Meet the Padgett team!

Marketing Coordinator

New to the Padgett team this year, Amina Aljic serves as the Marketing Coordinator, leveraging marketing technology to support Padgett’s franchisees and enhance brand awareness through impactful content. She got her degree in Communications from the University of Georgia and has a background in marketing medical equipment through blog posts, email campaigns, and product promotion, helping in her commitment to growing the Padgett brand. Off-duty, she loves traveling with friends and spending time with her two cats. She indulges in reading, cooking, and hosting movie nights- everyone is welcome!

President

Roger Harris is the president of Padgett and has been serving in this role since 1992. He has worked with the company for 50 years, since studying at the J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia. Prior to becoming president of the company, Roger served as President and Chairman of the Board for 10 years in one of the largest Padgett franchises in the system, giving him years of valuable expertise in the franchise industry. He has used his expertise as an industry expert in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Morning Business Report, Bloomberg Business News and Accounting Today. Roger has also offered testimony before Congress, putting his decades of experience to work as an advocate for small business legislation.

CEO

Jeff Phillips is the Chief Executive Officer of Padgett. Since earning his economics degree from Baylor University and his MBA from Southern Methodist University, he has established himself as a leader in the accounting industry. He has been included on Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People list five times and serves on multiple professional and community boards. He is also the co-founder and former CEO of Accountingfly, a company working to match accountants with modern, innovative firms across the country. Jeff currently lives in his hometown of Pensacola with his wife and three children.

COO, Owner

Amanda is the owner of Padgett New Orleans, as well as the Chief Operating Officer for Padgett’s corporate office. She has known she wanted to become a CPA from age 16, and now holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation from the University of Denver. Prior to joining the Padgett team, Amanda ran Aguillard Accounting LLC and is the founder of Accounting Salon, a thinktank of cloud accounting experts, and its virtual offshoot, SALONv. She has been named one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting in 2018 and 2019 and regularly speaks at state CPA societies and industry technology conferences. When she’s not advocating for her industry or helping clients succeed, she spends her free time cooking for her two children, reading historical fiction and backcountry hiking.

Chief Marketing Officer

Anna Khayet, Padgett’s CMO, loves marketing and helping brands grow. As a marketer she’s been fortunate to work with some great brand strategists at American Express, Google and SoFi. Campaigns she has worked on have been featured in the Superbowl, on national TV, radio and in airports and transit stations across the U.S. Her work has also won awards including the Google award for marketing excellence, the AdWeek ad of the Day and WOMMA awards. She’s a graduate of Columbia Business School and has completed the Marketing Academy program at Wharton.

Director of Franchise Sales

A new addition to Padgett, Chris Thomason is the Director of Franchise Sales. He has a background in sales with a focus on franchising, and has worked in both the hotel and medical industries before now shifting to accounting. Chris is a native of California, but currently resides in Roswell, GA with his wife and two children. In his younger years, he also served in the U.S. Army as a combat medic.

Office and Franchise Manager

Jane is Padgett’s Office and Franchise Manager and has been in this role since 2017. Prior to joining Padgett, Jane owned her own business for 10 years. Her additional experience includes human resource management for a top commercial design firm and manager and paralegal for an Atlanta law firm. She utilizes her paralegal skills to help business owners navigate the process of becoming a Padgett franchise. As a former entrepreneur, she understands the concerns of starting a business and works closely with franchisees to help them through start up and beyond. Jane spends her free time watching or attending any sporting event she can find, reading, painting and exercising.

Franchise Operations Manager

Annie is a CPA with over 25 years of tax experience in public accounting, including positions held at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young. She is currently the tax manager at Padgett Business Services, supporting office owners with their tax and accounting needs. She works with small business owners to navigate the complexities of the current tax law. Annie attended Tulane University in New Orleans where she received her undergraduate and master’s degree in Accounting and Taxation. She currently resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and two young sons. When she is not cheering at the baseball field, she enjoys travelling, outdoor adventures and a nice glass of wine.

Marketing Manager

Katarina Thomas is Padgett’s Marketing Manager. She oversees Padgett’s brand partners, leads our digital marketing efforts, and provides marketing support to Padgett’s franchisees. Katarina is a graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in advertising and art history. Prior to joining the Padgett team, Katarina led marketing efforts for a Southeast-based non-profit that grew its presence 200% during her time there. She’s passionate about branding and the power of technology to connect organizations to the people who could most benefit from their services. In her free time, Katarina loves spending time with her husband and two cats. She enjoys reading, baking, and painting and one day hopes to visit every continent and every national park.

Chief Financial Officer

Beth Russell is the CFO of Padgett and has been with the company for 25 years, starting out as the corporate accountant and also working in tax support. She graduated in 1991 from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree. After working in public accounting for a few years, Beth decided to move her career to the private sector. She received her CPA designation in Mississippi and transferred her license to Georgia in 2018. Beth currently lives in Colbert, Georgia just outside of Athens with her husband. She enjoys reading, singing, and spending time in the mountains.

Franchise Operations Manager

Andy Ford works in the support department helping franchise owners and their staff with general accounting questions as well as with software and computer issues. He has been with Padgett since 2010 and has an accounting degree from the Florida Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the Padgett team, he worked in the golf industry as a golf professional, club accountant and club manager. Andy lives near Athens, GA with his wife and two sons, and he enjoys traveling and playing golf during his free time.

Franchise Operations Specialist

Erin Myers serves as a tax and accounting specialist at Padgett. She is an Enrolled Agent with over 20 years of experience in the industry, since earning her degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Urbana. Prior to joining the Padgett team in 2010, Erin worked as a staff accountant at a local tax practice in Athens, Georgia. She also worked at the Walgreens Accounting Center in Danville, IL before relocating to Georgia. Erin is a dedicated mother of two who enjoys spending time with family and friends in her free time.

Franchise Operations Manager

Cindy is the manager of software support and has been with Padgett for over 25 years. Prior to joining the Padgett team, Cindy studied accounting at Gwinnett Technical College. Since joining the company in 1996, she has worked in software support and training. Her experience has included working closely with Thomson Reuters on the transition from our proprietary software to the current software used today. In her free time, Cindy enjoys reading, spending time with family and traveling to the beach.

Franchise Operations Specialist

Tim is a member of the tax support team at Padgett. He is an Enrolled Agent whose alma mater is Southern Wesleyan University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He later returned to SWU and earned an MBA. Before joining Padgett in 2008, Tim was a staff accountant at a small CPA firm which resembled many Padgett offices. Tim lives in Palm Harbor, Florida with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys exploring waterways in his kayak, practicing spin-casting and retrievals (and sometimes catching a fish), and generally being outdoors.

Video Editor

Though Sarah is known as Padgett’s video editor, her job expands far beyond video content. She creates, edits and designs a variety of print collateral and digital media content such as whitepapers, brochures, videos and newsletters for franchise support and the Padgett marketing team. She earned a BFA in Photography from the University of Georgia in 2011. Prior to joining Padgett in 2012, she started her career working for a local video production company based in Athens, GA. Sarah recently moved to Cary, North Carolina, with her husband and 7-year old scruffy mutt. In her free time, she enjoys exploring her new town, going hiking, watching psychological thrillers and reading mysteries.

Administrative Support Assistant

Charlene Standridge is Padgett’s Administrative Support Assistant. Her role at the Padgett home office includes aiding the other departments, keeping internal communications channels such as Padgett Assist up to date, and helping franchisees with support requests. Charlene lives in her hometown of Farmington with her daughter. She loves the spending time at the beach or in the mountains and enjoys reading in her spare time.

VP of Franchise Operations

As Padgett’s VP of Franchise Support, Sue is responsible for the department that assists our franchise locations across the country in operational areas such as tax law and compliance, accounting, payroll, marketing and practice development. She also coaches owners and their staff as a subject matter expertise in these areas. Sue began her career with Padgett in 1996 as a tax support specialist. Before Padgett, she was employed for 3 years as a staff accountant for a CPA firm in North Carolina, receiving her North Carolina CPA certification in 1996. Originally from Pennsylvania, Sue taught high school band and chorus prior to her career change. When not working, Sue enjoys traveling and is an avid genealogist.

Accountant

Since 2017, Joy has served as Padgett’s corporate accountant. Her responsibilities also include training franchisees on using the Padgett Report + Pay (PRP) and monitoring royalty reports. Before joining the Padgett team, Joy studied business education and accounting and worked for a prominent civil engineering company in Birmingham. She then spent 15 years in an accounts receivable position for a Georgia-based medical laboratory that is now the largest private owned laboratory in the Southeast. When not working, she loves spending time with her two daughters, her three grandsons, her English Labrador, and her six cats. In her spare time, she also enjoys reading, crocheting and cross-stitching.