About Us

Kim Taylor

CEO

Kim is an accomplished executive with over 40 years of experience transforming companies and creating success stories through people, processes, and innovation.

With his steadfast focus on delighting customers, inspiring employees, and delivering exceptional value, Kim has led five companies to consistently achieve annual growth rates of over 20% and exits totaling hundreds of millions in value. Most recently, he led Innovative Driven, a prominent eDiscovery service for law firms, to a successful outcome. For Kim, developing people in today’s demanding environment is critical. As such, he reinvents the work experience and inspires, incentivizes, and engages everyone to work towards the four pillars of excellence: customer centricity, operational excellence, people development, and process improvement.

Kim earned his MS in Business Operational Excellence from Ohio State and his MBA and BA from Arizona State University (ASU). ASU recently recognized his business achievements by awarding him ‘Sun Devil 100’ honors

James Petersen

President & COO

Jim brings a wealth of experience developing professional services businesses and a genuine passion for solving operational complexities, engaging with customers, and driving results.

Before joining Escalon, Jim served as the President and COO of BlueStar Energy/AEP Energy. Under his leadership, the start-up company experienced exponential growth in customers (residential, commercial, and industrial), geography, and profitability. Before BlueStar, Jim held various leadership roles at Motorola, including leading the rollout of the Android mobile device portfolio with the largest wireless carrier in North America.

Jim is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB), has earned an MBA from Northwestern University, and has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign.

Declan O'Beirne

CFO

Declan is a seasoned financial executive with a record of proven leadership in RIA, recordkeeping/TPA, life insurance, brokerage, custodial, asset management, and banking businesses. Accomplished in all aspects of strategic planning, strategic implementation, corporate financial planning, accounting, treasury, regulatory oversight, human resources, and financial operations. Broad functional experience including multiple COO, CFO, CRO and CAO roles, Strategy and Operations leadership, with notable tenures at John Hancock Financial services and AIG Financial Services. Restrategized JHFN to focus on RIA AUM growth efforts, rearchitecting the Tech Stack and redrafting outdated processes. Recognized for excellent management and mentoring skills, and for building high-performing teams. Used within the larger John Hancock complex as presentational speaker/MC and at multiple JHFN advisor driven conferences.

On a personal note, Declan is married to Leighanne and they have 2 grown children, Colin & Ciara. Declan enjoys, cooking “crazy recipes” with his wife on weekends, reading historical biographies, looking for his lost golf ball amongst trees and being a fanatical supporter of Liverpool FC in the English premier league.

Ryan Joyce

VP of Sales

Ryan has over 20 years of experience in technology, service delivery, consulting, and leading teams, while driving revenue and optimizing the customer experience.

Before joining Escalon, Ryan served a 21-year tour at IPRO (recently acquired by Reveal in 2023) where he was the VP of Strategy for 6 years, responsible for M&A, GTM Strategy, Sales Strategy and Overall Retention.  Before that, Ryan was the VP of Sales for more than 7 years where he was responsible for overall revenue growth for the organization. Prior to those roles, he spent his beginning tenure at IPRO across multiple areas in Sales Engineering, Consulting and Direct Sales.

Ryan’s background in Information Technology and Computer Science has given him a deep knowledge and understanding of Big Data Analytics & Systems, this, along with his extensive success in sales and leadership, gives him a unique ability to champion any team to the next level.

Karen Greene

VP of Human Resources

Karen is an accomplished people leader with broad strategic, change management, and cultural transformation experience, including a track record of impact-building people programs for top-tier professional services firms.

Karen has over 20 years of experience in talent management, workforce planning, organizational design, compensation, talent acquisition, performance management, and employee relations. Her passion lies in building cultures that attract the best talent, grow careers, and help people love where they work.

Before joining Escalon, Karen was a human resources executive for McKinsey and Co. and PwC. She has also consulted early-stage start-ups and PE-backed firms.

Karen is an active member of SHRM and holds an SPHR certification. She earned her MPA in human resources from Carnegie Mellon University and her M. Ed in Management from the University of Georgia. She also holds degrees in economics and psychology from The University of Pittsburgh. Karen and her husband reside in Tampa, Florida, with their four children and Goldendoodle puppy

Ankur Saxena

Head of India Operations

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Ankur brings over 15 years of experience leading business development, operations, finance, and accounting departments. Most of all, Ankur is deeply passionate and committed to developing and enriching the people around him.

Ankur established and has led Escalon’s India Operations. Starting with a team of 3, Ankur grew Escalon’s India team to over 700 team members, delivering work across finance, accounting, human resources, payroll, and benefits disciplines. A natural team builder, he is involved in all aspects of their performance, ensuring that every element of the India office is optimized for quality work and team efficiencies.

Brian Elcock

Global Head of Engineering

Meet Brian, our tech visionary with a knack for turning big ideas into products that users can’t get enough of. With a career spanning multiple industries—think everything from fintech and healthcare to e-commerce and beyond—Brian’s diverse background brings a fresh perspective to Escalon. He’s not just about building cutting-edge tech; he’s about creating standout experiences that drive real impact.

Brian’s journey includes pivotal roles at a leading market research platform and a credit union servicing organization, alongside a rich history in application architecture, product design, and team leadership. He thrives on crafting solutions that not only meet the needs of today but anticipate the demands of tomorrow.

Hailing from the vibrant Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Brian now calls the mountains of Utah home. When he’s not strategizing the next big tech leap, you’ll find him on the pickleball court, diving into a good book, spending time with family, or soaking up live music. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Brigham Young University.

Hugh Alexander

Head of Tax & Compliance

Hugh is an accomplished tax executive and licensed attorney with over 27 years of experience providing business tax services to a broad array of clients in varying industries, with a focus on technology-based SMB’s.

Before joining Escalon, Hugh was a Tax Partner for KPMG, LLP, a Big Four global public accounting firm. He also served as the Tax Risk Management Partner for KPMG’s Pacific Southwest and Northern Pacific Business Units.

Hugh received his Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and his Bachelor of Science from The University of Texas at Austin. He is also an active member in the Tax Sections for both the State Bar of Texas and the State Bar of Arizona.

Rachel Roybal

Global Head of People Ops

Rachel joins the Escalon team with over 20 years of HR practice experience – obtained both in practitioner and management roles. She brings a strong background in client-services/shared services models, and fractional HR support.

Originally from New Mexico, Rachel graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in communications & journalism. In California, she continued her studies in human resources management at California State University, San Marcos. Rachel holds an SPHR designation from the HR Certification Institute (HRCI).

She has called San Diego home for the past 28 years. Rachel is married with 3 adult children: one daughter (18), two stepsons (25, 30) and four fur babies (there’s always room for one more!).  When not working, Rachel enjoys traveling with her family, and all things San Diego including kayaking, bike riding and the beach.

Jedannah Vieira

CFO & Head of Consumer Goods

Jedannah is an accomplished executive with over 15 years of experience in financial services (Ernst and Young, RSA Insurance) and at high-growth consumer brands (Rothy’s, Babylist, ettitude, VSCO). During her time as Consulting CFO at Fullstack Finance and Escalon, Jedannah has supported several brands in a long-term capacity: Humanrace, Orebella, The Outset. Jedannah is a generous leader; she excels at establishing high-performance teams and operating models; at executing strategic and financial planning. Jedannah graduated Cum Laude with a honors Bachelor’s of Business Administration and a graduate diploma in Accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University; received her CPA designation in 2009.

David Horning

CFO & Head of SaaS

David leads our Software-as-a-Service practice at Escalon. He has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including more than 10 years working as a fractional CFO for venture-backed start-ups. During this time David has helped dozens of companies complete more than $600M in combined equity and debt transactions across a range of industries: SaaS, cleantech, biotech, hardware, transportation and many more. Previously David was an Investment Professional at Palo Alto Investors where he invested in both publicly-traded small-cap companies and private venture-backed start-ups. David began his career as a Mechanical Engineer in the gas turbine industry where he helped developed low-emission combustion systems. David received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and his M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. He has been a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder since 2005.

Karl Pawlik

CFO & Head of Life Sciences

Karl Pawlik leads our Life Science practice at Escalon Services.  Karl has over 20 years of experience working in various leadership roles in finance, accounting, and strategy, with the last 10+ years being dedicated to the role of CFO of venture and pre-venture funded start-ups.  Earlier in his career, Karl held global finance, business development, and strategy roles with Fortune 500 companies including Applied Materials, and St. Jude Medical (now Abbott), where he was part of the team that acquired CardioMeMs and NanoStim.

Karl has a passion for setting up organizations for success and gives back to the community by coaching competitive youth water polo.

Karl received his B.S. degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. from California State University at Northridge.

Shannon O'Neill

CFO & Head of Diversified

Shannon is a versatile finance and operations executive with a unique blend of experience, including launching high-growth digital platforms at Comcast and Golf Channel, leading the Media and Entertainment vertical for EY Consulting, and managing finance and operations for the highly successful Scripps Networks portfolio. O’Neill is celebrated for his keen business transformation skills, financial and performance management, and customer relationship management.

Shannon has a long history of building and growing new businesses, which started in 1999 when he co-founded vcmVertical – a proprietary artificial intelligence platform for capturing, filtering, and tagging financial information on the web. Before Escalon, Shannon was Managing Director at Scripps Networks Interactive, serving as the Finance and Operations lead for its $2.5B domestic business – HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.

Shannon graduated from the University of Delaware, holds a CPA, and completed an executive management program at Harvard Business School. Shannon lives with his wife and daughter in Denver, CO.

John Schenk

CFO & Head of Media, Entertainment and Web3

John has 20+ years of finance and operations experience working for global media brands including Sony BMG Entertainment, Capitol Records, and Tickets.com. John has served as CFO for a number of early-stage high growth tech companies, and most recently for an early-stage cryptocurrency / blockchain company called Make Sense Labs. John has an MBA in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a BS degree from Indiana University. He is also an actively licensed CPA in the state of California.

Yair Segev

CFO & Head of Not for Profit

Yair joined Escalon in 2014. He is a business and financial leader known for his ability to develop and deliver strategic company-wide financial policies and procedures. He has hands-on experience assisting non-profits in corporate development, continuation planning, and workforce retention.

As an astute leader, Yair adds value through proactive decision-making, business process reengineering, proven global leadership, and mentoring and coaching skills. Before joining Escalon, Yair was the Vice President of Finance for Nielsen Social (a Nielsen McKinsey company) and managed various finance responsibilities within Nielsen Online. Yair also served as CFO of a chemical trading company and treasurer of a multinational telecom company.

Yair has a BA in Accounting and Economics from Tel Aviv University and was a member of CPA Israel.

Ankush Sharma

CFO & Head of Private Equity

Ankush is a highly impactful accounting professional with over 18 years of experience servicing diverse industries. A trusted business partner, he is Six Sigma certified and offers substantial experience driving process improvements across accounting and operations.

Ankush has worked with emerging businesses in the health/fitness, marketing advertising, manufacturing, e-commerce, and technology sectors, delivering measurable results focusing on client satisfaction. He provides a full range of financial services, including revenue recognition, sales tax returns, monthly financials review, ERP solutions (NetSuite) implementation, and designing OTC, P2P, and R2R processes. Inspired by the innovative products and services of Escalon clients, he is deeply committed to helping them succeed.

Ankush holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Panjab University. In his free time, he enjoys reading biographies and volunteering to raise money for multiple charities.