Sanford, Baumeister & Frazier LLP (SB&F), a 66-year-old full-service accounting firm headquartered in Fort Worth, has joined with Minneapolis-based professional services firm CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA).
SB&F established a Dallas presence through a merger with Hugly PC in 2010.
Managing partners Rick Baumeister and Allyson Baumeister will assume leadership roles in CLA’s Dallas and Fort Worth offices, respectively.
“We have been approached in the past to join other firms and our answer was always ‘no’ because there wasn’t a cultural fit,” said Allyson Baumeister. “CLA is different.”
Each office decides how to best serve clients and is supported with resources from across the country. CLA has nearly 4,000 employees, 90 locations in the United States and a global affiliation. Founded in 1960, CLA recorded revenues of $630 million in 2014, according to the company’s website.
Effective Sept. 21, SB&F, with a team of 50, will relocate to 801 Cherry St. in downtown Fort Worth. CLA’s 60-plus professionals will be located at 5001 Spring Valley Road in Dallas.
EECU’S NEWEST BRANCH
TO OPEN AT ALLIANCE
EECU Credit Union plans to open its newest branch at 3451 Texas Sage Trail in Alliance Town Center in late September, bringing the institution’s number of banking locations to 14 in the greater Fort Worth area.
The 2,800-square-foot branch office features interactive technology to help members learn about mobile banking and online services. It also provides free Wi-Fi, video conferencing and a floor plan designed to facilitate one-on-one conversations with financial and member service representatives.
“We believe our new Heritage Trace branch strikes the perfect balance of high-tech and high-touch service delivery and will appeal to the evolving expectations of nearly 5,000 existing members in the area,” said EECU President and CEO Lonnie Nicholson. “As anyone in the Tarrant County area is eligible to bank with EECU, this new location will allow us to grow within the Alliance Corridor communities while ensuring that we are able to meet the needs of our existing members.”
Details on EECU’s plans for a grand opening are available at eecu.org.
With assets of more than $1.7 billion, EECU Credit Union is one of North Texas’ largest locally owned financial institutions. Open to anyone who lives or works in Tarrant County and surrounding areas, it has served individuals and businesses in greater Fort Worth for 80 years. EECU provides more than 185,000 people with a full range of financial products through a network of 5,000 branches, 55,000 free ATMs and 24/7 online and mobile banking.
EY APPOINTS FW NATIVE
AS MANAGING PARTNER
Ernst & Young LLP appointed Richard Payne to managing partner of the firm’s Fort Worth office effective Oct. 1. Payne succeeds Craig Stone, who is retiring after 30 years with EY, including more than a decade as leader of the Fort Worth office.
With 26 years in the accounting and client service industry, including nearly 14 in Fort Worth’s EY office, Payne has experience serving asset management and real estate clients, including both public and private investment funds and REITs investing in various asset types. A native of Fort Worth, he returned home after nearly eight years working in Washington, D.C.
Payne is a member of Leadership Fort Worth and has served on the boards of Easter Seals of North Texas and the March of Dimes in Tarrant County. A certified public accountant, he is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Texas Society of CPAs and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
COMERICA NAMES SEFZIK
TEXAS MARKET PRESIDENT
Peter L. Sefzik, a 16-year Comerica Bank veteran, has been appointed as the Dallas-based company’s Texas market president.
Sefzik succeeds J. Patrick Faubion, who in July was named executive vice president of Comerica’s Business Bank.
Sefzik will lead Comerica’s Texas Management Council and oversee all business and community development in the bank’s headquarters market, including direct management responsibility for middle market and energy lending in Texas. He also will manage six regional presidents and have overall market responsibilities for the commercial, wealth and retail lines of business in Texas, Arizona and Florida.
Sefzik began his banking career with Comerica as a credit analyst in 1999 and most recently was senior vice president and national private banking group business manager since 2014. Prior to that, he was regional managing director of wealth management for the bank’s Texas, Arizona and Florida markets and spent nine years in Comerica’s energy lending group.
WEAVER RETIREE WINS
TOP STATE CPA AWARD
Gary McIntosh, a recently retired partner at Weaver, received the 2014-2015 Meritorious Service Award to the Public Accounting Profession in Texas, the highest service award given by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA).
This is the third time in the last four years that TSCPA has presented this award to a Weaver professional. Previous recipients include W. M. “Mack” Lawhon, chairman in Fort Worth, for 2013-2014, and Larry D. Edgerton, a partner in tax and strategic business services in Midland, for 2011-2012. The firm’s founder, Lloyd J. Weaver, received the award for fiscal year 1975-1976.
“We are very proud of Gary and his many accomplishments both as a leader and as an individual,” said John Mackel, Weaver’s managing partner and CEO. “Being named a TSCPA Meritorious Service Award recipient demonstrates his extensive career, contribution to our profession and successful tenure with Weaver.”
McIntosh has more than 40 years of public accounting experience including managing his own public accounting firm for 27 years. He joined Weaver in 2009 when the firm expanded and opened an office in Austin, and he served as partner-in-charge of tax and strategic business services.
McIntosh has been a member of the TSCPA for 40 years, filling a variety of leadership roles including seven years on the executive board. He served 13 years on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Council, including a three-year term on the AICPA board, advocating on behalf of the TSCPA and CPAs in Texas. He has been an advisory member of the Texas State Board Rules Committee for more than 20 years. He currently co-chairs the AICPA and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Uniform Accountancy Act committee.
UMB BANK ADDS GRIGSBY
TO TEXAS COMMERCIAL TEAM
UMB Bank, a subsidiary of UMB Financial Corp., hired Frank Grigsby as vice president, commercial lender in Dallas. Grigsby is responsible for developing new commercial business, growing revenue for clients and negotiating credit arrangements.
Grigsby has more than 11 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to his new role, he was vice president, business banking officer at BBVA Compass.
“We have been experiencing a great deal of growth in our Texas region this year,” said Zach Fee, president of UMB Bank Texas region. “Frank is a great addition to our team who will only enhance the growth we are experiencing.”
LODES JOINS LEADERSHIP
AT FIRST AMERICAN PAYMENT
First American Payment Systems appointed Bill Lodes- to the leadership team as senior vice president, business development and strategy. Lodes will be responsible for building a strategy for the Independent Software Vendor market.
Lodes has more than 20 years of experience, including 10 years of experience in the payments industry. Most recently, he was responsible for developer partnerships at TSYS Acquiring Solutions. Prior to TSYS, he worked in a variety of sales and account management jobs at PayPros Payment Solutions and Intuit.
PLAINS CAPITAL ADDS DOWD
TO WEATHERFORD OFFICE
Doug Dowd joined PlainsCapital Bank as vice president and commercial loan officer in the bank’s Weatherford location. Dowd will be responsible for developing commercial relationships, including loans and business accounts.
Prior to joining PlainsCapital, Dowd was vice president at Trinity Bank; previously he was vice president at Frost Bank in Fort Worth. A native of Weatherford, Dowd is a court-appointed special advocate for CASA of Parker County and a board member of the Weatherford Independent School District Education Foundation.
MUTUAL OF OMAHA BANK NAMES
HURTADO REGIONAL EXECUTIVE
Mutual of Omaha Bank appointed Olivia Hurtado regional account executive for its community association banking groups in North Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Hurtado will provide specialized banking services to property management companies, homeowner associations and homeowners. She brings more than 12 years of banking experience, most recently as an association banking loan sales specialist for Mutual of Omaha Bank.