Management Team
David Bittner, President
Dave Bittner is President of Beanstalk CFO Group. He was one of the pioneers of the CFO-services concept, and in 1995 he founded Beanstalk to provide necessary financial planning, insightful analysis and actionable advice. Dave has led the firm since inception and grown it to four offices serving hundreds of double-digit-employee companies. Prior to Beanstalk, Dave worked as a CPA for Price Waterhouse in Pittsburgh and for a venture capital firm in Chicago. Before that, he studied Accounting at Penn State and earned an MBA from Indiana. In addition to chairing Invest Southwest in 2008, Dave serves on committees and boards of several local companies and organizations. He also enjoys guest-speaking to ASU business students, AAAME, FastTrac and, especially, to the third-graders he teaches in Junior Achievement.
Sarah MacKenzie, Director of Operations
Sarah joined Beanstalk CFO Group as a staff accountant in 2003 with several years of bookkeeping and office management experience. Her dedication and drive to get the job done, attention to detail and professionalism serve as an asset to Beanstalk CFO. This earned her a promotion to Manager of Accounting in 2004, at which time she began managing other staff accountants and client relationships. She also became responsible for managing the profitability of those client relationships, ensuring that resources were used efficiently and for managing the professional development of the staff on her team. She succeeded in this position by improving processes and systems to help manage all client activities. In 2006 she was promoted again, this time to Director of Operations of the firm, the position she currently holds. In this expanded position, she is now responsible for firm-wide budgeting, profitability, staff retention, client retention and the day-to-day running of the company.
While in college Sarah was actively involved in the Sigma Kappa Sorority and the Western Kentucky University Lincoln-Douglas Debate team. She continues to be a part of these communities as an alumnae participant, as well as being an active member of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dublin, Ohio.
Suzanne Lang, Manager of Accounting
Suzanne is an accountant who has been with Beanstalk CFO Group since 2006. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University and has over 25 years of accounting experience in a variety of settings. In her work as senior accountant in a public accounting firm, she provided financial accounting and analysis for a variety of small businesses including retail, professional service and construction companies.
Suzanne enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time with her family (and dogs) and volunteering at her church.
Penny Kolva
Penny joined the Beanstalk team in January of 2016 assisting with bookkeeping tasks and special projects as needed. Since that time she has been promoted to Bookkeeping Supervisor and oversees the client experience to ensure timely and accurate bookkeeping.
Penny studied accounting at Columbus State and earned an Applied Science of Accounting Technology degree. Penny and her husband are empty nesters and reside in Zanesville, OH. Her favorite activity is spending time with her family.
Laura Clouse
Laura has been a staff accountant with Beanstalk CFO Group since 2006. With over 20 years of accounting experience, Laura’s dedication and professionalism is an asset to our firm and our clients. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Marketing from Otterbein College as well as an MBA from Capital University. Prior to joining Beanstalk CFO Group, Laura worked with several small businesses as well as Capmark Financial Group, Inc. as an Accounting Manager.
In her spare time, Laura enjoys reading, scrapbooking and spending time with her family. Laura and her husband Dwayne have two children and reside in an eastern suburb of Columbus.