Advisory Board

Jason Balon is a Principal in the Deal Advisory & Strategy practice at KPMG. He has nearly 20 years of public accounting and consulting experience across several industries, including Aerospace & Defense, Industrial Manufacturing and Business Services. He has considerable experience leading transaction related due diligence engagements supporting private equity firms and their related portfolio companies on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Jason received his BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and earned his Master's of Accounting degree from Villanova University.

Krysta is a Director at General Motors responsible for leading Global
Process and Technology Transformation. In this role, Krysta works cross
functionally with key stakeholders from across the company to drive
customer focused thinking and innovation, utilizing a collaborative and
agile approach.

Krysta also has a proven record of driving process efficiencies and leading
change across the Finance landscape. During her 9 years at GM, Krysta has
led multiple lean projects, implemented new and innovative strategic risk
management techniques, and led a global transformation within the Financial
Assurance team.

Prior to GM, Krysta was a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the
Advisory and Risk Assurance practices. She graduated from the University of
Michigan Ross School of Business.

An accomplished professional with 21+ years of experience in tax reporting, planning, and compliance, Kathy Ford has led Ernst & Young's (EY) Central Tax Accounting and Risk Advisory Services since 2007. Ford received her BBA from Michigan Ross, and her Master's in Taxation from DePaul University in Chicago. She is a CPA licensed in the state of Illinois.

At Ernst & Young, Ford provides technical tax accounting assistance to client service teams through the midwest. She helps Fortune 100 companies in the identification and implementation of tax-planning strategies, including Sarbanes-Oxley 404 implementation and income tax provision-related matters. She has led presentations to groups such as Tax Executives International, the Chicago Tax Club, and the Executive Enterprise Institute, and has spoken frequently at EY national conferences. Ford also serves as Ernst & Young's inclusiveness champion at the Chicago office, and served on EY's America's Inclusiveness Advisory Council. Ford is the co-founder of EY's Pan-Asian Professional Network, and has been recognized as an "Illinois CPA Woman to Watch."

Mike Kosonog interned with Deloitte in 1994 and joined the Detroit practice in Detroit, MI in 1995.  Mike is a graduate from the University of Michigan with a Master's of Accounting and Bachelors of Business Administration in accounting and computer information systems.  Mike is a national solution leader in our Advisory practice with market offering, client, and talent roles.

He has more than 22 years of internal control, cyber security, risk, and compliance experience in a variety of sectors and, in particular, power & utilities and automotive.  Mike has a broad base of experience from serving clients in external audit, internal audit, and consulting/advisory roles.  He is a CPA licensed in Michigan and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  He holds designations as a CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional and CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor.  Finally, Mike is the Lead Advisory Partner for the University of Michigan where he supports year-round Advisory recruiting efforts for local and national needs.

Professor Gregory Miller is the faculty director of the Paton Center and teaches in the MBA core, Executive Education, the Master's of Accounting, and the Doctoral and Supply Chain management programs at Michigan Ross.

His research on financial communication has been published in top peer-reviewed journals such as The Accounting Review, The Journal of Accounting and Economics, and The Journal of Accounting Research. He has presented at more than 70 academic institutions and conferences and has also been a keynote speaker at numerous practitioner conferences in the U.S. and Europe.Miller has authored more than 20 cases that have been taught at top global business schools including Michigan, Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, and the University of Peking. He has been quoted or cited in numerous popular press publications including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, and BusinessWeek. He is also an editor at The Accounting Review and an associate editor (or on the editorial board) of The Journal of Accounting and Economics, and The Journal of Accounting Research.

Walter is a Michigan Ross School of Business alumnus with BBA and MAcc degrees.  He is a Lead Tax Partner at PwC in the Detroit office, and he has been providing accounting and tax consulting services for more than 20 years.  He has extensive experience in delivering a full range of tax consulting and compliance services to clients in multiple industries including automotive, financial services, manufacturing, professional services, retail and consumer, technology, and sports and entertainment.

He works closely with his clients, their management teams,and other key advisors to understand their goals, limit their potential business exposures and financial risks, and help them navigate opportunities and complex issues while focusing on maximizing their after-tax cash flow.  Walter is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Black Accounts, and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accounts, and is also a CPA licensed in Michigan.  He also serves on the Pewabic Pottery Board.

Walter’s early career at PwC was highlighted by Monster.com and MTV during mtvU's television series called "The Opening". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To8UOklCooU

Robert M. Patterson is chairman, president and Chief Executive Officer of Avient Corporation, the world’s premier provider of specialty polymer materials, services and solutions.

Mr. Patterson joined Avient in 2008 as senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer, where he was responsible for global treasury, planning, M&A, accounting and internal audit functions, as well as investor relations. He also directly oversaw Avient's growth initiatives in Asia. In 2012, he was promoted to executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer where he had primary responsibility for developing and executing the annual operating plans and strategic plans to drive growth in revenue, gross margin and operating income.

Before joining Avient, Mr. Patterson served as vice president and treasurer of Novelis, Inc., an Atlanta-based international manufacturer of aluminum-rolled products. His previous position at Novelis was vice president, controller and chief accounting officer.

Mr. Patterson also held a series of financial positions of increasing responsibility with Charlotte, North Carolina-based SPX Corporation, culminating in his appointment as vice president and segment chief financial officer for the Thermal and Flow Technology segments.

Mr. Patterson began his professional career at Arthur Andersen LLP. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Michigan.

Carlo is an Assurance Partner currently based in EY’s Detroit, Michigan office, with over 24 years of advising clients on significant transactions and accounting and auditing matters. Carlo has experience across a broad range of industries, including extensive experience in the automotive sector having served companies across the automotive value stream, including emerging businesses in mobility. During his tenure, he has served as a coordinating or lead engagement partner for some of the firm’s largest multinational clients in the US and internationally. He has led international and cross-functional teams serving complex clients and has a broad network globally that facilitates bringing the right experience to his firm’s clients to provide relevant and timely advice on complex finance and accounting matters and business transactions. 

Carlo is a Detroit-area native and U-M alumnus. He graduated from Michigan Ross (BBA) and began his career with EY in Detroit in 1998. Carlo was based in Paris, France from 2007 to 2010 as part of a strategic assignment. As part of EY’s Capital Markets Center, his responsibilities included serving as audit quality reviewer and technical consultant to EY member firms and SEC registrants outside the US on US GAAP and SEC matters. In this role, he assisted clients in various industries in connection with raising capital in the US and abroad, including initial and secondary public offerings. Upon his return to the US in 2010, Carlo was based in EY’s Nashville, Tennessee office where he was the partner responsible for resource deployment of its assurance professionals and served as the coordinating partner for a large global automotive company. Carlo returned to Detroit in 2018 as part of a Fortune 100 global audit tender and served as part of the lead team responsible for transitioning the audit to EY.

Carlo is a certified public accountant in Michigan and Tennessee

A U-M alumna, Amy Solek has more than 20 years of experience with a broad range of tax technical expertise, focusing on tax efficiency and risk mitigation for both large multinational companies and mid-cap businesses. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and the Detroit Economic Club, and is also a CPA licensed in Michigan.

Solek is the U.S. Tax Automotive Tax Leader for PwC, and leads the firm’s thought leadership for the industry. She is the Lead Tax Partner for a diversified range of U.S. clients, primarily from the automotive and industrial-products sectors, and the project leader for teams delivering accounting services for income taxes, domestic tax planning, income tax compliance, and tax authority examinations. As Greater Michigan’s Tax Accounting Services leader, Solek assists companies with both U.S. GAAP and IFRS reporting issues. She hosts an annual Tax Accounting Executive Roundtable for companies in the greater Michigan market to share technical insights and discuss key issues in accounting for income taxes. And she serves as the Greater Michigan Compliance Leader, assisting large companies with federal and state compliance reporting issues and transformation of their tax processes and technology.