Protecting Your Business, Employees, and Customers – CFOs and Controllers in the Time of Coronavirus

As president and managing partner of Baker Tilly Vantagen, Kim Wylam has created the overall vision, which is focused on bringing human resource strategies in a customized fashion to our clients.

Over the past 27 years, Kim has developed a comprehensive background within all areas of human resources (HR). Kim is the founding partner of Vantagen, now Baker Tilly Vantagen. Baker Tilly Vantagen specializes in delivering solutions that are focused in both technology and optimal client service. Kim is experienced in all aspects of HR and specializes in compliance, strategy and development, employee benefits and compensation. In her role as president, Kim oversees all major client development initiatives and operations. 

Baker Tilly Vantagen maintains a staff of more than 60 dedicated HR professionals that are dedicated to client service. Clients represent every industry and range from a few hundred employees to 50,000 employees across the U.S. and internationally. 

Kim is also responsible for Baker Tilly Vantagen’s thought leadership, having published articles in PA Business Journal, HR Executive Magazine, Weight Watchers Magazine and numerous other periodicals on a variety of HR topics and trends. Kim is also a frequent speaker within the HFMA group and content provider on HR issues related to healthcare. 

Prior to founding Vantagen and joining Baker Tilly, Kim served as vice president for NatWest Bank (now Bank of America) in the HR services division. Within this role, she coordinated HRIS, payroll, compensation and employee benefits for more than 25,000 employees in the U.S. and abroad.

Erich Bergen, manufacturing advisory services director, has been with Baker Tilly since 2017. Erich is a director with 20 years of management and technology consulting experience across a wide range of industries, including a specialization in the mobility and transportation sector. As a business and technology leader, he works side by side with executives to solve enterprise transformation related programs. Erich specializes in corporate strategy, customer experience, customer and field service related functions, shared services, portfolio and program level management.

Over the last 10 years, Erich has focused almost exclusively on serving closely held companies. He is a Certified Galliard Family Business Advisor and leader in our family business strategy group where he helps family-owned organizations maximize value to transact or transition to the next generation. Erich worked as a consulting director for a Big Four firm and led several significant projects for the automotive industry prior to joining Baker Tilly.

Experience

• Creates and protects value for family-owned and closely held businesses through strategic growth and succession planning services
• Works closely with c-suite executives to define corporate strategies that support short-and long-term goals
• Develops and executes tactical support plans to achieve enterprise growth and process optimization objectives
• Instrumental in designing and delivering programs focused on end-to-end enterprise transformation: current and future state definition, operating model design and development support
• Leads large-scale business and technology transformational programs, including business case/ROI quantification, people and process organizational design, program and change management
• Works cross-culturally on international engagements to help clients navigate sociocultural barriers

Gary Plaster, principal with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly), leads the family business strategy group. Gary is a nationally recognized thought leader in growth strategy with more than three decades of experience advising family business owners and C-suite executives. He previously served as managing partner of strategy consulting and chief strategy officer for another national accounting firm.

Experience