Vertex Inc., the leading provider of corporate enterprise tax solutions, has announced that Peggi Rockefeller, a seasoned tax professional with over 25 years of indirect tax experience, has joined the company as Chief Tax Officer, US Transaction Tax.
Rockefeller most recently served as the North American Director of Indirect Taxes for ABB Inc., a $38 billion, FORTUNE 500 company and leader in power and automation technologies that operates in 100 countries and employs about 135,000 people. During her over 18 years with ABB, she oversaw all facets of indirect taxation including the support of global strategic goals and M&A integration. Additionally, during her tenure Rockefeller was responsible for the successful implementation of Vertex(R) Indirect Tax O Series(R) software in conjunction with the company’s simultaneous conversion of 19 enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) into a single provider. A long-time customer and user of Vertex solutions, she is also a member of the Tax 2.0 community and recognized expert on US indirect/transaction tax policy, processes and audit issues.
Rockefeller joins a growing list of tax experts in Vertex’s Chief Tax Office, which also includes recently added Bill Brennan, Chief Tax Officer Chris Walsh, Chief Tax Officer, International, and Bob Norton, Chief Income Tax Officer. As Chief Tax Officer, US Transaction Tax, Rockefeller will provide the company insight and thought leadership around tax department operations, US indirect tax regulations and policies, and emerging tax industry trends.
“Peggi is a well-known and respected presence in the indirect tax industry,” said Jeff Westphal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex. “Her experience managing indirect tax for a variety of industries, and for complex, multi-national corporations, provides Vertex with invaluable expertise both from a product and customer perspective and from an overall tax industry perspective.”
Prior to joining ABB Inc., Rockefeller served as the Manager of Tax Research and Planning for The BOC Group, now a part of Linde Group, a supplier of industrial, process and specialty gases with products and services in over 100 countries. She began her career in tax with Science Management Corporation, a U.S. based consulting firm.
Rockefeller holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting and Computer Science from The College of New Jersey. She is a frequent speaker at various tax industry events and is a member of the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, the Council on State Taxation (COST), and the Women’s Tax Executive Networking Group.
Ryan, a leading global tax services firm with the largest indirect tax practice in North America, yesterday announced the launch of a new Net Proceeds Tax practice that will be led by Ms. Sharon R. Byram, who joins the management team as a Director. Ms. Byram will be based in the Denver, Colorado office.
As a result of current legislative and regulatory efforts to close budget shortfalls, corporations are facing increasingly unpredictable corporate tax dynamics. Mining companies operating in western states are particularly impacted, as it relates to the net proceeds tax, and are facing rapidly changing tax rules, reduced deductions, increased audits, and additional scrutiny by the tax authorities. Ryan’s Net Proceeds Tax practice will help corporations meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving legislative and regulatory environment with a suite of tax advisory and audit defense services to help ensure clients pay only their fair share of the net proceeds tax.
Ms. Byram’s extensive expertise and knowledge of current and proposed legislative, regulatory, and constitutional changes to the net proceeds tax law will be supported by a Ryan team of tax professionals with years of specialized tax experience in the mining and precious metals industry. Ms. Byram is an industry-recognized expert on the Nevada net proceeds tax and has more than 22 years of tax experience in compliance, audit, appeals, negotiations, tax planning, litigation, regulatory, and legislative matters within the mining industry, with a focus on issues related to mineral taxes and legal policies. She has in-depth expertise in all areas of sales and use tax, property tax, production, and other extraction taxes.
Prior to joining Ryan, Ms. Byram served as the director of Domestic Tax and Tax Litigation for a Fortune 500 mining company and one of the world’s top producers of gold. She is the current treasurer of the Denver Lawyers Chapter of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, and is a member of the American Bar Association, Nevada Bar Association, Institute for Professionals in Taxation, Nevada Taxpayers Association, and the Nevada Mining Association. Ms. Byram has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from National University; a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nevada, Reno; and a Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“I’m excited to have a seasoned tax professional like Sharon Byram join our leadership team and drive the aggressive growth of Ryan’s Net Proceeds Tax practice,” said G. Brint Ryan, CEO and managing principal of Ryan. “Our clients in the mining and precious metals industries will benefit tremendously from Sharon’s extensive knowledge of the net proceeds tax and the added value this practice will bring to new and existing engagements.”
“Ryan’s exceptionally talented professionals, unparalleled growth trajectory, and focus on quality client service are second to none in the tax services industry,” said Ms. Byram. “I look forward to delivering tremendous value to Ryan’s premier portfolio of clients and contributing to the rapid growth of our Net Proceeds Tax practice.”
Baker & McKenzie has announced the addition of Omar Chang Camacho as a Partner in the International Trade & Customs practice in the Firm’s Monterrey office.
Mr. Chang Camacho practices tax and customs law and has worked at Chevez Ruiz Zamarripa y Cía. S.C. as an associate in its international trade practice and at Deloitte & Touche, where he opened the firm’s Guadalajara foreign trade and customs practice. He was also national managing partner for the customs and trade practice at national level at BDO Hernández, Marrón y Cía. as well as managing director for the firm’s Guadalajara office.
Mr. Chang Camacho graduated from Universidad de Guadalajara.
