James Petersen

Chief Executive Officer

Jim brings a wealth of experience developing professional services businesses and a 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.

David Horning

Chief Operating Officer & Head of Saas

David Horning serves as Escalon’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the delivery of scalable, technology-enabled solutions across accounting, finance, tax, and HR. In this role, he leads strategic and operational initiatives that streamline delivery, enhance client engagement, and increase productivity. With more than 20 years of experience in financial services and over a decade as a fractional CFO for venture-backed startups, David brings a proven record of helping companies grow with confidence and clarity. 

David holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, along with M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. 

Andrew Hoyt

Chief Financial Officer

Andy is a seasoned finance executive with 29 years of experience in public and private companies across the pharmaceutical, cannabis, energy, and technology industries. He brings a strong mix of both technical accounting and operational finance experience, having worked in public accounting at Price Waterhouse, SEC Reporting at Motorola, and in FP&A roles for multiple companies. One of those companies was privately owned, which he helped lead to a successful exit resulting in the company’s acquisition.

Andy has spent the past five years in the growing U.S. cannabis industry, serving as the CFO of a start-up and as both the SVP of FP&A and Corporate Controller for Cresco Labs, a public multi-state operator with revenue over $750 million.

Andy holds a BS in Accounting from Miami University in Ohio, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and is a non-practicing CPA. He lives outside Chicago with his wife and three boys.

Anita Mellem

Chief Executive Officer of Escalon Norway & Certified Public Accountant

Anita has also worked extensively with Skattefunn and support schemes for entrepreneurial businesses. 

Escalon Services is small in Norway, but big in the world.  We assist entrepreneurs and general managers in small and medium-sized businesses with internal administrative services such as accounting, payroll, HR and insurance, as well as helping our customers grow and scale both nationally and internationally.

We have offices in both Oslo and Bergen, but work digitally and help customers all over Norway, as well as several European countries in addition to the USA.

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.

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.

Erika Lake

Head of People Operations

Erika Lake is a senior Human Resources executive and strategic advisor with nearly three decades of experience building, scaling, and transforming people functions across high-growth and established organizations. She has led HR strategy for companies ranging from early-stage startups to complex, global organizations with over 2,500 employees, including environments navigating rapid growth, operational transformation, and private-to-public transitions.

Erika is known for designing and implementing modern, people-first HR infrastructures that drive both business performance and employee engagement. Her expertise spans organizational design, executive coaching, performance management, compensation and benefits strategy, and culture transformation, with a strong emphasis on aligning people strategy to business outcomes.

Throughout her career, Erika has partnered closely with executive leadership teams to lead through change—including mergers and acquisitions, workforce scaling, and organizational restructuring—while maintaining a clear focus on culture, compliance, and long-term sustainability. She brings a pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach to complex HR challenges, balancing operational excellence with a deep understanding of the employee experience.

As a consultant and trusted advisor, Erika works with organizations to build foundational HR programs, develop leadership capability, and implement scalable systems and processes. She is particularly skilled at translating business goals into actionable people strategies, helping organizations create environments where both employees and the business can thrive.

Karl Pawlik

CFO & Head of Technology & Life Sciences

Karl Pawlik leads our Technology and Life Sciences 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.

Yair Segev

CFO & Head of Non-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.

Gaurav Wadhwa

CFO & Head of Diversified

Chartered Accountant with 10+ years of experience across diverse industries, including audit and assurance, manufacturing, and outsourcing. Currently leading the Diversified vertical in Escalon with a team comprising of CFO’s, Controllers and Accountants providing end to end accounting, reporting, controller support and fractional CFO services.

David Mashhoodi

VP of Sales

In combination with his background in finance and accounting, David has over 5 years of executive leadership experience in sales, professional services, HR and tax consulting. David brings a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving substantial revenue growth through consultative selling and strategic partnership development.

Prior to joining Escalon, David demonstrated exceptional leadership as the Director of Business Development at Early Growth Financial Services, where he helped top venture funds and technology companies streamline their back-office operations. After Early Growth was acquired by Escalon in 2021, he helped manage the consolidation of sales and marketing through multiple strategic acquisitions, before the company was in turn acquired by New Harbor Capital, a leading PE fund out of Chicago.

David earned his BS in Business Administration with a double option in accounting and finance from CSU Hayward in 2012.

Outside of his professional pursuits, David is an avid outdoorsman having thru hiked both the Pacific Crest Trail (2013) and Continental Divide Trail (2014). He continues to share his love of nature and the outdoors with his wife and two young children.

Kim Pentecost

Head of Global Human Resources

Kim is a seasoned HR leader with experience spanning small market, mid-market, and Fortune 500 organizations.  Her background includes managing the full spectrum of HR functions in smaller and mid-sized companies, as well as leading specialized areas such as Total Rewards, Payroll, and Benefits in large, complex environments.

With a foundation in HR Management from Strayer University, Kim brings both breadth and depth to human capital strategy. She has successfully designed and implemented HR initiatives that align with organizational vision, improve employee engagement, and drive measurable business outcomes.  Her experience includes leading large-scale HR projects across multiple geographies, implementing and optimizing HRIS platforms such as Workday, PeopleSoft, and ADP, and fostering cultures rooted in collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

Passionate about creating people-first organizations, Kim brings focus to building safe, productive, and inclusive workplaces where employees can thrive while advancing business performance.

André Steffens

VP of Information Technology

André R. Steffens is a seasoned IT leader with almost two decades of experience across Project Management, Risk Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, and cross-functional deployments. He has gained international experience working in North America and Latin America within Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction, Aviation, Consulting Services, and Software industries.
André leads a team of IT professionals at a fast-growing services company with employees worldwide, where he is responsible for delivering reliable IT solutions, cybersecurity, and driving SOC2 compliance efforts. He has successfully completed numerous M&A infrastructure integrations, cloud migrations, IAM implementations, end-user technology projects, IT procurement, and asset management strategies.
In addition, André has implemented new office locations and expansions, process automation, SOC2 audit cycles, vulnerability management, IT policy definitions, and network availability initiatives.