Our Advisors
What makes us different as individuals is what makes us stronger when we come together. At Centri, we believe in the value of bringing together experts with a diverse range of experiences to advance our vision as one firm.
Meet the Advisory Board members who serve Centri and offer vital support and accountability in helping us grow and achieve new goals.
Jerry Maginnis
Jerry is a Senior Advisor at Centri Business Consulting. He began an advisory relationship with Centri in October 2020, bringing his deep expertise in accounting, advisory, and financial services to advise across the firm’s practices, with a focus on strategic growth initiatives. In this capacity, he provides advisement to senior management and provides guidance to the already rapid growth of the organization.
Prior to his time with Centri, Jerry spent 36 years with KPMG in Philadelphia, retiring in September 2015. He served as the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Philadelphia Office, which had over 1,100 partners and employees, from 2006 through 2015. Previously, he spent 5 years as the Partner in Charge of the Firm’s Audit practice in Pennsylvania, overseeing operations in KPMG’s Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh offices.
Since retiring from KPMG, Jerry has joined the Boards of Cohen & Steers Mutual Funds based in New York City. Cohen & Steers is a global investment manager specializing in liquid real assets. He serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee for the Funds, 9 of which are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jerry also serves as a member of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee Chairman of inTEST Corporation, a publicly held Technology Company (NTSE: INTT). The Company is a global supplier of precision-engineered solutions for use in manufacturing and testing across a wide range of markets including automotive, defense/aerospace, energy, industrial, semiconductor, and telecommunications.
He is also a Board Member of the Faith in the Future Foundation and continues to serve on the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission. Jerry also serves as an Executive in Residence at Rowan University in Southern New Jersey where he chairs the University’s Accounting Advisory Board.
Previously, Jerry served as the President of the 22,000-member Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, a member of the CEO Council for Growth, a member of the Board of Trustees of Gwynedd-Mercy University and Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School and on the Boards of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Foundation and the Union League of Philadelphia.
Jerry received the Father of the Year award from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Diabetes Association in 2009. In 2011, he received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the PICPA as well as the Breath of Life award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In 2015, he received the Heart of Philadelphia award from the American Heart Association and in 2017 he received the Medal of Excellence award from Rowan University’s Rohrer College of Business. In 2018, Jerry received the Taoiseach Award for exceptional business leadership and compassion from the Irish American Business Chamber & Network of Philadelphia.
Jerry graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from St. Joseph’s University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Candy Duncan
Serving as a member of our board, Candy provides keen insight from her diverse range of leadership experiences. Some of her past roles included:
- Serving as a managing partner for KPMG’s Washing D.C. metropolitan area, leading priorities in audit, tax, and advisory for the local marketplace.
- Acting as chair for the Nominating Committee and Partnership and Employer of Choice Committee at KPMG.
- Managing duties as Lead Partner for major international and U.S. companies such as Volkswagen, Continental Automotive, and Dollar Tree Stores.
- Supporting the community as a board and executive committee member of the Economic Club of Washington, Board of Trade.
Aside from supporting Centri, Candy is also an active officer of the World Affairs Council and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, International Women’s Forum, C200, and Women Corporate Directors.
Candy graduated from Kansas State University magna cum laude with a B.S. in business administration and is a certified public accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Matthew Espe
Matthew has a track record of driving industrial transformation, significantly increasing earnings and shareholder equity, and brings over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and management of global manufacturing businesses to Centri’s advisory board. Throughout his career, he successfully led multibillion-dollar manufacturing, infrastructure, and business services companies with up to 34k employees. Some of his key prior qualifications include:
- Leading the transformation of Radial Inc. after being recruited by Sterling Partners in January 2017. Initial areas of focus include organization alignment, strategic prioritization, and governance. After an eight-week enterprise assessment, led the successful sale of Radial Inc., a $1.2B e-commerce services business, to Belgian Post.
- Serving as CEO of Armstrong World Industries, a $2.9B global building products company. Matthew worked to improve P&L, drive leadership, and make operational and strategic improvements, increasing ROIC and equity value by 75%.
- Chairman and CEO of IKON Office Solutions, a $4.9B document management services company. Matthew transformed the company’s business model and nearly doubled shareholder value, resulting in a $1.6B merger with Ricoh Japan.
- Spending 23 years at GE, with the last assignment as President and CEO of GE Lighting.
Aside from supporting Centri, Matthew is currently serving as an independent director at WESCO International and Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (formally Realogy Holdings Corp.). From 2017 until April 2023, he served as an operating partner with Strategic Value Partners, chairing two of their portfolio company boards and sitting on a third.
Matthew graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in marketing and received an MBA from Wittier College.
David Gathman
David brings over 40 years of comprehensive experience with finance and operations disciplines to Centri’s advisory board. He’s a seasoned executive with the ability to act as a strategic partner to improve overall operations and results. Some of his key prior qualifications include:
- Serving for over 15 years as a public company CFO, with significant experience in both domestic and foreign operations.
- Guiding Initial Public Offerings (IPO) of three mid-sized companies.
- Building the accounting and finance functions from the base up for three organizations.
- Scaling finance, IT, HR, treasury, and investor and shareholder relation functions.
- Developing internal reporting metrics to use in evaluating operational and financial performance.
- Leading due diligence for over 40 mergers and acquisitions.
- Driving the selection process for a new ERP and financial information system.
- Facilitating back-office consolidations.
- Instituting cost-reduction programs to improve EBITA.
- Developing staff for three different businesses.
He also has a diverse background of serving on various boards before Centri. He’s served in different capacities for K Consulting, Inc., Prophet 21, Taratec Development Corporation, Neoware, Inc., and eResearch Technology, Inc.
David graduated from Lycoming College with a B.A. in accounting and was a certified public accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (No longer active.) He is an emeritus member of the Lycoming College Board of Trustees.
Steve Hobman
Steve’s background in the financial industry adds a layer of keen insight into our advisory board. He also currently serves as the General Partner and Owner of NewSpring Capital, with a focus on NewSpring Mezzanine — a dedicated private credit strategy that provides capital to business owners to help them build growth. His prior experience included:
- Operating as the Managing Director of the Mid Atlantic North region for the Technology and Life Sciences Division of Comerica Bank.
- Serving as the Senior Vice President of specialized lending for Progress Bank.
- Operating as Vice President for Meridian Bank.
He also actively volunteers as Chairman of the Board for a non-profit organization, Bringing Hope Home.
Steve graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a B.A. in economics and government. He also holds an M.B.A. for small business management from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Christopher Lee
As an advisory board member, Christopher brings high-level expertise from his experiences as a Managing Director and Executive Search Consultant. He is currently active as the Managing Director of Storbeck Search where he acts as a search consultant, executive recruiter, search committee, and diversity trainer. Christopher also teaches as an Adjunct Professor of HR Management at the University of Richmond.
Some of his other notable past experiences include:
- Serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer of William & Mary.
- Acting as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resource Services at Virginia’s Community College System.
- Leading as the Director of Human Resources at Bates College.
- Serving as a Lieutenant Colonel for the US Marine Corps Reserve
As a published author, lecturer, and researcher, he has an active presence in his industry.
Christopher graduated from Auburn University with a B.A. in political science. He later went on to achieve an M.S. in human resource management from Golden Gate University and a Ph.D. in human resource development from Georgia State University.
Mike Tiagwad
Mike Tiagwad
Board Member
President & Chief Executive Officer at Conner Strong & Buckelew
Mike brings a wealth of experience in Employment Practices Liability, Alternative Risk, Risk Management, Surety Bonds, and Property & Casualty Insurance to Centri’s advisory board. He currently serves as the President and CEO of Conner Strong & Buckelew. His prior experience included:
- Responsible for the strategy behind the creation of Globex International and Innovative Captive Strategies.
- Spending 17 years at The Graham Company, overseeing the company’s sales efforts before becoming President of the agency.
- Various sales and marketing positions at Xerox.
Aside from supporting Centri, Mike currently serves as a Member of the Board of Governors for the Academy of Risk Management and Insurance for Saint Joseph’s University and an Advisory Board Member for NFTE (Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship).
Mike graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a B.B.A.