The Florida Institute of CPAs has tapped association executive Shelly Weir as its new president and CEO.
Weir will be taking over the leadership of FICPA on April 5 after she departs her current job as senior vice president of career development for the American Hotel & Lodging Association and its Educational Foundation, where she oversees workforce development at the AHLA.
The move brings an experienced industry executive who is familiar with managing a large association to FICPA. While Weir herself isn’t a CPA, many state societies hire leaders who are more familiar with running a professional membership organization than with the ins and outs of accounting. FICPA dates back to 1905 and has 19,500 CPAs as members across the Sunshine State who work in public accounting, business and industry, government, nonprofit organizations, and education.
“The FICPA has a rich history of advancing the accounting profession in Florida,” Weir said in a statement Monday. “I’m honored to join the team and look forward to building upon the strong foundation in place to further promote the profession, shape public policy, and elevate the competency of our membership.”
To find a new president and CEO, FICPA engaged Kittleman & Associates, a national executive search firm. Weir is a member of the National Network of Business & Industry Associations, National Workforce Needs Coalition, and has represented the lodging industry on federal task forces with the Departments of Education and Labor to reauthorize career education funding and competency model frameworks.
Some of her skills in certification, training, continuing education, and finding a pipeline of new talent could fit in well with a state CPA society. Before joining the AHLA, she spent seven years with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute, where she led the domestic sales team that’s responsible for all certification, training and continuing education product sales to hotel companies, schools, and state hotel association partners.
While she was there, she formed national partnerships with education officials and community-based organizations to better position the worker pipeline for the lodging industry. Previously, she was state director of membership at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, where she was responsible for the growth of association membership and retention. She graduated with a bachelor of arts from Florida State University.
The FICPA board is ready to welcome her in April. “We are excited for what the future holds under Shelly’s leadership,” said FICPA chair W.G. Spoor in a statement. “She brings a wealth of membership organization success and strategic vision to the FICPA. I believe her leadership and infectious energy are exactly what we need at this time.”
