The Segal Accounting Distinguished Speaker Series introduces students to current accounting issues from the perspectives of distinguished thought leaders in the accounting profession. Students have the opportunity to network with prominent accounting professionals who are leaders in public accounting firms, industry, government, regulatory bodies, and non-profit organizations. All College of Business students are invited to attend distinguished speaker presentations of their choosing. Students wishing to make a full-semester commitment to attend all presentations and to complete other related requirements may earn 1-credit by registering for ACCT 098. Weekly student attendance during fall 2018 ranged from a low of 80 to over 200.
The Segal Accounting Distinguished Speaker Series is made possible by the tremendous network of Lehigh alumni within the accounting profession and by the generous financial support of the William N. Segal and Andrew Segal Accounting Speaker Series Endowment.
Fall 2021
September
- 1-Sep-21
- Len Combs ’92, PwC Trust Solutions Partner, Global Assurance COO
- 15-Sep-21
- Jon Warren ’09, Controller, ECRI Institute
- 22-Sep-21
- Ken Gordon ’85, Partner, Goodwin Proctor LLP
- 29-Sep-21
- Marc Siegel, Partner Advisory Services, EY
October
- 13-Oct-21
- Lara Abrash, Chair & CEO, Deloitte & Touche LLP
- 20-Oct-21
- Mark Rajkowski ’81, Board Director & Chairman, ACCO Brands; Executive & Board Advisor, WestRock
- 27-Oct-21
- Mary T. Kush ’88, Principal, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC
November
- 3-Nov-21
- Paul Beswick, Partner, Assurance & Americas Leader for IFRS, EY
- 10-Nov-21
- Dan Basca ’06, G’07, Partner, Tax, KPMG
Fall 2020
September
- 2-Sep-20
- Ken Bouyer, EY Americas Director of Inclusiveness Recruiting
- 16-Sep-20
- Weston Hicks '79, President & CEO, Allegheny Corporation
- 23-Sep-20
- Jeff Goldberg '92, Associate Chief Counsel, Litigation & Regulatory, Amazon.com, Inc. (formerly U.S. Department of Justice)
- 30-Sep-20
- Andrea Markezin '79, President, TABLE Mgmt. LP, & Treasurer, Pershing Square Foundation
October
- 7-Oct-20
- Nick Dykstra '73, Senior Director of Finance, Intellectual Ventures
- 14-Oct-20
- Kathleen Healy '97, Managing Director, PwC, & Member, U.S. Auditing Standards Board
- 21-Oct-20
- Chris Pruitt, CEO & President, East Penn Manufacturing
- 28-Oct-20
- Wendy Shapss '90, G'92, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
November
- 4-Nov-20
- Kendall O'Brien, VP & CFO, Enterprise Innovations & Acquisition/Divestiture Operations, Johnson & Johnson
- 18-Nov-20
- Shannon Stafford, Global Head of Tax, The Carlyle Group
December
- 2-Dec-20
- Vivian Chow '88, Chief Accounting Officer, DocuSign
Fall 2019
September
- 4-Sep-19
- Robert L. Brown '78, Retired PwC Audit Partner, Vice-Chair of Lehigh University's Board of Trustees
- 18-Sep-19
- Kristopher E. Knight, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) member, Deputy Secretary of State & Director of Delaware Division of Corporations
- 25-Sep-19
- Ken Laguardia '91, Vice President Tax, MetLife
- Chris Puglia, National Tax Leader for Insurance, Deloitte
October
- 2-Oct-19
- Mark Gerber, Forensic Partner, PwC. Prior to joining PwC, Mark was an FBI Special Agent for nine years. During this time he served as the lead investigator on several large accounting fraud cases (e.g., Cendant and Bristol Myers Squibb)
- 9-Oct-19
- Larry Smith, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting. Prior to joining FTI, Larry served two 5-year terms as a board member of the FASB (2007-2017)
- 16-Oct-19
- Joe Pensabene '88, Head of Lending Operations, Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC (formerly President & CEO, Selene Finance)
- 23-Oct-19
- Cathy Englebert ’86, ‘23P, Commissioner of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) effective July 2019. Formerly, Cathy served as CEO of Deloitte (2015-June 2019), where she was the first woman to lead a Big-4 CPA and professional services team. This event hosted in connection with the 2019 Gruhn Lecture Series.
- 30-Oct-19
- Suzanne Daugherty '86, Retired CFO, PJM Interconnection
November
- 6-Nov-19
- Public Accounting Panel:
- Daniel Basca ’06 G '07, Tax Partner, KPMG
- Sean Denham '94, Regional Managing Partner, Grant Thornton
- Dipti Gulati '90, Audit Partner, Deloitte
- Scott Penque '05, Director, Risk Assurance, PwC
- John Ready '04, Assurance Partner, EY
- Public Accounting Panel:
- 13-Nov-19
- Erik Hoover '96, General Counsel, Dupont
- 20-Nov-19
- Bob Doll '76, Chief Equity Strategist & Senior Portfolio Manager, Nuveen
December
- 4-Dec-19
- Barry Melancon, President & CEO, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Fall 2018
September
- 5-Sep-18
- Ralph Thomas, CEO & Executive Director, New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJSCPA)
- 12-Sep-18
- Roger O'Donnell, Global Head of Data and Analytics, Audit, KPMG
- 19-Sep-18
- Public Accounting Panel:
- Shirley Choy, Audit Managing Dir., Building, Construction & Real Estate, KPMG
- Rona Hummel, Senior Manager Information Reporting, Deloitte
- Lindsay Schmedes, Tax Partner, PwC
- Brendan Maher, Senior Manager Financial Services Advisory, EY
- Public Accounting Panel:
October
- 3-Oct-18
- Matt Greenblatt, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
- 10-Oct-18
- James G. Kaiser, Member, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
- 17-Oct-18
- Elizabeth Folsom, Chief Audit Executive & Director of Global Internal Audit, PSI
- 24-Oct-18
- Marc Panucci, Deputy Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
- 31-Oct-18
- Michele Scaringella, EVP & CFO, CBS Television Stations Group
November
- 7-Nov-18
- Rick Petrino, EVP, Corp. Controller & Principal Accounting Officer, American Express
- Lisa Sawicki, New York Metro Financial Services Assurance Leader, PwC
- 14-Nov-18
- Young Alumni Panel:
- Kathryn Bahner, Senior Associate Alternative Investments-Real Estate, KPMG
- Annie Bienstock, CFA, Manager Planning & Analysis, Prudential Financial
- Domenic DeNiro, CPA, Audit Senior, Deloitte
- Scott Grossnickle, Digital Accelerator – Tax Manager, PwC
- Samantha Krutal, FSO Assurance Senior, EY
- Meredith Tate, CPA, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause; Former First Lieutenant, U.S. Coast Guard
- Young Alumni Panel:
- 28-Nov-18
- Charlie Bustin ’04, G’05, Partner and Equity Analyst, Douglas C. Lain & Assocs.
December
- 5-Dec-18
- Dr. Christine Botosan, Member, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
Students’ Comments from Weekly Reaction Papers
“I have really enjoyed this Distinguished Speaker Series as it has opened my eyes to many alternative when it comes to my career and life after graduation. Prior to taking this class and hearing of the many options I could have upon graduation I had somewhat of tunnel vision when it came to utilizing my accounting degree in the future. Now, after hearing all of the diverse experiences and career paths this semester, I am much more aware of all the possibilities I will have.”
“Hearing Dr. Botosan was truly a unique and rewarding experience that reminded me of the overt advantage I have as an Accounting major at Lehigh University. The fact that our department has the resources and connections to bring Dr. Botosan and so many other esteemed individuals to speak to us throughout the semester has greatly influenced and affirmed my grateful outlook on being in such a highly-acclaimed program.”
Previous Segal Accounting Distinguished Speakers
- Paul DeNicola, Managing Director, PwC Governance Insights Center
- Paul H. Stebbins, Executive Chairman, World Fuel Services Corporation
- Greg Scates, Deputy Chief Auditor, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)