engineering, sales enablement, and firmwide education functions at K1x. He provides technical expertise and consulting to K1x's leadership team, product team, client success team, and sales team to move the products, clients, and deals to success using his unique technical knowledge and problem-solving skills. Formerly a not-for-profit tax accountant turned product manager turned technical sales, Camron's 16+ years of experience in multiple facets of tax and technology make him an expert in solving unique and exceptional challenges using K1x solutions. 

Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee Executive Director, Compliance & Implementation, Office of Digital Asset Initiative

IRS

Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee was hired at Internal Revenue Service in February 2024 as the Executive Director, Compliance & Implementation for the Office of Digital Asset Initiative (DAI). The ODAI serves as a Program Office helping IRS set consistent, global digital asset strategy, including internal IRS procedure and policy. He brings significant industry expertise to his position. He is particularly experienced in building global tax program from ground zero and executing pragmatic strategies that meet regulatory muster and budget parameters. 

Formerly, he led the global tax function at ConsenSys (an Ethereum blockchain SaaS company) and its foreign subsidiaries. In this role, he led all the firm’s tax functions including tax policy, corporate tax compliance, international tax, M&A and customer reporting. He also served as ConsenSys' tax policy representative in Washington DC because of his extensive know-how in liaising with governing agencies and industry to help clarify tax regulations in the digital asset space. Previously, he was the Head of Tax & Tax Information Reporting at two digital asset currency exchanges including Coinbase where he oversaw creation of end-to-end tax compliance functions and served as the lead executive focused on emerging US and global tax & regulatory obligations for digital assets. He partnered with Legal, Technology and Business leadership to assess risks to the firm and mitigate those risks through pragmatic & executable enhancements and controls. 

Raj came to the digital assets world after leading tax advisory functions for investment banks in NYC for over a decade focusing on U.S. and global tax information reporting, FATCA, NRA, 871(m) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS). 

Raj has a J.D from University of Kansas School of Law, and B.A. degrees in International Relations and English Literature from Washington College in the state of Maryland. 

Timothy Noonan State Tax Lawyer

Hodgson Russ, LLP

Tim focuses his practice in the state and local tax area. His work primarily involves New York State and New York City tax litigation and controversy. Over the past 23 years, he has handled more than 2,000 personal income tax, sales tax, corporate tax, or other New York tax audits. Tim also has handled about 100 cases in New York’s Division of Tax Appeals.

Tim leads the firm’s Tax Residency Practice and he is one of the leading practitioners in this area of the law. He has handled some of the most high-profile residency cases in New York over the past decade, including a 2014 win in the Gaied case, one of the first New York residency cases to ever reach New York’s highest court. He is often quoted by media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal The New York Times and Forbes, on residency and other state tax issues. And under his direction, the Tax Residency Practice authored What to Expect in a Residency Audit, a detailed guide to residency rules and audits in New York and other states.

As the “Noonan” in “Noonan's Notes,” a monthly column in Tax Notes State, Tim is a nationally recognized author and speaker on state tax issues. He co-authored the 2018 edition of the CCH Residency and Allocation Audit Handbook and Contesting New York State Tax Assessment- Fourth Edition, published by the New York State Bar Association. In addition, Tim has served as a contributing author or editor for several other tax publications and treatises, including the American Bar Association's Sales and Use Tax Deskbook, the "New York Sales Tax Guide" published by practicallaw.com, the corporate apportionment chapter in Thomson Reuters’ Checkpoint Analyst, the New York chapter of LexisNexis’s Practice Insights, and the New York Tax Litigation chapter in Thomson Reuters’ Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts treatise. He has also written more than 250 articles in state and local tax publications around the country over the past several years, and he runs the award-winning Noonan's Notes Blog, where he and his colleagues offer regular commentary on developments in the world of New York and multistate tax law. Tim also speaks on state tax issues for audiences around the country on an average of 20 times a year, including a regular stint on the CCH webinar circuit.

Tim also has handled a significant number of residency and sales tax issues in other states, including work with many national and international clients on multistate compliance or voluntary disclosures. He has also appeared before the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals in litigated matters and is admitted to practice law in Connecticut.

Amanda Nussbaum Partner

Proskauer 

Amanda H. Nussbaum is the chair of the Firm’s Tax Department as well as a member of the Private Funds Group. Her practice concentrates on planning for and the structuring of domestic and international private investment funds, including venture capital, buyout, real estate and hedge funds, as well as advising those funds on investment activities and operational issues. She also represents many types of investors, including tax-exempt and non-U.S. investors, with their investments in private investment funds.

Amanda has significant experience structuring taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and stock and debt offerings. She also counsels both sports teams and sports leagues with a broad range of tax issues.

In addition, Amanda advises not-for-profit clients on matters such as applying for and maintaining exemption from federal income tax, minimizing unrelated business taxable income, structuring joint ventures and partnerships with taxable entities and using exempt and for-profit subsidiaries.

Amanda has co-authored with Howard Lefkowitz and Steven Devaney the New York Limited Liability Company Forms and Practice Manual, which is published by Data Trace Publishing Co.

Joseph Pacello Asset Management Tax 

BDO 

Joseph Pacello is based in BDO's New York Office. Joe has extensive experience providing tax services to hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity funds and other alternative investment vehicles.

Joe earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Seton Hall University, a Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in taxation from Temple University School of Law. Joe's professional affiliations have included the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Managed Funds Association (MFA) and the Wall Street Tax Association (WSTA). Joe has written numerous articles regarding tax issues, and is the author of a treatise entitled "Tax Compliance and Reporting for Hedge Funds", published by Thomson Reuters. In addition, Joe has taught graduate courses at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Grand Canyon University on the topics of financial products taxation and entity taxation.

Lee Sheppard Tax Commentator

Tax Analysts

Lee Sheppard, is a contributing editor of Tax Analysts' Tax Notes. Sheppard is one of the most widely read and respected tax commentators in the world. She has been a mainstay of Tax Analysts’ publications for 30 years. Trained as a lawyer, Sheppard specializes in cutting-edge financial issues, such as derivatives and hedge  funds, and taxation of multinational corporations. She is frequently asked to speak on tax subjects. She has appeared on television shows such as 60 Minutes and Frontline, as well as in the documentary We’re Not Broke. She also writes a blog for Forbes.

Tax Analysts, the publisher of Tax Notes and related publications, is a nonprofit publisher that provides the latest and most in-depth tax information worldwide. www.taxanalysts.com.

Mark Strefling Partner

Sadis & Goldberg LLP

Mark Strefling is recognized as an industry-leading investment management lawyer with over two decades of
experience in the alternative investment industry.

Mark’s practice includes the specialized representation of private fund managers in the design and formation of complex and innovative fund structures, the marketing and distribution of fund interests, the design of comprehensive compliance programs, and the representation of managers during critical regulatory examinations and investigations. Mark also partners with managers to deliver compliance training and education, mock examinations, regulatory and compliance gap analysis, and critical CCO regulatory support.

In addition to his role at Sadis, Mark is also the co-founder of altPILOT LLC, a regulatory compliance consulting firm created with the mission to deliver innovative compliance solutions to the alternative investment management industry. Through its service offerings, altPILOT offers managers a holistic approach to regulatory compliance - partnering with clients to deliver customized solutions which expand business opportunities and help managers realize efficiencies from properly implemented compliance work flow.

Mark’s prior experience includes serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Whitebox Advisors LLC, a US$6 billion global alternative asset manager with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. In this role, Mark served as the legal and regulatory compliance subject matter expert, was responsible for the strategic leadership of global legal, compliance and operations, the alignment of legal and business strategy, and the design of complex fund products and comprehensive compliance and operational control solutions.

Prior to his in-house role, Mark was a Partner in the Investment Management Practice at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (formerly, Faegre & Benson LLP), leading the firm’s hedge fund practice group, pioneering innovative private fund structures, and representing managers in critical regulatory compliance matters. In this role, Mark also pioneered early legal due diligence initiatives and developed innovative strategies to protect and establish investor rights.

Mark began his career in the investment management industry as a Tax Specialist at KPMG LLP, where he advised private and regulated funds on US and international tax compliance, tax-optimized organizational structures and complex securities transactions and investment strategies

George Texieira Partner

Anchin

George Teixeira, CPA, is a tax partner at Anchin. He is a Co-Practice Leader of the Firm’s Private Equity Group, Tax Leader of the Firm’s Financial Services Practice and a member of its Private Client Group. George is experienced in servicing the alternative investment, private equity and financial services industries. His expertise includes tax planning for high net worth individuals, investment partnerships, investment advisors, broker-dealers, venture capital companies, hedge funds (and their investors), investment partnership management companies and general partner entities. He specializes in the taxation of securities transactions and financial services companies, in addition to offering tax compliance and consulting services for a diversity of entities and individuals.

Joseph Volk Partner - Tax Insurance Advisory

Leo Berwick

Joe Volk is a Partner in Leo Berwick’s Tax Insurance Advisory practice. Before joining Leo Berwick, Joe was the co-chair of M&A tax at a nationally prominent boutique tax law firm. Prior to that, he worked in Baker McKenzie’s international tax group and KPMG Canada’s cross-border US M&A Tax group.

Joe is a technically proficient and pragmatic tax advisor with significant experience in M&A, spin-offs, financings, and cross-border tax matters. He has been recognized for his collaborative and efficient approach to problem-solving.

Recently, Joe has advised on a number of tax insurance risks, including reorganizations, spin-offs, compensation and benefits, tax-deferred corporate contributions, and certain federal tax aspects of state tax insurance risks.

Melissa Wiley Partner

Lowenstein Sandler LLP 

Seth Wilks Executive Director, Strategy & Development, Office of Digital Asset Initiative

IRS

Seth Wilks is a seasoned professional in the taxation and digital assets space, bringing a wealth of expertise to his new role as Executive Director, Strategy & Development in the Office of Digital Asset Initiative (DAI) at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The DAI serves as a Program Office that will help the IRS set consistent, global digital asset strategy, including internal IRS procedure and policy. With a robust background in tax technology and compliance, Seth ‘s private sector experience has been a huge asset to the IRS.  

Prior to the IRS, Seth was a senior leader at the digital asset tax and accounting SaaS company, TaxBit. He built a world-class subject-matter expert team, which contributed to the company's reputation as a leader in the fintech industry. His keen insights into regulatory compliance and emerging trends in digital assets positioned him as a trusted advisor to both private and public sector clients navigating the evolving digital asset landscape. As the policy leader, Seth oversaw all government relations efforts, which included interfacing with policymakers on Capitol Hill, regulators, and industry associations. Seth worked closely with all facets of the business, including product, engineering, sales and implementation.  

Seth came to the digital assets world after leading several multi-national corporate tax departments, focusing on complex supply chains, transfer pricing and cross-border transactions.  

Seth has both a Master’s and Batchelor’s Degree in Accounting with an emphasis in taxation from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.