NACVA’s Champions—Third Quarter 2025
NACVA's Champions
NACVA's champions include our valued instructors and leaders in the business valuation and financial forensics field. Their knowledge and experience are an important part of our Association’s strength and history. The insights below share how others have navigated challenges, built their careers and expertise, and provide inspiration for other NACVA members as they grow in the profession
Gregory T. Reagan, CPA/CFF/ABV, CFE, CVA
Gregory T. Reagan, CPA/CFF/ABV, CFE, CVA
I began my CPA career in 1982 in Birmingham, Alabama performing financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations; and preparing business, individual, and trust and estate fiduciary tax returns. As my career progressed, I began consulting with business owners and holding annual client meetings with their banker and attorney. The attorney relationships I developed led to my entry into business valuation work. In the mid-1990s, I received a call from an attorney asking me to come to his office and “see if I could help figure something out.” Before I knew it, I was in court raising my hand swearing to tell the whole truth about a business’s value! That invitation led me to quickly purchase PPC’s 3-volume set, “Business Valuation,” authored by Jay Fishman, and an internet search introduced me to the NACVA where I enrolled in classes to get my CVA. This training led me to testify successfully in my first divorce business valuation engagement.
Parnell Black had formed the NACVA, and at the time I obtained my CVA in the mid-1990s you had to be a CPA to obtain a CVA. At that time, I knew of no one else teaching business valuation theory and practice. The training I received from the NACVA was critical to my professional development. Over the ensuing 20-years my business valuation practice grew and grew, along with fraud investigations, forensic accounting engagements, and commercial damage economic loss determinations. During these years most of my business valuation services were in litigation settings where I served as a testifying expert witness. Thus, my on-the-job training was in the fire of litigation where my opinions were attacked. I did not have a mentor to teach me. Rather, I learned the art of both offense and defense in forming professional opinions in the “sink or swim” fasion. My mentors became the authors of the various business valuation books I purchased. These emerging service areas ultimately became 85% of my practice making it difficult to maintain competency in all the other traditional CPA service areas. In 2015, I gave-up performing traditional CPA services and took advantage of an opportunity to expand my work into the Charlotte, NC market focusing solely on providing expert witness services in business valuation, forensic accounting, economic loss damage determinations, CPA malpractice claims, and fraud investigations. On occasion, we help business owners determine the value of their business for contemplated ownership transactions or the possible sale of the business.
Starting in the mid-1990s and continuing thereafter I attended the annual NACVA conferences to stay on the cutting-edge of business valuation practice. This has been important because the business valuation arena has been constantly evolving over the years. By attending these annual conferences in-person I was provided the opportunity to get to know at a personal level some of the movers and shakers in the BV industry. People like Shannon Pratt, Jay Fishman, Roger Grabowski, Mark Kucik, and Lari Masten became good acquaintances with whom I enjoyed talking with at each conference. I developed close friendships with Hubert Klein, Michael Kaplan, Steve Kirkland, Jim Hitchner, Rick Gray, and others too many to name. I have also collaborated with many of these over the years in trying to do the best work possible. These friendships are invaluable, and they only exist because I made the investment in attending the annual conferences in person.
Attending the annual conferences also availed me the opportunity to give back to the profession through my own presentations at the annual conferences. My first presentation was in November 2013 at the Advanced Matrimonial Litigation Symposium in Las Vegas where I spoke about Avoiding Conflicts of Interest and Professional Ethics Violations in Matrimonial Valuation Litigation. When I walked in the room to make my presentation, I was shocked to see the Who’s Who of the BV community in the room. While I initially felt a bit intimated by my audience, I was welcomed whole-heartedly, and we had a good time discussing whether ethics could be taught or whether ethics had to be part of your internal makeup.
Another benefit of NACVA membership came in March 2020 when I was trying to figure out how to value a business at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An e-mail to Brien Jones looking for help led to being invited to join Michael Kaplan, Mark Kucik, Lari Masten, Hubert Klien, and Zach Meyers in hosting four separate webinars in April 2020 broadcast to the NACVA community on various aspects of valuing businesses and making economic loss determinations amidst the effects of the pandemic. That month of collaboration with other trusted BV professionals was profoundly beneficial to me. Since then, I have continued to attend the annual conferences and have been honored to make additional presentations.
While I hold both the CVA and the ABV business valuation credentials, I am a firm believer that the business valuation training provided by the NACVA is superior to anything else available. I have trained and continue to train my firm’s staff with NACVA training materials and its structured classes. I would not be the BV professional I am today had it not been for the NACVA.
Greg
Parnell Black had formed the NACVA, and at the time I obtained my CVA in the mid-1990s you had to be a CPA to obtain a CVA. At that time, I knew of no one else teaching business valuation theory and practice. The training I received from the NACVA was critical to my professional development. Over the ensuing 20-years my business valuation practice grew and grew, along with fraud investigations, forensic accounting engagements, and commercial damage economic loss determinations. During these years most of my business valuation services were in litigation settings where I served as a testifying expert witness. Thus, my on-the-job training was in the fire of litigation where my opinions were attacked. I did not have a mentor to teach me. Rather, I learned the art of both offense and defense in forming professional opinions in the “sink or swim” fasion. My mentors became the authors of the various business valuation books I purchased. These emerging service areas ultimately became 85% of my practice making it difficult to maintain competency in all the other traditional CPA service areas. In 2015, I gave-up performing traditional CPA services and took advantage of an opportunity to expand my work into the Charlotte, NC market focusing solely on providing expert witness services in business valuation, forensic accounting, economic loss damage determinations, CPA malpractice claims, and fraud investigations. On occasion, we help business owners determine the value of their business for contemplated ownership transactions or the possible sale of the business.
Starting in the mid-1990s and continuing thereafter I attended the annual NACVA conferences to stay on the cutting-edge of business valuation practice. This has been important because the business valuation arena has been constantly evolving over the years. By attending these annual conferences in-person I was provided the opportunity to get to know at a personal level some of the movers and shakers in the BV industry. People like Shannon Pratt, Jay Fishman, Roger Grabowski, Mark Kucik, and Lari Masten became good acquaintances with whom I enjoyed talking with at each conference. I developed close friendships with Hubert Klein, Michael Kaplan, Steve Kirkland, Jim Hitchner, Rick Gray, and others too many to name. I have also collaborated with many of these over the years in trying to do the best work possible. These friendships are invaluable, and they only exist because I made the investment in attending the annual conferences in person.
Attending the annual conferences also availed me the opportunity to give back to the profession through my own presentations at the annual conferences. My first presentation was in November 2013 at the Advanced Matrimonial Litigation Symposium in Las Vegas where I spoke about Avoiding Conflicts of Interest and Professional Ethics Violations in Matrimonial Valuation Litigation. When I walked in the room to make my presentation, I was shocked to see the Who’s Who of the BV community in the room. While I initially felt a bit intimated by my audience, I was welcomed whole-heartedly, and we had a good time discussing whether ethics could be taught or whether ethics had to be part of your internal makeup.
Another benefit of NACVA membership came in March 2020 when I was trying to figure out how to value a business at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An e-mail to Brien Jones looking for help led to being invited to join Michael Kaplan, Mark Kucik, Lari Masten, Hubert Klien, and Zach Meyers in hosting four separate webinars in April 2020 broadcast to the NACVA community on various aspects of valuing businesses and making economic loss determinations amidst the effects of the pandemic. That month of collaboration with other trusted BV professionals was profoundly beneficial to me. Since then, I have continued to attend the annual conferences and have been honored to make additional presentations.
While I hold both the CVA and the ABV business valuation credentials, I am a firm believer that the business valuation training provided by the NACVA is superior to anything else available. I have trained and continue to train my firm’s staff with NACVA training materials and its structured classes. I would not be the BV professional I am today had it not been for the NACVA.
Greg
Nick Mears, CVA, MAFF, MBA
I didn’t grow up around college graduates and professionals. I was a first-generation college student who thought “C equals degree” — because, honestly, I heard that in a movie once. But midway through undergrad, I learned you need a 3.0 to stay in the business school. I buckled down, got serious, and discovered a real interest in accounting, finance, and financial modeling. Still, I knew traditional accounting wasn’t for me. I was drawn to business consulting but had no clear direction.
Near the end of my MBA, I applied to countless jobs, chasing opportunities but feeling stuck. On a last-minute trip to my alma mater’s career fair in Texas, one recruiter saw something different. Her firm did more than tax and audit — and she thought I’d be a great fit for their valuation group. I had no idea that niche even existed, but once I learned about it, I was all in.
A few years later, after building experience and writing hundreds of reports, I went out on my own. In 2016, I launched my solo practice with no partners, no software, no clients, and no referrals — just grit. Going solo is hard, but so is working in isolation without a peer group. That’s what pushed me to get involved with NACVA. I figured if I wanted to grow, I needed to connect.
Joining NACVA’s Standards Board was my first step. At the time, I didn’t realize just how impactful that decision would be. The Standards Board gave me a front-row seat to domestic and international changes in valuation. It wasn’t just a place for oversight — it was the ground floor where new industry “tile was being laid.” Later, I joined the Ethics Oversight Board, where I helped practitioners navigate tough, often unspoken ethical challenges. These roles didn’t just keep me current — they sharpened my thinking and connected me with some of the most driven professionals in the field. They also gave me confidence — the kind that shows up in conversations with business owners, attorneys, and eventually, testifying as an expert witness in court.
Somewhere along the way, Brien Jones invited me to teach. I didn’t think I was ‘that guy’. I thought I was still the one grinding away in the background. But suddenly, I was teaching CVA candidates and the Advanced Valuation curriculum. I was no longer observing — I was contributing. When NACVA later asked me to chair the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Commission (AIMLC), I was already speaking at conferences about AI’s transformative impact on our field. I believed then — as I do now — that AI is a revolution in the making, similar to what the smartphone did to telecommunications. But I also feared how easily it could be misused. Through the AIMLC, we published NACVA’s first Advisory Brief on AI and became a national voice for ethical, responsible integration of AI in valuation and forensic practices.
Today, I have been a solo practitioner for nine years and have had the opportunity to work on countless engagements across the country. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at multiple national conferences, worked alongside brilliant peers across the country, and built personal relationships that have changed everything about how I work and how I think. Going solo can feel like being on an island. NACVA didn’t just plug me into a network — it gave me a platform to grow — both as a practitioner and as a person. Everyone wants the secret to growing their practice. It starts with doing your work with integrity, expanding your knowledge, and getting involved. Those experiences create confidence that you can leverage. That’s the secret.
If you’re early in your career, my advice is simple: learn the fundamentals, then keep going. Take advanced courses. Stay curious. If you have the desire to go solo, focus on building a reputation that you’re proud of – because your reputation will precede you. And if you ever feel that quiet tug to lead — even before anyone’s asked you to — follow it. That moment is telling you that you’re ready.
Nick
Near the end of my MBA, I applied to countless jobs, chasing opportunities but feeling stuck. On a last-minute trip to my alma mater’s career fair in Texas, one recruiter saw something different. Her firm did more than tax and audit — and she thought I’d be a great fit for their valuation group. I had no idea that niche even existed, but once I learned about it, I was all in.
A few years later, after building experience and writing hundreds of reports, I went out on my own. In 2016, I launched my solo practice with no partners, no software, no clients, and no referrals — just grit. Going solo is hard, but so is working in isolation without a peer group. That’s what pushed me to get involved with NACVA. I figured if I wanted to grow, I needed to connect.
Joining NACVA’s Standards Board was my first step. At the time, I didn’t realize just how impactful that decision would be. The Standards Board gave me a front-row seat to domestic and international changes in valuation. It wasn’t just a place for oversight — it was the ground floor where new industry “tile was being laid.” Later, I joined the Ethics Oversight Board, where I helped practitioners navigate tough, often unspoken ethical challenges. These roles didn’t just keep me current — they sharpened my thinking and connected me with some of the most driven professionals in the field. They also gave me confidence — the kind that shows up in conversations with business owners, attorneys, and eventually, testifying as an expert witness in court.
Somewhere along the way, Brien Jones invited me to teach. I didn’t think I was ‘that guy’. I thought I was still the one grinding away in the background. But suddenly, I was teaching CVA candidates and the Advanced Valuation curriculum. I was no longer observing — I was contributing. When NACVA later asked me to chair the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Commission (AIMLC), I was already speaking at conferences about AI’s transformative impact on our field. I believed then — as I do now — that AI is a revolution in the making, similar to what the smartphone did to telecommunications. But I also feared how easily it could be misused. Through the AIMLC, we published NACVA’s first Advisory Brief on AI and became a national voice for ethical, responsible integration of AI in valuation and forensic practices.
Today, I have been a solo practitioner for nine years and have had the opportunity to work on countless engagements across the country. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at multiple national conferences, worked alongside brilliant peers across the country, and built personal relationships that have changed everything about how I work and how I think. Going solo can feel like being on an island. NACVA didn’t just plug me into a network — it gave me a platform to grow — both as a practitioner and as a person. Everyone wants the secret to growing their practice. It starts with doing your work with integrity, expanding your knowledge, and getting involved. Those experiences create confidence that you can leverage. That’s the secret.
If you’re early in your career, my advice is simple: learn the fundamentals, then keep going. Take advanced courses. Stay curious. If you have the desire to go solo, focus on building a reputation that you’re proud of – because your reputation will precede you. And if you ever feel that quiet tug to lead — even before anyone’s asked you to — follow it. That moment is telling you that you’re ready.
Nick
