Partners
Tom Varga - Managing Partner
Tom Varga founded CFO Selections after twenty years of extensive experience working with small and growing businesses. He began his finance career with GTE, Inc. and spent eight years in various positions including operations development, accounting, finance, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and customer service.
In 1994, he became COO and CFO at Peopleware, Inc., a software company where he was responsible for a successful turnaround strategy. He then became VP of Operations and CFO for Northwest Nexus, an explosively growing internet service provider with over 10,000 customers. After selling Northwest Nexus to Winstar Communications in 1998, he continued with Winstar until 2000, serving as director of business development and finance.
After leaving Winstar, he was named CFO of Network Computing Architects, Inc., overseeing strategic and day-to-day operation in the areas of finance, accounting, human resources, and administrative operations for the West Coast-based technology reseller. He also acted as general manager for the telecommunications division. Beginning in 2001, Tom served as president of 1NService, Inc. a national alliance of network technology and security vendors, at which he led the development and growth of this select group of highly-certified IT professional services organizations.
Described as an impassioned and visionary pioneer in outsourcing financial services, Tom successfully launched CFO Selections in 2002.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the CFO Selections Foundation and the board of trustees of the Mountaineers. The CFOS Foundation serves local children and was launched in 2007 by the partners of CFO Selections, all of whom strongly believe in the concept that even small companies have an obligation to re-invest in the communities from which they earn their living. The Mountaineer's mission is to enrich the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn about and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to his board work with the CFOS foundation and the Mountaineers, he has formerly been a director of Spiritwood Assisted Living, a director and treasurer of the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Association, a board member of the finance committee of Seattle SCORES, a director and treasurer of the Northwest Student Exchange (a non-profit international high school exchange organization), and a finance committee member at the Bellevue Arts Museum. In 2009, he was a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program for the Pacific Northwest.
Tom holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from John Carroll University, and an MBA from The University of Notre Dame. He lives in Seattle and enjoys climbing and teaching mountaineering in his spare time. He is a certified instructor with The Mountaineers and has climbed numerous peaks in Washington, Oregon, and New Zealand. He also enjoys sampling new wines and gourmet cooking – whether it is in his own kitchen, or at a great restaurant (suggestions gladly accepted).
Rich Leo - Partner
Rich Leo is the National Practice Manager for the company's executive search practice. With a broad based background as an entrepreneur, executive recruiter, and accountant, Rich can serve clients from a clear understanding of both their finance and general business needs.
Rich worked as an auditor with Arthur Andersen in their Phoenix office and spent six years in the accounting profession before joining an executive search firm in 1995. In 1997, he co-founded HCA Executive Search, a West Coast regional retained search firm with offices in Seattle and Phoenix. In 1999, Rich recognized an opportunity to utilize the Internet as a recruiting venue. He and his partner, Mark Tranter, successfully raised $2M from a Seattle area venture capital firm to fund their idea with Rich acting as CEO of this high-tech startup. In 2000, they partnered with hundreds of accounting and finance associations across the US, including more than half of the State Society of CPA's, the Financial Executives Institute (FEI), and Forbes.com. Their portal served as their partners' online job board, a technology that continues to provide many of these associations with a revenue stream today.
Immediately prior to joining CFO Selections, Rich was the Partner-in-charge of Executive Search at Paladin Partners, a Northwest-based executive search and business consulting firm. At Paladin, Rich managed a team of up to five senior recruiters as well as conducted executive searches for CEO's, VP's, Board Members and other key C-level executives for emerging growth, mid-market, and Fortune 500 companies.
Rich is one of the founding members of the CFOS Foundation, a non-profit organization providing time, talent and treasure to children in need. He also serves in an advisory capacity to a handful of local non-profit organizations and is a volunteer coach in several local sports leagues.
Rich holds a BSBA in business with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Arizona. He lives in Phoenix with his wife Jennifer and their four children. Rich enjoys an occasional round of golf, a game of racquetball, and cooking.
Mark Tranter - Partner
Mark Tranter has the distinction of having the most fun job at CFO Selections – he is responsible for business development. He organizes, hosts, and attends a large number of networking events, ranging from one-on-one meetings to roundtables, seminars, and forums.
In the 10 years before joining CFO Selections, Mark Tranter helped national companies of all sizes with their executive search needs. For the past 2 years he was in charge of Paladin Partners' executive search division. His executive search career followed several years in sales management in the fledgling wireless industry, notably at McCaw Cellular and NEC America.
In 1997 Mark, along with Partner Rich Leo, co-founded Human Capital Advisors to provide companies with top executive talent and help thousands of successful executives around the country with their career progression.
Mark speaks around the country monthly helping executives in transition get to their next career level, and he also serves on the board of the Seattle chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.
Mark holds a B.A. in Finance from Central Washington University and in his spare time, he enjoys traveling, golf, and playing the drums.
