Paula J. Charles, CPA

Paula is the President of Abraxas Business Services, an eight-person firm specializing in M&A and business brokerage for small and middle market companies. The company has four main areas of focus - buyer services [for individuals or companies that want to acquire businesses}, seller services (for privately held companies that need assistance selling their company), exit strategy consulting, and earnings improvement services. Paula has worked in a wide variety of capacities and industries during her career. She has held positions as CFO or SVP Finance for startups, and Iarge public corporations, and managed a variety of successful merger and acquisition projects, both domestic and internationally. She has also worked in franchising and in several divisions of a technology company, as the VP of product management, and in was instrumental in the international expansion strategy of the company. She began her career with Deloitte & Touche, where she spent 11 years as a management consultant. She focused her consulting in a variety of industries focusing on retail, distribution and manufacturing, and assisting companies in strategy formulation, due diligence, systems implementation and reengineering efforts. While at Deloitte & Touche she co-authored a book titled "Wholesale-Distribution in the 1990"s". She has also worked in several companies leading their product development efforts and their strategy formulation. Paula spent a year in the Netherlands as an auditor for Peat Marwick & Mitchell before going to graduate school. Paula holds a masters degree in accountancy from the University of Texas and B.S. in business administration from the University of Washington (emphasis in accounting). She is a CPA [currently inactive), a Certified Management Accountant ICMA), Certified in Production and inventory Management (CPIM}, and is a licensed real estate agent in the State of Georgia. She serves as the Treasurer and board member of The Board of Directors Network, and the Treasurer and board member of The Samaritan House. Paula is married and has two children, and has lived abroad in Australia, Brazil and the Netherlands.