ASA International Conference is the leading event for the global valuation profession. Celebrating its 88th year, the Conference attracts thought leaders, practitioners, allied professionals, vendor partners, government agency personnel, and more from all parts of the world. This paramount event provides an experience unlike other appraisal conferences, offering timely content for all appraisal professionals spanning Business Valuation, Personal Property, Machinery & Equipment, Real Property, Gems & Jewelry as well as Appraisal Review & Management.
Available in a hybrid format, the ASAIC25 offers the convenience of both live and virtual programming where you can learn and connect in your preferred environment. Join us on-site in San Juan, Puerto Rico or from the comfort of your home or office—the choice is yours! Both formats allow you to explore the latest ideas, trends and best practices and interact and engage with fellow professionals. Don’t miss this exciting celebration of exceptional education and networking with leaders in the appraisal profession.
Don’t miss these industry experts presenting our Business Valuation sessions*:
Neil J. Beaton, ASA | Managing Director | Alvarez & Marsal Valuation Services
Neil Beaton is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Valuation Services in Seattle. He specializes in the valuation of public and privately held businesses and intangible assets for purposes of litigation support (lost profits claims, marriage dissolutions and others), acquisitions, sales, buy-sell agreements, ESOPs, incentive stock options and estate planning and taxation. He also performs economic analysis for personal injury claims, wrongful termination and wrongful death actions.
John Benedetti, CA, CPA | Partner | PwC
John Benedetti is a Partner and Managing Director in the Capital Markets Accounting and Advisory Services practice at PwC US. He advises clients on complex accounting and financial reporting matters related to capital market transactions, including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and divestitures. With deep expertise in U.S. GAAP, SEC reporting, and transaction readiness, John helps organizations navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and achieve successful market outcomes.
Vanessa Claiborne, CPA, ABV, ASA, AEP® | President & CEO | Chaffe & Associates
Ms. Claiborne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chaffe & Associates, Inc. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Accredited in Business Valuations (ABV) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has received her designation as an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) by the American Society of Appraisers. She holds Securities Licenses 79, 24, 27, and 63. Ms. Claiborne is also Accredited in Estate Planning (AEP) by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils. Ms. Claiborne specializes in business valuation services primarily for estate and gift taxes, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), GAAP fair value reporting, financial reporting, corporate planning, business interruption claims, litigation support including expert testimony, exit planning, and shareholder transactions and restructuring.
Michael Crain | Director/ Senior Advisor | Florida Atlantic University/ Kaufman Rossin CPAs
Dr. Michael A. Crain is an academic and practitioner. Mike is a CPA licensed by Florida. He holds several certifications in valuation: Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) from the American Institute of CPAs and the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) from the CFA Institute. Mike is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). He earned his doctor of business administration (finance) degree from Manchester Business School in England at the University of Manchester. Mike is a past chairman of the AICPA business valuation committee and has been inducted into the AICPA Business Valuation Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of AICPA’s Lawler Award presented by Journal of Accountancy for best article of the year and AICPA’s Sustained Contribution Award. Mike is the co-author or contributing author of six texts on business valuation or forensic accounting and has written extensively in practitioner journals such as the Journal of Accountancy.
Dan Daitchman, ASA | Managing Director | GA Group
Dan Daitchman has over 18 years of financial advisory and consulting experience helping clients resolve complex financial issues. He specializes in valuation and financial advisory services related to enterprises, equity interests, derivatives, pre-deal diligence, and intangible assets. These services are used for merger and acquisition advisory, fairness opinions, solvency opinions, financial statement reporting, tax, capital raising, litigation, and bankruptcy. His industries of expertise include consumer, industrial, and energy. Dan earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Real Estate from Marquette University and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University. He is also an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers, and serves as a member of the ASA’s Business Valuation Committee and Board of Examiners. Published work includes “A Primer on Bargain Purchases and Negative Goodwill”, which has been featured in the Business Valuation Review.
Drew Dorweiler, ASA, FRICS, FCBV, CPA, ABV, CVA | Managing Director | Dartmouth Partners Limited
Drew Dorweiler is a managing director of Dartmouth Partners Limited in Montreal, Chicago, Dubai and Singapore. He has over 41 years of experience in valuing businesses, securities and intangible assets for a wide range of transactional and litigation purposes. Mor. Dorweiler has been a designated member of ASA for over 30 years, has previously served as a Trustee on The Appraisal Foundation and currently serves as Chair of the Membership Standards and Recognition Committee of the IVSC.
John D. Finnerty, Ph.D. | Professor of Finance | Fordham University
John D. Finnerty, Ph.D., is Professor of Finance at Fordham University. He has more than 40 years experience valuing securities, derivative instruments, and businesses. John has authored 16 books, 3 monographs, and more than 130 published papers. He has testified in valuation matters in federal and state court and arbitrations across the U.S. He developed a well-known and widely used DLOM model by characterizing a DLOM as the value of an average-strike put option.
Jay E. Fishman, FASA, FRICS | Managing Director - Valuation Advisory | Stout
Jay E. Fishman, FASA, FRICS is a Managing Director of Financial Research Associates and has been actively engaged in the appraisal profession since 1974. He specializes in the valuations of business enterprises and their intangible assets. Mr. Fishman has co-authored several books, including the Guide to Business Valuations (with Shannon Pratt),Standards of Value (with Shannon Pratt and William Morrison), and The Business Valuation Benchbook (with William Morrison) He has also written numerous articles on business valuation and has been qualified as an expert witness and provided testimony in Federal court, Tax Court, and twelve state courts. He has taught courses on business valuation to the Internal Revenue Service, the National Judicial College, The Hong Kong Society of Accountants and on behalf of the World Bank in St. Petersburg, Russia. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Temple University as well as an master’s in business administration from LaSalle University. Mr. Fishman is a Fellow of the American Society of Appraisers (FASA), a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a former Chairman and current member emeritus of the Business Valuation Committee of the American Society of Appraisers, Editor of the Business Valuation Review, for many years was the Chair of ASA’s Government Relations Committee, a former Trustee of the Appraisal Foundation(TAF) and former member of the Appraisal Standards Board and the Appraisal Practice Board of TAF. He was a on the Board of Trustees of the International Valuation Standards Council finishing his second term in 2023. In 2020, in full recognition of his outstanding services in the Society and contributions to the appraisal profession, the American Society of Appraisers gave him their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Todd Fries, ASA, CFA | Partner | The BVA Group
Todd Fries, ASA, CFA has over 20 years of valuation, litigation support, and financial advisory services experience and co-leads the valuation practice at the BVA Group. Mr. Fries has conducted hundreds of valuation analyses for financial reporting, tax, advisory and purposes in a broad variety of industries. Mr. Fries has presented to the ASA and published materials relating to determining the cost of capital. Mr. Fries received a Master in Business Administration from Texas Christian University where he graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and Agriculture Journalism from Texas A&M University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation from the CFA Institute and the Accredited Senior Appraiser designation. He is a member of the American Society of Appraisers, CFA Institute, Dallas Society of Chartered Financial Analysts, and the Association for Corporate Growth.
Nene Gianfala, CPA, ABV, ASA-BV-AI | Vice President & Shareholder | Chaffe & Associates
Ms. Gianfala is a Vice President of the Valuation Advisory group with over 17 years of experience in accounting, corporate finance, and business valuations. She joined Chaffe & Associates, Inc. as a Financial Analyst Intern in June 2007, and upon completion of the internship, joined the company. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Accredited in Business Valuations (ABV), Certified in the Fundamentals of ESG by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and an Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuations with a specialty in Intangible Assets (ASA-BV/IA) by the American Society of Appraisers. Ms. Gianfala performs intellectual property and intangible asset valuations for purchase price allocations, impairment testing, internal intangible asset management, portfolio valuation and litigation support. Ms. Gianfala provides business valuation services to public and private companies for estate, gift and income tax planning, financial reporting, corporate planning, employee stock ownership plans and litigation.
Hernando Gomez, CFA®, ASA, ABV, MBA, MF, MIB, CIBE, IT | Director-in-Charge of Valuation Services | Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs
Hernando Gomez has more than 20 years of experience advising local and international companies and entrepreneurs. His consultative approach leverages his deep technical knowledge and vast hands-on business experience. Gomez has been involved in dozens of domestic and international transactions and works closely with buyers, sellers, advisors and bankers to bring projects to fruition. As an advisor and consultant, Gomez brings economic and financial intelligence to C-suite executives, start-ups, entrepreneurs and global clients to help drive business decisions. He focuses on business valuations, including stock option valuations and equity-based compensation analyses, and estate and gift tax valuations; mergers and acquisitions; debt management; financial modeling; purchase price allocation analyses; and litigation international arbitration support for clients in a wide range of industries.
Stephen Jaquess | Partner | The BVA Group
Stephen Jaquess is responsible for overseeing and executing a variety of engagements related to economic damages, securities analyses, antitrust, restructuring, insolvency, financial markets, and valuation disputes. Through his work, he has become a trusted advisor to his clients and frequently provides consulting services in litigation discovery, testimony, and trial-preparation processes. Mr. Jaquess frequently develops and defends the cost of capital used in damages analyses relating to both the cost of equity and the cost of debt. Mr. Jaquess received a Master in Professional Accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Honors and Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with honors. He was a recipient of the Dean’s Award and is both a Sommerfield and National Merit Scholar. Mr. Jaquess is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Bruce Johnson, ASA | Managing Partner | MPJ Business Valuations
Mr. Johnson has over 30 years of experience in the valuation of privately held companies. He is an accredited senior member of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and has served on the ASA’s Board of Governors and ASA Business Valuation Committee. Mr. Johnson is the course developer and instructor for the ASA’s BV203 course on discounts and premiums and a member of the Texas A&M Corporate Finance Advisory Board. He has been published on a wide range of valuation topics in several journals and authored the 1999 Johnson Restricted Stock Study. Additionally, he is a contributing author for Thomson Reuter’s Guide to Business Valuation, McGraw Hill’s Valuing a Business, American Bar Associations The Lawyer’s Business Valuation Handbook and Partnership Profiles’ Comprehensive Guide for the Valuation of Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs.
Bill Johnston, ASA | CEO & Senior Managing Director | Empire Valuation Consultants
Bill Johnston is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) of the American Society of Appraisers and was one of the first recipients of the ASA’s intangible asset designation. He has over twenty-nine years of experience in business and intangible asset valuations. Bill has managed and performed numerous valuations for financial reporting purposes, including purchase price allocation, goodwill impairment testing, and cheap stock (ASC 718/409a). He is a past member of the Board of Governors for the ASA and is Past Chair of the ASA’s Business Valuation Committee. He is also past President of the ASA’s New York City Chapter and chaired the first national conference co-sponsored by the ASA covering financial reporting valuations. Bill has acted as a guest lecturer at Fordham University, speaking on the topic of intangible asset valuation. He is a member of the Appraisal Foundation’s Working Groups on Valuing Contingent Consideration and Intangible Asset Discount Rates and a member of the Appraisal Issues Task Force (AITF). Bill previously served as Empire’s chairperson for its Technical and Standards Committee and currently chairs an annual fair value conference and professional development conference for the ASA.
Marina Kagan | Principal | PwC
Marina Kagan is a Principal in the Financial Analytics and Derivatives group in PwC. She has 16+ years of experience implementing complex financial models for a variety of asset classes and transactions, including fixed income, commodity, and equity derivatives, contingent assets/liabilities, intellectual property, and corporate transactions, for accounting, tax, and management decision making purposes. Marina has extensive experience with statistical modeling, data and analytics, assisting clients with assessing risks and quantifying uncertainties in transactions and complex financial decisions through simulation models, decision analysis, and data visualization. Prior to PwC, she was an Associate Director at Fitch Ratings. Marina has an MS in Mathematics in Finance from New York University, and a BS in Computational Mathematics from the City University of New York.
Curtis R. Kimball, ASA, ARM (BV), CFA | President | Vinewood Investment Analytics Inc.
Curtis R. Kimball has been involved in the valuation profession and in acting both as a fiduciary and a professional advisor to fiduciaries since the 1970s. He has literally decades of experience to provide VIA clients. His clients and engagements while at Willamette and the predecessor banks and trust companies he has worked with over the years include: 20 families on the Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans; Many award-winning and best-selling creative artists, including Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winners; trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property of billion dollar revenue companies; Private businesses and investment companies holding a significant portion of a family’s intergenerational wealth. He has also dedicated his time to advancing the profession by holding positions with the American Society of Appraisers and the CFA Institute.
Shaun Maloney | Partner, Forensic and Valuation Services | Forvis Mazars
Shaun is a partner with the Forensics & Valuation service of Forvis Mazars, specializing in the valuation of businesses, intangible assets, and other complex financial instruments for financial and tax reporting, M&A, shareholder buyouts, corporate planning, and litigation purposes. Shaun holds the CFA, ABV, CFF and CGMA credentials. He is a member of the AICPA, NJ Society of CPAs, and CFA Institute. He is a former member of the AICPA ABV Credential Committee and Business Valuations Committee, former chair of the NJCPA Forensic and Valuation Services Interest Group, and president of the ASA Princeton Chapter. He is a past recipient of the AICPA’s Standing Ovation Award and the NJ Society of CPAs’ Ovation Award for Emerging Leaders. Shaun is a summa cum laude graduate of Seton Hall University, NJ, with a B.S. degree in finance and economics and an M.B.A. degree in accounting.
Gilbert E. Matthews, CFA | Chairman and Senior Managing Director | Sutter Securities Financial Services, Inc.
Mr. Matthews is currently Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Sutter Securities Financial Services, Chairman Emeritus and Senior Managing Director of Sutter Securities, and Senior Managing Director of its affiliate, Boustead Securities. He has 65 years of experience in investment banking and corporate valuation. He has served as an expert witness on valuation and investment banking issues in numerous state and Federal Courts. Mr. Matthews has written several book chapters and numerous articles on fairness opinions, corporate valuations, and litigation relating to valuations and appraisals, and is on the Editorial Review Board of Business Valuation Review,
Z. Christopher Mercer, FASA, CFA, ABAR | Chairman | Mercer Capital
Z. Christopher Mercer, FASA, CFA, ABAR is chairman of Mercer Capital, which was founded in 1982. He has been providing business valuation, financial advisory, and litigation support services since then. Mr. Mercer earned his ASA designation in 1987 and became a Fellow in 2016. He has written numerous valuation-related books, published many articles, and speaks frequently to audiences of business appraisers, accountants, attorneys, financial planners and business owners. Mr. Mercer served as a member of the Business Valuation Committee. He was a member of the Standards Subcommittee for many years and served as its chair for several years. He also served on the Professional Board of the International Valuation Standards Council.
Carla Nunes, CFA | Managing Director | Kroll
Carla S. Nunes, CFA, ABV is a Managing Director in the Office of Professional Practice of Kroll. She has over 28 years of experience. In that role, Carla provides firmwide technical guidance on a variety of valuation, financial reporting and tax issues. In addition, Carla leads Kroll's Valuation Digital Solutions group, which produces cost of capital thought leadership and data housed in the Cost of Capital Navigator, which she co-created. She is a co-author of the “Valuation Handbook” series. Previously, Carla was part of the Valuation Advisory Services business unit, performing engagements primarily for financial reporting and tax purposes at Kroll’s predecessor firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Standard & Poor’s, and Duff & Phelps. Carla is a member of the Education Committee of the International Institute of Business Valuers (iiBV), the Financial Reporting Committee (FRC) at the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the ESG Working Group at the IVSC Standards Review Boards.
PJ Patel, ASA, CFA | co-CEO & Senior Managing Director | Valuation Research Corporation
Michael A. Perlmutter, JD, CPA, CVA, ABAR | Managing Director | Perlmutter Law and Valuation, Inc.
Michael A. Perlmutter, JD, CPA, CVA, ABAR is Managing Director of Perlmutter Law and Valuation, Inc. He boasts a 27-year career at the IRS as an estate tax attorney and revenue agent. At the IRS, he also contributed to the writing of IRS valuation training materials, and taught and mentored new hire ETAs. After retiring from the IRS, he built a nationwide valuation practice which focuses on business valuation and intellectual valuation as well as royalty compliance audits. Mr. Perlmutter is a frequent speaker at professional conferences, an instructor of tax law related topics at UCLA Extension, and an exam grader of NACVA CVA candidate appraisal reports.
Kenneth J. Pia, CPA, ABV, ASA, MCBA | Lead Managing Director | CBIZ Forensic Consulting Group, LLC
Professional business valuation and litigation support experience, Mr. Pia has developed a national reputation working on a wide range of complex valuation engagements. He has performed valuations of businesses and partial business interests for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, family law matters, employee stock ownership plans, business damages, buy-sell agreements, shareholder litigation, estate and gift tax matters, and buying and selling businesses. Ken is a past Chair of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) Business Valuation Committee and a member of the National Business Valuation Education Sub Committee. Mr. Pia is also a Co-Chair of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Foundation’s Forensic & Business Valuation Division.
Antonella Puca, CPA, ABV, CRA | Partner | BlueVal Global LLC
Antonella Puca is the Managing Partner of BlueVal. Antonella specializes in business valuation for financial and tax reporting, M&A transactions, buy-sell agreements, succession planning and litigation purposes. Antonella has served as a member of the research committee of AIMA, as a director and treasurer of the Board of the CFA Society of New York and as a Director at CFA Institute. She is currently serving on the ABV Credentialing committee and has served on the Business Valuation Committee of the AICPA. Prior to BlueVal, Antonella has held positions at various valuation advisory firms, and as an auditor at KPMG & EY in San Francisco and in New York. Antonella is the author of Early Stage Valuation (Wiley: 2020). She has received the 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award – Valuation Services of the AICPA. She is qualified as an expert witness in the State of California.
Patrice Radogna, ASA, CPA, ABAR | Managing Director | CBIZ
Patrice is a managing director at CBIZ, co-leads CBIZ’s national ESOP practice and sits on CBIZ’s Fairness Opinion Committee. Patrice specializes in advising middle-market companies on mergers and acquisitions, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions, fairness opinions and other consulting advisory services. In addition, Patrice has been instrumental in leading per previous firm’s (Marcum LLP) national ESOP practice. Patrice is on the Valuation Advisory Committee for the ESOP Association, speaks on various topics at national ESOP conferences and regularly publishes for both internal company-wide ESOP newsletters and outside publications. Patrice also regularly leads educational seminars for business owners contemplating an ownership transition event.
Seema Ranka, CFA | Director | PwC
Seema Ranka, CFA, is a Director in the San Francisco office of PwC and is a part of the firm's Financial Analytics & Derivatives practice. Seema has been a valuation professional since joining PwC in 2011 and specializes in the valuation of hybrid securities, financial derivatives, contingent payments, and other complex financial instruments. Seema has worked on engagements in a broad range of industries including technology, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, financial services, energy, and industrial products.
Ray Rath, FASA, ARM, CEIV™, IA | Managing Director | Baker Tilly Advisory Group, LP
Ray is a Managing Director in the Valuation Services Practice of Baker Tilly Advisory Group, LP. Prior to this, he had over thirty years experience in the valuation practice of several of the Big 4 accounting firms. Ray has spent much of his time over the past twenty plus years performing valuation reviews for financial reporting purposes. Given this, he has a deep understanding of alternative valuation method and the quality of practice within the valuation profession. He is a Member of an Appraisal Foundation Task Force, Determining the Appropriate Discount Rate on Intangible Assets. He was previously a Member of the AICPA working group that developed the AICPA Accounting and Valuation Guide, Determining Fair Value of Portfolio Company Investments of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms and Other Investment Companies. Ray was elected to the ASA College of Fellows (FASA) for his contributions to the valuation profession.
Robert Schlegel, FASA, MCBA | Principal | Houlihan Valuation Advisors
Rob Schlegel, FASA, MCBA - Past International ASA President, accredited in BV, ARM, and co-taught many RP classes (certified RP instructor in 3 states).
Quinn Shearer, ASA | Managing Director | GA Group
Quinn Shearer is a Managing Director in Valuation & Transaction Advisory Services at GA Group. He has practiced business valuation since 2006 including the valuation of domestic and international businesses, joint ventures, private equity interests, debt, and intangible assets for both publicly traded as well as privately held businesses. These valuation engagements have been performed for a variety of purposes including tax reporting, financial reporting, lending, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution. Quinn is an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers certified in business valuation. He is also a past President of the Atlanta Chapter of the ASA. Quinn is currently on the Board of Directors for the Bobby Dodd Institute and previously served as the Board Chairman. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in Finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Adam M. Smith, ASA, ABV, MRICS | Managing Director | PwC
Adam is a Managing Director and technical leader at PwC with over 20 years of experience in business valuation - both performing and auditing valuations. For the last ten years he has been heavily involved with standard-setting, having spent time working at the FASB and the IVSC.
Kyleigh A. Weinfurtner, Esq. | Managing Partner | Zashin Law
Kyleigh Weinfurtner is the Managing Partner of Zashin Law. Her practice is focused on strategically navigating clients through all areas of family law matters. Kyleigh has a particular strength in handling matters involving complex financials, such as executive compensation, business valuations and diversified investments. Her experience and knowledge in these matters allow her to comprehensively advise clients, whether representing the participant or the spouse. Kyleigh has handled a variety of financially complex matters, including, estates in excess of $500M, compensation and estates of professional athletes, business valuations of publicly and privately held interests, tracing premarital assets, and determining the fair market value of contracts pertaining to executive compensation. In addition to her sophisticated knowledge of finances, Kyleigh also focuses her practice on challenging parenting matters. She has successfully litigated matters of parental alienation to terminate a parent’s rights to custody and parenting time. Kyleigh does not shy away from litigation but preaches strategy over reaction in the handling of matters. Kyleigh is frequently sought after to lecture at continuing education seminars on various topics. She was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University in 2020 and enjoys the opportunity to work with future professionals. Kyleigh and her family enjoy life in a small township, prioritizing their time together and all things sports. She is an avid fan of her beloved New York Giants, a season ticket holder for the Cavs and has an inherited passion for the Tribe. She loves hosting friends and family and cooking far more food than appropriate. She has an extensive bourbon collection and can frequently be found playing golf with her husband.
Laurie-Leigh White, CPA/ABV, ASA | Partner | BVA Group
Laurie-Leigh White, CPA/ABV, ASA, is Partner at BVA Group. She has over 17 years of experience in valuing businesses, securities and intangible assets for a wide range of ESOP, tax and financial reporting purposes. She leads BVA's Houston office and ESOP practice and is co-leader of the firm's transaction advisory committees. Ms. White is a frequent speaker, author and co-instructor of various valuation courses. She is an active volunteer with ASA, including currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Business Valuation Committee.