Randall has partnered with more than 200 companies during more than 20 years of experience securing tax credits and other government incentives. He launched his career with the tax practice Arthur Andersen in southern California. Today at Acena Consulting, he shares his industry insights with middle-market and Fortune-500 companies through direct partnerships and indirect relationships via CPA firms.

During the past 14 years, he has driven the growth of Acena's specialty-tax services, including Section 41’s Research & Development tax credit. His corporate partners range from multinational technology firms to smaller, privately held manufacturing, sports, and technology enterprises.
 
Randall is a licensed CPA and member of the California Society of CPAs. He earned his Bachelor’s in Business Economics at The University of California, Santa Barbara.

He lives in Ventura County with his wife and two sons. He is a Masters swim coach, Top-Ten swimmer, and former Lifeguard hailing from the U.S. National Team. He thrives during open-water and Masters-pool competitions, loves reading and writing, and enjoys beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Joined Acena:

May 2009

Nick Pyzow is an energetic and engaging professional who builds relationships for not only direct services, but also resources for the business community. Having founded and successfully sold three businesses, he brings an entrepreneurial perspective to his service approach. He leads with understanding and empathy as he helps his national and international partners develop customer sourcing, problem solving, and solutions advising. 

He frequently serves as a keynote speaker, presenter, and trainer on business-optimization topics, including customer service with expectations setting, effective communication, and growth through networking. Nick also has a wealth of music-industry experience and specializes in artist contracts and negotiations, distribution, licensing, production, promotion, and royalties.

Nick is a former professional musician, performer, and songwriter. As a child watching The Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” he decided to learn guitar and sing. He was gifted his first instrument that Christmas: a plastic one with nylon strings. He never looked back.

Joined Acena:

January 2021

She most recently migrates from the drug-development and medical world. Serving as a Clinical Research Associate for three years, she attended a U.S. medical school, passed her USMLE Step 1 “Boards” exam, and completed clinical rotations before finding her calling as Acena’s Technical Writer.

She sports the color purple at an alarming frequency to support her alma mater, Northwestern University, where she earned her Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences and Master’s in Biomedical Engineering.

Away from her desk, Laura reads fantasy novels and plays with her two miniature schnauzers, Lyra and Vivenna, who make guest appearances during her video-conference calls.

With more than eight years of professional financial experience, Rae began her career in Venue Management and has several years of R&D tax consulting experience with both public accounting and boutique firms. Her clients include Fortune 500 and privately held companies in manufacturing, technology, software, agriculture, and engineering companies. She offers her expertise with calculating complicated tax credits by engaging in projects from start to finish, including meeting and consulting with clients, analyzing complex data, and preparing detailed and compliant client forms.

She holds various degrees from University of Rhode Island, including bachelor’s degrees in business administration, environmental natural resource economics and sustainability, with minors in environmental engineering and interdisciplinary neuroscience. She grew up in Rhode Island and recently moved to Michigan with her husband and two sons.

Fun Fact:

Rae is a collegiate Women’s Goalie Lacrosse Coach and KonMari consultant. She enjoys being a mom and watching documentaries with her husband. She also enjoys reading in her free time, as well as practicing calligraphy and quillwork.

Joined Acena:

January 2023

Erica began her career coordinating and collaborating with a multitude of different parties in 2015. Most recently she was working with a Hawai’i non-profit that assisted homeless and at-risk families by providing education and outreach services. Her contribution impacted grant proposals for the foundation and assisted in the quality of education provided for children between the ages of birth through five years old. Through this rewarding experience she learned how to manage up to 30 cases simultaneously while effectively meeting all deadlines. With dual degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Hawaiꞌi at Mānoa, Erica spent her time during undergraduate working as a research assistant and conducted various independent research projects which are still used today. Two notable studies include, but are not limited to, Child Development and Poverty and Public Policy Guidelines for City Zoning Areas. Erica’s research background guided her interest in data science and data programming, which led her to pursue a data science master’s program.

Fun Fact:

Erica enjoys spending her free time at the beach and participating in beach clean-ups. She has a long-haired mini dachshund, Pepino, who tags along on all of her beach and hiking adventures.

Started at Acena:

January 2023

Sami Mazumder helps business owners and financial advisors navigate cost-segregation and research-and-development tax programs. He launched his banking career as a Credit Analyst in Credit-Risk Management, then held diverse roles across industries in the financial-advisory vertical. Today he works in the retail industry with the high-value partners of Acena Consulting.

Sami enjoys spending time at home with his family and copiously eating Ramen. He loves playing soccer, although these days, he primarily plays on gaming consoles instead of fields. He aspires to improve his golf game.

Dan has been working in business development and sales for more than 20 years. For the past decade he has worked in the corporate tax space, with the past 2 years focused on R&D tax credits. Dan has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as small and mid-sized businesses and focuses on building long-lasting relationships while being an integral resource for his clients.

Born and raised in Michigan, Dan is a graduate of Michigan State University. A dedicated fan of all things MSU, Dan is also a season ticket holder for the Detroit Tigers and can be found at Comerica Park many nights throughout the summer. Dan also dedicates himself to helping rescue animals. He has adopted a number of rescue dogs and also fosters dogs while they wait for their adoption.

Quinn Badner is a recent graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. Through networking, Quinn was able to focus on expanding his real estate knowledge and expertise, allowing him to provide the best services for clients while performing cost segregation studies.

While attending college, he obtained his real estate license and was a proud member of Loyola’s Real Estate Certificate Program, further broadening his understanding of the industry. He also competed in Techstars Start-up Weekend Los Angeles, where he and his team took first place in starting a company over a 54-hour period.

Quinn was exposed to the real estate world from a very young age—his mother worked as a real estate agent and his father made a living building homes. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, and attending car shows.

Fun Fact:

Quinn has his private pilot license and likes to recreationally fly whenever he gets the chance.