Leadership

Simon Bittlestone is the Immediate Past CIMA President and Immediate Past Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

He first became a CIMA member in 2009 and was admitted to fellowship in 2016. Simon is an active ambassador and supporter of CIMA and the Association, currently serving on CIMA Council and the Association’s Board of Directors.

Simon is a business leader with experience in both private and public companies and in the US, UK, and Asian markets.

Today, Simon has a portfolio of advisory and non-executive roles for several technology businesses, investment funds, and charities. Simon’s business career includes working for 12 years in the financial analytics industry, a decade of which he spent as CEO of Metapraxis, a finance technology company based in London and New York with a global blue-chip customer base.

In the early stages of his career, Simon worked for technology and services firm Xchanging PLC, now part of CSC, where he qualified as an Associate Chartered Management Accountant and worked on the company’s highly successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2007.

Simon holds an MA (Oxon) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University.

Simon first became a CIMA member in 2009 and was admitted to fellowship in 2016, he has been an active ambassador and supporter of CIMA over the last decade. He was a member of CIMA’s Audit and Finance Committee in 2016-17 before being co-opted to CIMA Council in 2018. In 2021, he was appointed to the Association’s Board of Directors and Audit and Finance Committee, and also served on CIMA’s Thought Leadership and Business Ethics Committee.

Alongside these voluntary positions, Simon has supported CIMA’s brand and profile-raising activities amongst large businesses through the Tomorrow’s CFO Programme, an initiative which delivers CFO-focused seminars, roundtable meetings, and thought leadership on the future of finance.

Lexy Kessler, CPA, CGMA, is the 2025-2026 Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (Association).

Throughout her career, Kessler has served in several volunteer roles with the AICPA: AICPA Board of Directors, AICPA Audit and Finance Committee, PCPS Executive Committee, AICPA Investments Committee, and as a member and elected state representative of Council.

She is a Partner, Assurance Services at Aprio, serves on its Board of Directors, and is the Chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council. She previously led the firm’s Government Contracting segment. She has 40 years of experience in public accounting in assurance, tax, and consulting—serving as a trusted advisor to business leaders and changemakers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

She was also Chair of the National Pipeline Advisory Group, focused on developing an inclusive pipeline strategy for the accounting profession in the U.S.

Kessler has won several awards, including AICPA’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting for three consecutive years, Maryland’s Top 100 Women as a Circle of Excellence member, and MACPA’s Most Powerful Women to Watch in Accounting. She was also named to the Washington Business Journal’s list of “Women Who Mean Business.”

Kessler earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland. She is a former Chairman of the board of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Choral Arts Society of D.C. and is the Treasurer for the Professional Services Council. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at Marymount University.

Sarah Ghosh FCMA, CGMA
Immediate Past President, CIMA

Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, is the Immediate Past Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Co-Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (Association).

Throughout her career, McCall has served in several volunteer roles with the AICPA: AICPA Board of Directors, AICPA Investments Committee, AICPA Audit and Finance Committee, AICPA Political Action Committee, PCPS Executive Committee, and as a member and elected state representative of Council.

She is the Managing Partner at AAFCPAs, a 300-person CPA and consulting firm based in New England. In this role, she is responsible for firm vision and strategy and has been instrumental in driving the expansion of services for clients beyond the core audit and tax, such as client accounting service, wealth management, robotic process
automation, IT & cyber security, system selection & implementation, and data analytics.

Throughout her almost three decades at AAFCPAs, McCall launched multiple professional growth and inclusion initiatives including: the Zip2CPA licensing accelerator program, E3 Intern Accelerator Program for underrepresented populations, the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Innovation Lab, Changemaker Challenge and the firm’s Automation Initiative.

She was named one of the Most Powerful Women in the Accounting Profession (2020-2021 and 2022) by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine and appeared on the National Managing Partner Elite List by Accounting Today (2020).

Prior to joining AAFCPAs, she worked for West Hartford-based Filomeno & Co. PC, a CPA and business advisory firm.

McCall has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Bentley University and received the inaugural Harry C. Bentley Alumni Achievement Award in 2017. She is former chair of the board at the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and remains committed to serving as an ambassador of the CPA profession. McCall also commits a great deal of her personal time to mentoring young professionals and women. She has dedicated countless hours to community service serving on nonprofit boards, including SheGives Boston, The Jordan Porco Foundation, and Strong Women, Strong Girls.

John has worked mainly in the NHS in England and has worked for a range of NHS organizations including the Department of Health and in Chief Finance Officer/Director of Finance Roles for the last sixteen years.

John has significant experience of strategic and financial planning and leading the finance function, he has consistently ensured the delivery of high-quality financial management, financial services, and financial governance within the organisations he has worked for. John has a strong track record of collaborating with various stakeholders to align financial plans with service objectives, resulting in the achievement of both financial and operational targets.

John is a passionate supporter and advocate of CIMA and has championed CIMA in individual organisations and across the NHS.

John is committed to the personal and professional development of others and himself, he welcomes the opportunity of developing and empowering colleagues he works with and takes pride in seeing them develop and he is currently coaching several colleagues.

His current position is Chief Finance Officer - Tameside and Glossop IC NHS FT & Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Deputy Chief Executive - Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

John is a member of the (NHS) Healthcare Financial Management Association. He previously chaired and serves on the Healthcare Costing for Value Institute and engages with organisations nationally & internationally. John is also a member of the NW NHS Finance Staff Development Board for all finance staff in the NW and uses this forum to advocate CIMA.

CIMA and the Association

John was awarded Fellowship in 2011 and has been actively involved as an ambassador and advocate for CIMA. He has held various leadership positions, with an emphasis on promoting CIMA, member engagement and events planning. John has served as a member and chair of Lifelong Learning, and Professional Standards. John currently serves on Membership Committee, the Exam Board, and the Appointments Committee. He has previously chaired CIMA’s North West England & North Wales Area Board and still serves as a member of the Board.

Personal

John lives with his wife in Lydiate, Liverpool, he has three children who all live locally. He is Chair of a School Multi Academy Trust based in Merseyside and is a Non-Executive Director for New Directions – New Directions is a leading provider of adult social care services within the borough of Sefton. They work with individuals with learning and physical and learning disabilities and older people to live rewarding and fulfilling lives through person-cantered support and care. John enjoys travelling and is a keen sports fan.

Jan Lewis, CPA, CGMA is the 2025-2026 Vice Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
Throughout her career, Lewis has served in several volunteer roles with the AICPA: AICPA Board of Directors, AICPA Life Insurance and Disability Plans Committee, AICPA Tax Practice and Procedures Committee, AICPA Tax Executive Committee, and as a member and elected state representative of Council.

Lewis is a Tax Partner with BMSS Advisors and CPAs in Ridgeland, MS. Her responsibilities include income and estate tax planning, research, and compliance for individual and business clients. Her areas of practice include healthcare, oil & gas, construction, real estate, and high net worth individuals. She has taught continuing education classes throughout Mississippi and nationwide to CPAs in the areas of income tax planning, business tax matters, and S tax matters, and has given presentations on financial literacy, tax reform, and other tax issues to various groups across the country.

She has authored articles on tax matters for the Tax Adviser publication and has served as a webcast presenter for the AICPA’s Tax Division. She has been interviewed by Fox Business News, NPR, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Bankrate, and the Detroit Free Press for her insight on various policy and practice matters affecting taxpayers. She was selected as one of Forbes Top 200 CPAs in America in 2024.

She is active in the Mississippi Society of CPAs, previously serving as President of the Society, a member of the MSCPA Board of Governors, an officer of the Society’s Central Chapter, and a trustee of the Mississippi Tax Institute. She currently is a member of the MSCPA's Long Range Planning Committee and the MSCPA's Young CPAs Liaison Committee.

Lewis is a native of Jackson, MS, and a 1985 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Mississippi State University. She is a member and past chair of the Adkerson School of Accountancy Advisory Board at MSU and was selected as the MSU College of Business's Alumni Fellow for 2016. She was chosen as MSU Beta Alpha Psi Alumnus of the Year in 2000.

Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, is the President and CEO of the American Institute of CPAs, and CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the most influential body of professional accountants in the world with 600,000 members, candidates, and registrants. Formed in 2017, the Association combines the strengths of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the AICPA.

Koziel was named to this role by the Association’s Board of Directors in October 2024 and began his tenure on January 1, 2025. He brings a wealth of leadership experience, having served the profession for decades. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Allinial Global, an association of independent accounting and advisory firms with 268 member firms worldwide. He began that role in 2020 after 14 years with the Association (previously AICPA), where he served in a number of roles, including executive vice president, Firm Services.

Koziel began working in the profession at a large accounting firm, Lumsden McCormick, based in Buffalo, New York. Throughout his career he has been a consistent advocate for accountants, developing a strong global understanding of the accounting and finance profession.

He is known for his commitment to key values, such as strategic growth, teamwork, innovation, and excellence, and has been recognized with many notable awards. He regularly appears on Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting and in 2017, Koziel received the Dr. Joseph R. Coppola ’40 Outstanding Alumnus Award from Canisius University’s Accounting Department. Among his many accolades, Koziel was also named to CPA Practice Advisor’s Top Thought Leaders in Public Accounting and the International Accounting Bulletin and The Accountant’s list of the Global Accounting Power 50.

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Koziel graduated from Canisius University in 1991 with a BS, accounting degree. He now resides in North Carolina with his family.

Susan Coffey, CPA, CGMA

Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA