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Centri Expands C-Suite to Facilitate Continued Rapid Growth

Christian DeChurch

Chief Financial Officer

Kristen Wik

Chief People Officer

Philadelphia, PA – April 20, 2023 – Centri Business Consulting, LLC, one of the industry’s fastest-growing and most respected accounting and advisory firms, is excited to announce the appointment of Christian DeChurch, CPA, as its new Chief Financial Officer. With this appointment, DeChurch assumes the role and responsibility of CFO from Kristen Wik, who has held the position of CFO since 2018, later adding the responsibilities of Chief People Officer in 2020. The move will allow Kristen to focus exclusively on her role as CPO, further sharpening Centri’s focus on its culture and employee experience during a period of unprecedented growth.

The moves come on the heels of Centri’s highly successful 2022 during which the firm realized 42% growth in its top-line revenue and a 50% increase in personnel. Over the last two years, the company has generated 65% growth in its top-line revenue, increased its client base by nearly 40% and more than doubled its employee count.

“Quite simply, our growth story is a people story,” said Michael Aiello, CEO & Managing Partner of Centri. “Kristen has been an integral part of the C-Suite over the last several years and we are excited that she will now be able to focus entirely on fostering a culture where our employees can thrive. Christian is eminently qualified to helm the critical role that our financial team plays in supporting and empowering our employees, so we are confident that we have an outstanding team in place to help ensure that we achieve our ambitious short and long-term growth goals.”

As CFO, Christian will be responsible for the firm’s overall financial management, including accounting, balance sheet management, financial planning and analysis, corporate treasury, corporate investments, tax, and financial growth initiatives.

Over his two-decade-long finance and accounting career, Christian’s creativity, expertise, and strategic mindset have made him a trusted partner to growth-oriented companies across various industries in both the public and private sectors.  With a proven ability to optimize growth and profitability, Christian will be an invaluable member of the Centri leadership team as it continues to identify and realize opportunities for growth. Christian’s work will also streamline Centri’s operational platform to provide the services and expertise clients need to find success in today’s competitive business landscape.

Prior to joining Centri, Christian served as Vice President of Finance for Veterinary Practice Partners, a private equity-sponsored veterinary healthcare consolidator. During his time with the organization, he was named acting Chief Financial Officer and served as the financial leader for all strategic and financial workstreams. Christian’s value creation initiatives helped pave the way for a successful sale of the company in December 2021.

Christian also previously served as Head of Finance for two commodity trading organizations, Axpo US LLC and Noble Americas Corp. In his roles with each company, Christian oversaw their corporate finance teams where he delivered new business segments to market and managed M&A efforts for newly acquired assets. Prior to this, Christian spent almost 10 years with Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte, and KPMG.

Christian stated, “Strategic growth in today’s dynamic business environment requires the right culture and the right team. Since its founding, Centri’s leadership has carefully cultivated an environment built upon those pillars and I am honored to play a role in the continued growth of the organization and our services to meet the needs of businesses today.”

A member of the Centri team since 2012, Kristen has steadily risen through the ranks over her career to become an integral member of the firm’s leadership team. She was appointed CFO in 2018 and took on the role of CPO in January 2020. Her focus on culture was critical to ensuring Centri could continue to engage and motivate its employees during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time, Kristen has led several initiatives as CPO including the firm’s Path to Partner, BOLD Leadership, and mentorship programs. In addition, Kristen has been instrumental in facilitating employee engagement events including family picnics, holiday parties and happy hours.

Kristen added, “We have long understood that delivering superior client service can only happen with an empowered, motivated, and inspired team. I’ve been honored to hold the CPO title for several years and am excited to be able to sharpen my focus on continuing to cultivate a culture built around our core values that drives success for our team and clients.”