THE MONOTELO TEAM
Jim Richter, CFP®, CAIA®, EA
President
800-961-0298
jim@monotelo.com
Jim Richter is the President of Monotelo Advisors.
Jim sets the strategic direction for the firm, including oversight of all tax and financial planning services at Monotelo Advisors. He brings 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry, including 10 years of hedge-fund specific work across diverse investment products. Prior to founding Monotelo Advisors, Jim spent 7 years as a Managing Director and Partner at a Chicago-based asset management firm. Prior to his time in the asset management industry, Jim spent 9 years as a fixed-income specialist in the banking industry. Jim is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst with a degree in Finance from the University of Illinois - Chicago. He is also an Enrolled Agent, a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the US Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service.
If you asked Jim where he would like to be right now, it would be in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. He would be on the water, in a boat, in the summertime, or on a groomed snowmobile trail in the winter.
Gina Gucciardo, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
217-839-4226
gina@monotelo.com
Gina is a Certified Public Accountant with over 35 years in public accounting.
Gina and her team provide tax and accounting services to small businesses throughout Macoupin County and the surrounding area. She spends a good portion of her time volunteering and serving on non-profit boards. Gina has the distinct honor of being the very first graduate of Blackburn College's Accounting program, where she eventually taught Accounting before returning to private practice.
Gina and her husband have two adult children, one grandchild and two dogs! If you are an early riser, you might catch Gina running the track at her local high school. She wakes up at 4:30 in the morning and runs five miles a day, five days a week. If Gina wasn’t so great at her job, she would probably be working with dogs.
Ron Rindone, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
630-279-1400
ron@monotelo.com
Ron is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 40 years in public accounting.
Ron has extensive experience with accounting and taxation in the manufacturing and service industries. He is a member of the Illinois CPA Society. Ron has a deep understanding of the Internal Revenue Code and how it intersects with our small business owners and individual families. He has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois.
Ron and his wife have one son and two grandchildren. In Ron’s free time he enjoys spending time at his home in Lake Geneva with family and friends. Little known fact about Ron: he has been to the World Series of Poker more than once! Nicknamed “Best Dressed Ron” by the Heartland Poker Tour announcers in 2016, Ron was perfectly fine with his new nickname after he walked away with $74,000 in tournament winnings!
Mary J Bresson, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
815-628-3500
mary@monotelo.com
Mary is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 20 years in public accounting.
Mary has extensive experience with accounting, taxation, and the agriculture industry. She is a member of the AICPA, Illinois CPA Society, and the National Society of Accountants. Mary has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University with a minor in Finance. She is an Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor and supports many of our small business and farming clients with payroll, bookkeeping, monthly accounting services and QuickBooks training and support.
Mary lives with her husband Jeff near their family farm. They have two adult children and five grandchildren. In Mary’s free time she enjoys gardening, traveling, cooking, music, and entertaining family and friends.
Steve Watts, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
630-377-1040
steve@monotelo.com
Steve is a Certified Public Accountant with an MBA and the CIRA certification.
He has extensive banking and accounting experience with direct knowledge of the challenges faced by small business owners. He has developed and implemented various automated programs for management and financial reporting. During his 13 years on the banking side, Steve prepared financial statements as well as examined and analyzed the financial statements and cash flow for over one thousand companies. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Illinois CPA® Society, National Association of Tax Professionals, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and Turnaround Management Association.
Steve and his wife have two adult children.
Gavin Tabb, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
847-923-9015
gavin@monotelo.com
Gavin is a Certified Public Accountant and small business specialist for Monotelo Advisors.
He is responsible for supporting our small business clients throughout the United States with seamless payroll, bookkeeping and monthly accounting services throughout the year. Gavin has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University. He is an Intuit QuickBooks Certified User.
Gavin and his wife have a five-year old daughter and one-year old son.
Michael Baumeister, CFP®, EA
Financial Planner
847-923-9015
michael@monotelo.com
Michael is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ for Monotelo Advisors.
Michael provides solutions to client’s complex financial planning needs in a thorough, cost-effective manner. He is the point of contact for all financial planning clients to ensure a constant channel of communication and oversight. His personal experience brings an expertise in the fields of asset allocation, estate planning, insurance review, tax planning and comprehensive financial planning. Michael has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Judson University. He is an Enrolled Agent, a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the US Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service.
Michael and his wife have a two-year-old son with one more on the way! Even though Michael is a millennial, with the facial hair to prove it, he does not wear tight jeans or drink coffee. However, his jeans might be tighter than the average person. When Michael was 10 years old, he wanted to be a paleontologist, but then again, that’s when Jurassic Park was still a big deal!
Krishna Thakkar
Chartered Accountant
847-923-9015
krishna@monotelo.com
Krishna is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years of public accounting experience.
Krishna has been serving small businesses in audit, bookkeeping and payroll services since 2011. She has Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master of Commerce degree with expertise in international tax law, Quickbooks and XERO. Krishna plays a key role in assisting our team in preparing individual 1040 tax returns along with corporate and partnership tax returns.
Krishna enjoys international travel and spending time with her family. When she was 10 years old, she wanted to be a doctor, but changed her mind in her teens when she decided to pursue a degree in accounting. She finds that learning new things and solving problems are the most inspiring parts of her job.
Addy Genetti
Accountant
217-839-4226
addy@monotelo.com
Addy is an accountant for Monotelo Advisors.
Addy has 18 years of public accounting experience including preparation of individual, partnership, corporate and estate/trust tax returns. She graduated from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Addy serves Monotelo's small business clients with preparation of payroll, sales tax, bookkeeping and monthly accounting services.
When she is not busy exceeding our clients' expectations, Addy and her husband are tag teaming the responsibility of shuffling their three boys to their afterschool activities. Addy is not just crafty, she is “super” crafty, and she fully expresses herself in her cakes and cupcakes! If Addy could be anywhere right now, it would be on a beach in the Caribbean.
Lisa Rondi
Small Business Specialist
217-839-4226
lisa@monotelo.com
Lisa is a small business specialist for Monotelo Advisors.
Lisa has 24+ years of experience in tax return, payroll, sales tax and bookkeeping preparation and review in the Gillespie and Carlinville offices. She strives to help clients with their financial needs in the ever-changing tax system. She enjoys spending time with her family, her church family and doing anything outdoors.
If you were to look for Lisa on a Sunday morning, you would find her at her church where she has been the Sunday School Superintendent for the last 20 years. Lisa plays multiple musical instruments, including the harp, dulcimer, concertina and accordion. If Lisa won the lottery tomorrow (aside from continuing to work here at her favorite job!), she would start an arts and crafts studio where people could get together and share ideas and, of course, bring their dogs.
Tamika Oswald
Accountant
217-854-9530
tamika@monotelo.com
Having served inside small businesses for over 15 years, Tamika has a deep understanding of how small businesses function. From payroll, to sales tax, to income statements and balance sheets, Tamika brings her expertise to Montelo to help serve our small business clients. She is also a Quickbooks expert with a bachelor degree in Accounting and Marketing from Blackburn College. In addition to her passion for serving clients, she is passionate about her church. Tamika and her husband have two sons. When Tamika is not serving Monotelo clients you might find her at working out at her local gym and strengthening her core.
Renee Katschke
Small Business Specialist
815-628-3500
renee@monotelo.com
Renee is a small business specialist for Monotelo Advisors with over 15 years of public accounting experience.
Renee works alongside Mary Bresson in our West Brooklyn office serving our small businesses and farming clients. She started her career in banking and has been providing bookkeeping, payroll and sales tax return preparation services since 2006. Renee also supports our team in preparing individual 1040, corporate and partnership tax returns.
Marianne Richter
Engagement Manager
847-923-9015
marianne@monotelo.com
Marianne Richter is responsible for ensuring that Monotelo is delivering a high level of customer service and meeting the expectations of Monotelo’s small business relationships. Marianne brings 13+ years of diversified training and marketing experience in the consumer goods industry to Monotelo. Working in senior management roles at Kraft Foods for more than a decade, she had national profit and loss responsibility for consumer brands.
Marianne and her husband, Jim have two sons, who are both in college. Little known fact about Marianne: she is a certified personal trainer. If Marianne could be anywhere, it would be on a beach, most likely in Florida. And that doesn’t work so well when her husband wants to be snowmobiling in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Roger Medallo
Relationship Specialist
800-961-0298
roger@monotelo.com
Roger plays a key role in developing relationships with small business owners for Monotelo Advisors. He sets appointments for our team and fields questions from prospective clients. Roger has a degree in computer science and plays multiple musical instruments.
Roger and his wife, Diane have been married for 6 years.
Rose Pinkston
Front Desk Manager
847-923-9015
documents@monotelo.com
Rose manages the front desk at our Elgin office.
She fields client calls, processes documents, and does everything within her power to exceed our clients' expectations.
Rose and her husband have two adult daughters. When she was ten, she wanted to be a flight attendant, but her life goals shifted when she was introduced to motherhood. She doesn’t regret the decision, but does wish she could have earned the lifetime of free airfare! Little known fact about Rose: she worked for Arthur Anderson for over 15 years, from their Q-Center in St. Charles, Illinois. If Rose could be anywhere right now, it would be on her sun porch in a warmer climate.