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Plante Moran welcomes new industry, service, and office leaders

July 23, 2021 Press Release 5 min read

Sixteen team members have been appointed to serve as industry, service, and office leaders at Plante Moran starting July 2021 in order to better serve our clients.

Close-up of hands stacked on top of each other for a celebratory bring it in.Southfield, Michigan — Plante Moran has appointed 16 team members to serve as industry, service and office leaders.

The changes were effective July 1 and include the following new roles:

“I am excited to have this group of talented individuals serve in leadership roles at Plante Moran,” Managing Partner Jim Proppe said. “They will continue to uphold our firm’s legacy of providing exceptional client service, fostering community connections and promoting the firm’s culture. I look forward to seeing each one of them shine in their new positions.”

Based in Southeast Michigan, Becker steps into the chair role for the international advisory board where she is responsible for leading and growing the international assurance, tax and consulting group. In addition to that role, she will continue to be the leader of the firm’s international tax group and actively involved in growing Plante Moran’s international services and footprint.

Based in Grand Rapids, Bondy assumes responsibility for the firm’s financial institutions practice. The financial institutions practice includes banking and credit union organizations, independent mortgage bankers, consumer and specialty lenders and other financial services. He previously served as the practice leader for Plante Moran’s mortgage, specialty finance and other financial services.

Brown will be responsible for leading the firm’s real estate and construction industry practice. Based in Denver, he was formerly the construction practice leader for the Rocky Mountain Region where he was recognized nationally as a construction industry expert.

Based in Auburn Hills, Chambers will be responsible for leading the firm’s K-12 education practice, providing audit and consulting services to over 200 educational institutions. She will continue to serve as a leader in Plante Moran’s real estate group, as well as serve clients within the K-12 education practice.

Cook will be responsible for leading the firm’s state and local tax practice. Based in Chicago, he previously served as the leader of the firm’s state and local tax group for Illinois where he led the Chicagoland practice’s growth.

Franey will be responsible for leading the firm’s financial services industry practice, which includes community banks, credit unions, investment companies, insurance services, consumer and specialty finance and other financial services organizations. Based in Auburn Hills, he previously led the firm’s financial institutions banking and credit union practices and served as an Auburn Hills impact group leader.

Grunduski will be responsible for leading the Detroit office’s tax practice and developing its future talent. Based in Detroit, she recently became a partner at the firm and serves as the leader of the firm’s opportunity zone practice and as a real estate tax specialist.

Based in Auburn Hills, McLellan and Trionfi will co-lead Plante Moran Group Benefit Advisors, which assists clients with driving effective health and welfare benefit plan strategy. Plante Moran Group Benefit Advisors address critical issues such as cost containment, compliance, employee communication and education, vendor selection and implementations.   Both serve as employee benefits specialists with a focus on medical, dental, vision, group life insurance, disability insurance, health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and cafeteria plans.

Ray, based in Detroit, will be responsible for leading the firm’s not-for-profit industry, which provides audit, tax and business consulting services to over 1,000 mission-driven organizations.  She will lead a team of over 250 staff and partners who serve not-for-profit organizations nationwide out of the firm’s Great Lakes Region and Rocky Mountain Region offices.

Based in Southeast Michigan, Reeves will lead Plante Moran’s public sector industry group, which includes the K-12 school practice, higher education and government practice. In addition to her leadership role, Stacey will continue to serve government and not-for-profit organizations.

Saba will be responsible for leading the Auburn Hills office’s tax practice and developing its future talent. Based in Auburn Hills, she is a partner who focuses on the real estate industry.

Based in East Lansing, Walthorn will be responsible for leading the East Lansing office and further developing its staff and client base. Additionally, he will continue to serve as a partner in wealth management, helping to maximize the after-tax net worth for individuals and their families.

Watkins will be responsible for leading one of the Southfield office impact groups and developing its staff. She is an assurance partner serving clients in the government and health care industries.

Based in Chicago, Wiedenhoeft will lead the firm’s manufacturing and distribution industry practice. His responsibilities include coordinating the firm’s assurance, tax, consulting and wealth management services for its manufacturing and distribution clients. He previously served as the leader of the Chicago food and beverage team.

Wydra will be responsible for leading the Detroit office and developing its staff. He is a tax partner and works with clients in the services industry, such as law, architectural and engineering firms, as well as auto dealerships and clients in the high net worth and family office space.

The changes to Plante Moran’s industry leadership team members comes shortly after the firm added four partners to its management team and welcomed a second term for Proppe. In June, the firm also announced its expansion to the Southfield Town Center, uniting more than 900 team members from two former offices in 192,600-square-feet of space in 3000 Town Center.

About Plante Moran

Plante Moran is among the nation's largest accounting, tax, consulting, and wealth management firms and provides a full line of services to organizations in the following industries: manufacturing and distribution, financial services, service, healthcare, private equity, public sector and real estate and construction. Plante Moran has a staff of more than 3,300 professionals throughout Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio with international offices in Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Tokyo, Japan; and Monterrey, Mexico. Plante Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including Fortune magazine, as one of the country's best places to work. For more information, visit plantemoran.com.

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