Nick Araco, Jr, ESQ.

Executive Director and Cofounder of the CFO Alliance

Email: Nick.Araco@thecfoalliance.org
Phone: 215.648.3021

As cofounder of the CFO Alliance and CEO of AchieveNext, Mr. Araco is considered one of the region’s most prominent business, career and life ‘Connectors’ for accounting and finance professionals. He has over 15 years of developing and growing business consulting practices with a focus on cultivating and educating his ever-growing network.

In addition to his role at the CFO Alliance, Mr. Araco serves as a Director in RSM McGladrey’s Philadelphia office and as Functional Lead for all of the Business Consulting practices. In his role, he is responsible for building relationships with prospective and new clients and representing the firm in key industry forums and associations. Leading the Business Consulting practices, he focuses on providing qualified solutions and consulting services to our clients. Nick is a frequent speaker and published author of articles on such topics as trends in executive search, compensation strategies for middle market companies, and job assimilation for senior and executive professionals.

Prior to joining the Firm, Nick formed and led a human resources consulting and executive search practice for an accounting firm in the Philadelphia area. Prior to that, Nick was a Director for a global human capital firm, providing leadership and direction for the recruitment and placement of legal professionals. He was a practicing attorney for several years prior to that.

Nick is an active member of a number of a number of professional organizations. He is a current Board & Executive Committee Member and Membership Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, and previous co-chair for M&A East conference. Nick also serves as lead for the Philadelphia Chapter of the Loyola College Alumni Association. He is an advisory board member for the greater Philadelphia Senior Executive Group (GPSEG). He has served on the selection committee for the Mid Atlantic Capital Alliance Conferences and Early Stage East.

Nick most recently chaired the ‘Pay it Forward’ benefit for Economics Pennsylvania fund raiser.

Nick earned his law degree from Widener University School of Law. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a concentration in Finance, from Loyola College in Maryland.

Greg Wood

CoFounder of the CFO Alliance

Email: Greg.Wood@thecfoalliance.org
Phone: 215.648.3188

As Co-Founder of the CFO Alliance and COO of AchieveNext, Mr. Wood has led organizations through business transformation, critical business issues, the competitive environment and their implications for human capital during his 15+ years experience in human resources and operations.

In addition to his role at the CFO Alliance, Mr. Wood is a manager of RSM McGladrey’s Business Strategy and Human Capital for the Philadelphia market. Leading the human capital and strategy practice, focusing on providing strategic business solutions and human resource consulting services for our clients. RSM McGladrey’s Business Strategy and Human Capital Practice collaboratively partners with clients to optimize return on human capital investment by providing best-in-class trusted advisory services, solutions, and support globally.

Greg is a champion of change who understands business transformation, the competitive environment and their implications for human capital. Leading organizational change and design through partnering with senior management to define business strategies and implement solutions. He has also been successful coaching management on conflict resolution, employee development and succession planning. Prior to joining the firm, Greg has recently been offering human capital consulting services to pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol Myers Squibb Co., as well as various financial and technology companies. Prior to consulting, Greg served as the Director of Human Resources for Verticalnet Inc. as a Human Resource Leader having solid knowledge of employment laws, employee communications, organizational effectiveness, change management and business process.

Greg serves as a member of expert knowledge committee for PEBA (PENJERDEL Employee Benefits and Compensation Association) which is a local chapter associated with WorldatWork a national professional organization that provides a knowledgebase for HR related issues. Greg is also a member of the Philadelphia Human Resource network.

Greg is an active member in his church as a chair on many committees and is active serving in various neighborhood-related activities.

Greg earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a minor in Biology, from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Drew Ries

Chief Financial Officer
Email: Drew.Ries@thecfoalliance.org
Phone: 267.481.3100

Mr. Ries provides extensive leadership and financial focus to the team, while concentrating on the company’s financial plan and performance as well as leading strategic direction through Mergers and Acquisitions.

With a background of more than 14 years in corporate finance and extensive global management, operational and transactional experience, Drew is a financially minded individual who understands what drives the performance and valuation of a company.

Most recently Drew has played a pivotal role in creating and building the Business Development department at Susquehanna International Group where he was responsible for identifying, evaluating and developing new opportunities for the firm.

Prior to joining SIG, Drew was the Head of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development for the recently public Wright Express Corporation (NYSE: WXS).  As Director of Principal Investments at Enron Corporation, Drew was involved in a number of global acquisitions, as well as making private equity and venture investments in a variety of e-commerce, Internet and technology companies where Enron could act as a value-added strategic investor.  Drew began his career as a commercial banker at First Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia and following its merger with First Union National Bank worked in acquisition finance for the media and telecommunications group.

Drew graduated with distinction from Thunderbird, School of Global Management with an MBA in International Finance and holds a BA in Government from Cornell University.  Drew is an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth.

David Marcinowski

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Email: David.Marcinowski@thecfoalliance.org
Phone: 203.258.4991

As the Director of Strategic Partnerships for AchieveNext and the CFO Alliance, Mr. Marcinowski is responsible for the growth and development of the company’s partner relationships. Along with his vast business acumen he has over 10 years of experience cultivating new business opportunities in a wide variety of industries.

Prior to joining the CFO Alliance, David served as a Managing Director for a privately held aviation concern, focused on private aviation services and aviation related real estate. While there, he was responsible for overall business operations, including business development, financial and risk management for the services unit. Preceding that role, David was a Client Manager in International Management Group’s (IMG) golf division where he focused specifically on the recruitment and management of PGA Tour players. Earlier in his career, David was an initial team member responsible for the creation and development of TheMuniCenter’s online fixed income trading platform. During his tenure there TheMuniCenter emerged as a leader in the online fixed income marketplace, a position it continued to maintain.

David earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing, with a minor in Finance from Fairfield University.