Alumnus Honored during Fisher’s Accounting Awards Ceremony

St. John Fisher College honored esteemed alumnus and former member of the Board of Trustees, Carol Anthony (John) Davidson ’76, during the 32nd annual Accounting Awards Banquet, held virtually on Tuesday, April 19.

Davidson is a certified public accountant with more than 35 years of leadership experience across multiple industries. He has served on the boards of major multinational public corporations and U.S. financial systems regulatory organizations since 2010, and has a strong track record of building and leading global teams and implementing governance and controls processes.

From 2004 to 2012, Davidson was senior vice president, controller, and chief accounting officer of Tyco International, where he was responsible for overseeing financial reporting, internal controls, and accounting policies and processes. In this role, Davidson worked as part of Tyco’s new senior leadership team in establishing financial integrity, operational excellence and strong ethical practices across Tyco global operations.

Prior to joining Tyco in 2004, Davidson served as vice president, audit, risk and compliance for Dell Inc. During his six-year career at Dell, he served in other senior capacities including chief compliance officer, vice president and corporate controller, and vice president of internal audit. In addition, Davidson spent 16 years with Eastman Kodak Company where he led the company’s internal audit function and previously served in a variety of accounting and financial leadership roles. He began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co.

Davidson spent five years on the board of governors of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which regulates and oversees the U.S. financial industry in the interest of investor protection and market integrity. He also previously served as a member of the board of directors of Legg Mason, DaVita Inc., Pentair Plc, Allergan Plc, and as a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation which oversees financial accounting and reporting standard setting processes for the United States. In 2016, Davidson was inducted into the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame.

Davidson along with his wife, Michele, and their children have also endowed a scholarship to provide financial assistance to incoming undergraduate students.

During the awards ceremony, the College also honored five alumni with Rising Star Awards. Given to alumni who have found success early in their careers, the award honors career achievements, involvement with both the community and the College, and demonstrated potential for even greater success as their accounting careers mature. The winners included: Gregory Church ’12, ’13 (MBA), David Johnson ’12, Sam Rosenzweig ’12, John Whelehan ’12, and Emily Jacobson-Hill ’13.

View the Accounting Awards Celebration

Church ’12, ’13 (MBA) began his career with Crowe LLP as an audit associate in 2013 and is now the audit senior manager of financial services, based in New York City. He is one of only two senior managers at Crowe in the United States who specializes in servicing SEC-registered broker dealers and financial tech clients.

Johnson ’12 is a manager at the Bonadio Group. There, he focuses on partnership taxation. Prior to joining Bonadio, Johnson spent two years as a senior tax analyst for a medical corporation. He is a CPA and holds a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Denver.

Rosenzweig ’12 has been at Deloitte & Touche LLP for nine years, now serving as an audit senior manager. He remains involved at Fisher in many capacities including as a mock interviewer for accounting students, helping to prepare the next generation of Fisher accountants.

Whelehan ’12 is a CPA and also holds a Masters of Taxation from the University of Denver. He works as a senior associate of accounting and finance recruiting at Vaco, LLC in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he helps candidates advance in their careers.

Jacobson-Hill ’13 serves as a manager in Insero & Co.’s Outsource Accounting Services Group where in 2018, she founded and led the Innovation Committee. Under her leadership, the firm has earned recognition including the RSM US Alliance National Innovation Award in 2018.

The College also recognized nearly 70 students for their academic achievements at Fisher. The awards are sponsored by the Department of Accounting and Finance in the School of Business.