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John R. Ezell, CPA, CEPA, Principal and Sales Director Ken Berry, Principal and Regional Director Chuck Hayes, Principal and Regional Director Rick Harrison, CPA, Regional Director Liz Phillips, Senior Sales Consultant Brian Costa, Senior Sales Consultant Ruth Vera-Cedro, Executive Sales Associate Amie Berlier, Sales Assistant John Wang, Sales Assistant
Serving California, Hawaii and the Mid-Atlantic states John is the principal author of the book, Successful Practice Sales: The Complete Guide to Buying, Selling or Merging Your Accounting, Consulting or Tax Practice. This 200 page book serves as a guide through every nuance of the potentially daunting business transactions, including financing your acquisition to exploring the complete lifecycle of a sale and much more. He is also a frequent speaker and presents seminars on How to Buy, Sell or Merge Your Accounting Practice throughout the country. This seminar is designed to help owners of accounting and tax practices understand the core issues as they begin to contemplate the sale or purchase of a business. Previously, John operated his own CPA practice in the Washington, DC area that he successfully sold in 1994. Prior to starting his practice, John worked with two CPA firms in Washington, DC, including BDO Seidman, an international accounting and consulting firm. John is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California. He has earned the designation of Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) from the Exit Planning Institute® for completion of their Spring 2009 Program. He is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker. He holds a BS in Accounting from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. John served in the US Marine Corps and was an embassy guard in Moscow and Berlin. John is married to Jennifer and they have four children. He coaches youth baseball and soccer, and serves his community in a variety of volunteer leadership positions. John can be reached at (800) 729-3242 or via email.
Previously, Ken spent nine years working in marketing, sales and business development at Crisp Learning, a leading publisher of corporate training and personal improvement books, videos and computer-based training programs (Crisp Learning was sold to Thomson Learning Group in 2003). Ken holds a BS in History from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He is a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). In his free time, he runs, plays soccer, skis, and coaches youth soccer. He completed his first half-marathon in October 2006. Ken can be reached at (800) 729-3242 or via email.
Chuck’s accomplishments at Midwest Bankers include developing a conventional program that provides financing for the acquisition of accounting practices. After underwriting hundreds of proposed accounting practice acquisitions, Chuck has become an expert in helping buyers and sellers structure deals that help both parties achieve their goals – the respective sale and purchase of an accounting firm. Previously, Chuck spent 10 years working in the dental industry and finished his sales career with Henry Schein, Inc., a public company that serves healthcare professionals around the world. Chuck attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX where he played on the golf team. He has twice served on the tournament committee for the Mid-Continent Collegiate Golf Championships. Chuck is married to Belinda and they have two young children. He oversees the Indianapolis, IN office for ProHorizons. He can be reached at (866) 570-8270 or via email.
Serving the California Central Valley and the Mountain and Southwestern states
Rick spent many successful years in finance, advising and guiding business owners in preparing for and transitioning their businesses for sale. Prior to joining ProHorizons, Rick was active in the Sacramento area as a business broker and mergers and acquisitions advisor. He has also served in senior management positions with several companies. As Chief Financial Officer for a multi-million-dollar manufacturing company, he was responsible for human resources and information technology in addition to finance operations. As Corporate Treasurer for an Internet communications company, he successfully aided in obtaining several millions of dollars of additional financing and was liaison to outside investment bankers and venture capitalists. As an entrepreneur, Rick operated his own CPA practice for several years in Silicon Valley and during that time bought and sold several CPA practices. Rick is licensed both as a Certified Public Accountant and Real Estate Broker in the State of California. He holds graduate and under graduate degrees from Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, and Golden Gate University. Rick is married to Valerie, and they have one grown son. In his free time, Rick enjoys photography, reading and downhill skiing. Rick can be reached directly at (888) 295-3716 or via email.
Serving Florida
Serving Orange County and Long Beach in Southern California
Prior to joining ProHorizons, Brian was the Sales Manager at Lobby Traffic Systems, a company specializing in facility security equipment and installations. Brian’s sales career started when he began a route sales position with a fast-growing consumer goods company while still in school and quickly took on a management role for a facility in Brooklyn, NY. He eventually came to California where he became a partner in the business and was offered a position as a Regional Sales Manager for the western United States. Brian was able to develop and hone his training, coaching and managing skills as the sales force grew to 35 salespeople. His proudest accomplishments during this time were his integral involvement in developing a web-based reporting and tracking system and his time spent delivering classroom and field-based training programs to support his team. Brian currently holds a California Real Estate license, a Realtor designation and is a member in good-standing of the local multiple listing services. He attended Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts where he was also a member of the college soccer team. Brian is married to Melissa and they have two fantastic boys who keep them busy with activities. Together they spend their free time outdoors camping, hiking, boating and participating in sports and community activities. Brian can be reached directly at (877) 459-2936 or via email.
Ruth graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Marketing. While attending Santa Clara University, Ruth played an active leadership role in the multi-cultural community on campus. She is also a member of the National Association of Professional Women. Ruth can be reached at (800) 729-3242 or via email.
Prior to joining the ProHorizons team, Amie was an operations supervisor for Caribbean Transportation Services, a FedEx Company. Amie is married to Jeremy and has a step-son. Amie can be reached directly at (866) 570-8270 or via email.
Prior to Prohorizons, John founded and was sole owner of a residential real estate appraisal company. Previous experiences include being a senior customer service representative at Graybar Electric, and a sales account manager with Valin, handling top customers like Lockheed Martin, Hewlett Packard, Applied Materials, Google, etc. John Wang is married to Eunice. Born and raised in the Silicon Valley. John can be reached at (800) 729-3242 or via email.
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©2003-2009 ProHorizons Network, Inc. |
Ken Berry has worked closely with John Ezell and ProHorizons since June of 2002. During that time he defined, developed, and refined ProHorizons’ internal processes, ProHorizons’ role in the accounting practice sales industry, and ProHorizons’ level of service to and communication with its existing and potential clients. In 2005, he joined us as a full-time broker. In January 2007, he joined John Ezell as a principal/owner of ProHorizons.
Chuck Hayes was the owner of Midwest Bankers Transition Services, LLC, a national brokerage and consulting firm specializing in the acquisition, sale, merger and financing of accounting and tax practices. In February of 2008, he joined John Ezell and Ken Berry as a principal/owner of ProHorizons. 
Rick Harrison is a sales, mergers, and acquisitions consultant working with tax and accounting owners in the Sacramento and Central Valley area of California and the states of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico.
Liz Phillips is a sales, mergers, and acquisitions consultant working with tax and accounting owners in the state of Florida.
Brian Costa is a ProHorizons Senior Sales Consultant working with accounting and tax owners in Orange County and Long Beach, California.
Amie Berlier joined ProHorizons as a Sales Assistant in March 2009. In this position, she provides service and support to our clients and prospective buyers. Amie works out of our Indianapolis office with her primary role as a member of Chuck Hayes' team, supporting our activity in the Midwestern, Central and Southern states.