The AFP North America, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) FP&A Advisory Councils (FPAACs) play a critical role in helping AFP provide relevant, timely insights to finance professionals worldwide.

Led by Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, AFP’s Director of FP&A Practice, the FPAACs contributed to numerous resources in 2025, including:

• 2025 AFP FP&A Benchmarking Survey Report: Technology & Data
• AFP FP&A Guide to Communication Skills for Finance
• AFP FP&A Guide to Building an FP&A Function
• AFP's Onboarding Guide for Early Career Finance

FPAAC members also helped plan the FP&A track at the annual AFP Conference and the AFP FP&A Forum.

The FPAAC members represent a broad cross-section of industries, organizational sizes and ownership structures. They were selected based on their contributions to the FP&A practice, expertise in specific areas and desire to contribute to the advancement of their peers.

Meet the FPAAC members:

• North America FP&A Advisory Council
• Asia-Pacific FP&A Advisory Council
• Middle East and Africa FP&A Advisory Council

North America FP&A Advisory Council

Outgoing chair of the North America FP&A Advisory Council, Jesse Todd, Director of Cross-Industry Finance Transformation at Microsoft, is succeeded by Marcus Gadson, AVP of Capital Management at Ascension, who steps into the role of 2026 Chair for the North American FP&A Advisory Council.

“I’m incredibly grateful to the former FPAAC chairs for their contributions and look forward to collaborating with the FPAAC to advance the FP&A field in 2026,” said Gadson.

3 Questions with 2026 North America FPAAC Chair Marcus Gadson

What do AFP and the FPAAC mean to you?

Gadson: AFP is my “experience multiplier.” It’s my one source of truth for all things related to corporate finance and allows me to garner additional finance experience outside my place of employment. From the guides to the webinars and annual conferences, AFP captures the voice of the CFO, while serving the needs of the VP, director, manager and analyst. 

For me, FPAAC is an incubator for all of AFP’s FP&A-related content and activities. The council is filled with members who are actively committed to advancing the FP&A profession, and that passion is contagious.

What are you looking to accomplish this year with the council?

Gadson: Three things I want to accomplish are: 

1. Increase the relevancy and traction of the content produced by AFP
2. Enhance the member experience at the AFP FP&A Forum
3. Ensure the FPAAC Council reflects the voice and needs of FP&A professionals throughout North America

Is there one story in particular that explains the value of this group?

Gadson: In 2024, the FPAAC was having a discussion related to the period-end close process. A portion of the council was not engaged in the process, while others acknowledged significant FP&A responsibilities before, during and after close. This discourse led to the article “The FP&A Checklist for Period-End Closing.”

This experience highlights the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of the FPAAC. It also captures the ability to leverage our experiences to speak to FP&A professionals who operate within various organizational structures and frameworks.

North America FPAAC Members

New members joining the North America FPAAC in 2026:

• Anthony Davis, CTP, FPAC, Executive Advisor and Independent Director
• Chad Bianchi, CTP, Vice President of FP&A, Syniverse
• Chad Halley, FPAC, Senior FP&A Manager, Enterprise Financial Planning & Analysis, Washington Prime Group Inc.
• Patrick Lau, FPAC, Director, Corporate Finance & Treasury Planning, Natural Factors
• Funmilola Oriji, Finance Manager, Amazon
• Julian Scutari, Vice President FP&A, ITT Inc.
• Rachel Stanziola, FPAC, Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis, United States Steel
• Beth Thomas, Chief Operating Officer, QueBIT
• Anna Tiomina, Founder, Blend2Balance

Continuing their service this year:

• Marcus Gadson, FPAC, 2026 Chair, AVP of Capital Management, Ascension
• Lisa Bartko, Sr. Finance Manager – FP&A, Uline
• Dawn Collins-Vitale, FPAC, Yield Manager, TOTE Maritime
• Majid Darvishan, Clinical Assistant Professor, Kelly School of Business, Indiana University
• Oscar Garcia, FPAC, Chief Analytics Officer, BorrowWorks
• Rosemary Linden, President, Momentum CFO
• Lawrence Maisel, President, DecisionVu
• Jessica Martin, FPAC, Senior Finance Manager, Seurat Technologies
• Kara Masterson, FPAC, Managing Director of FP&A and Investor Relations, OneAmerica Financial
• Cassie McCombs, FPAC, Vice President, FP&A, Ultradent Products
• Ashley Merritt, FPAC, R&D Portfolio Finance Manager, W. L. Gore & Associates
• Antonio Morales, Executive Partner, Gartner
• Steve Saah, Executive Director, Permanent Placement Operations, Robert Half
• Kavin Soni, Senior Financial Analyst, Ads, Google
• Jermaine Stanislaus, FPAC, Senior Financial Analyst - Media, Bloomberg
• Jesse Todd, Director, Cross-Industry Finance Transformation, Microsoft
• Haresh Vayal, Chief Financial Officer, The American Council for International Education
• Tyler Vonderheide, Senior Manager, FP&A Systems and Product Enablement, Southwest Airlines
• Cassie Wang, Head of Finance, Lightship Security

We would also like to offer our thanks to the following individuals who are stepping down from the North America FPAAC this year:

• Ilana Esterrich, CFO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Amy Johnson, FPAC, Director at Large and Board Member, National Assistance League and Bassett Unified School District
• Justin Kuzma, FPAC, Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, United States Steel Corporation
• Philip Peck, Vice President - Finance Transformation & Advisory Services, Peloton Consulting Group
• Alina Traistaru, Principal and FP&A Consultant, Sunrise Consulting
• Melissa Wong, CFO, Tech Opportunities, Bain Capital

Asia-Pacific FP&A Advisory Council

• Narayanan Alaghappan, Country Controller and PAR Lead for Integrated Gas Businesses in Americas, Shell
• Jason Ang, Senior Advisor, Castlery
• ChengHan Chee, Finance Director, GEODIS
• Raymond Cheung, VP, Corporate Finance & Strategy, SML Group
• Kelvin Chu, FPAC, Group Financial Controller, Sanford Limited
• Connagh Hopkins, Head of Financial Performance, Murdoch University
• Pankaj Kabra, Senior Vice President Finance, Traveloka
• Puneeta Kapoor, FPAC, Senior Finance Business Partner, Edith Cowan University
• Danny Shiu, FPAC, CTP, Sr. Financial Analyst, Kinder’s Premium Quality Seasonings & Sauces
• Johan Van Zyl, FPAC, Data & Technology Leader (Strategic Insights Group), Marsh McLennan
• Kevin Wong, Director of Finance, APAC, Blue Bottle Coffee, Hong Kong
• Jeff Zielinski, FPAC, CFO, Buy&Ship

Middle East and Africa FP&A Advisory Council

• Wesam Alayyad, Head of Financial Reporting and Analysis, Jedco KSA
• Sarah Badawy, FPAC, FP&A Leader
• Barry Huisman, FPAC, Chief Financial Officer RPI, OQ
• Alex Mbuthia Karuri, FPAC, Group Finance Manager, Dutco Group
• Hesham Mokhiemer, FPAC, CTP, Founder, The Financeer
• Philip Muchaba, Senior Manager – Finance Business Partner Financial Services (M-PESA), Safaricom PLC
• Sultan Mujallid, FPAC, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Saudi Air Navigation Services
• Syed Nadeem, Director Budgeting and Cost Management, Zain KSA
• Syed Zeeshan Pervez, Group Chief Financial Officer - Pakistan, KSA & UAE Markets, JW Corporation
• Srinivasa Raghavan, Head Opex Budget and Asset Management Lead, QatarEnergy
• Shehab Salah, Global Head of Finance, Noon – The Social Learning Platform
• Omar Shahawy, FPAC, CTP, Investment and Business Planning Director, Hassan Allam Holding
• Reda Shousha, FPAC, Chief Financial Officer, Tnahi Investment