Maine's largest accounting firm names first female CEO
Courtesy / BerryDunn
John Chandler, departing CEO and managing principal at BerryDunn, will be succeeded by Sarah L. Belliveau, who currently leads the Portland-based accounting firm’s not-for-profit practice.
Portland-based accounting firm BerryDunn on Wednesday announced that Sarah L. Belliveau will succeed John Chandler as CEO and managing principal.
She is due to take the reins starting on July 1, becoming the first woman and fourth person overall to lead the firm, a spokesperson told Mainebiz.
Belliveau, who currently leads BerryDunn's not-for-profit practice, was selected after a rigorous internal process by an 11-member internal selection committee and an outside consultant that began in July 2020.
With 600 employees and offices in six states, BerryDunn is ranked the top accounting firm headquartered in New England by Accounting Today for overall revenue growth in 2020. It achieved 26% revenue growth last year and a national ranking of the seventh fastest-growing CPA firm, according to the publication.
BerryDunn, which also topped a ranking of Maine's largest accounting firms in the 2020 Mainebiz Book of Lists, had revenues of $100.9 million in 2020 for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2020.
Chandler will step aside after leading the firm since 1999 but stay on to help Belliveau and the new leadership team’s transition. He will also focus on client work and strategic projects focused on firm growth.
“I’m thrilled to introduce Sarah as my successor and confident she will lead our firm extraordinarily well,” Chandler said in Wednesday's announcement.
“Sarah brings a firm-wide perspective to the job," he added. "Her intimate knowledge of our culture, coupled with decades of experience in direct client service, team development, and collaboration with our diverse practice groups makes her an ideal fit. She’s also just a great person.”
The promotion comes amid a lack of female leadership in the accounting profession nationwide, with one recent study showing women make up only 23% of partners in accounting or finance at U.S. accounting firms.
'Entrepreneurial culture'
BerryDunn is a full-service assurance, tax, and consulting firm providing financial and business expertise to clients around the country.
In January, it merged with Hamden, Conn.-based VantagePoint Healthcare Advisors to expand its health care industry offerings and its geographic footprint in southern New England.
It also recently relocated within Portland to a building owned by Unum Group, signing a lease in July 2020 for 87,906 square feet of space.
In Wednesday's announcement, Belliveau thanked Chandler for his leadership through the transition and throughout his tenure as CEO, and for cultivating an entrepreneurial culture at the firm.
“BerryDunn has afforded me so many opportunities for growth and development. I look forward to creating the same opportunities for others in my new role as CEO,” she said.
“Our firm’s founders established an entrepreneurial culture without sacrificing a genuine respect, care and concern for all employees," she added. "Their vision and values have propelled us to a place where our clients are true firm promoters. As our firm embarks on its third generation of leadership together, we’ll continue to be the dynamic group our clients and community have come to expect.”
Belliveau, a 1992 University of Maine alumna according to her LinkedIn profile, is a principal in BerryDunn's not-for-profit and health care industry groups, serving clients including Catholic Charities Maine and Goodwill Industries of Northern New England.
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