Attolon's team has expertise in executive recruiting and a rich network in the Delaware Valley.

PARTNERS

Christopher J. Fazio
Founding Partner
cfazio@attolon.com

Chris is a co-founder of Attolon Partners and has over 20 years of experience recruiting and consulting for a broad range of organizations in all industries. Chris has managed several hundred senior level accounting and finance searches throughout his career primarily in the emerging growth and middle market sectors. He is an expert in advising senior professionals in career development, compensation and organizational matters. As a founding partner, Chris also shares responsibility for Attolon's general operating functions, including training and development of new and existing employees, business development, and recruiting.

Prior to founding Attolon, Chris spent five years with a large, multi-national recruiting firm, where he enjoyed a tremendous amount of success as a producer. His success as a recruiter eventually led him to management roles within the company in the Philadelphia region. Before beginning his recruiting career, Chris spent four years with KPMG and KPMG Consulting where he served a variety of clients as an auditor and Senior Consultant in the Washington, DC and Silicon Valley offices.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University. Chris lives in Maple Glen, PA with his wife and three children.

Chris is President and Founder of the Susan Fazio Foundation for Melanoma Research (www.susanfazio.org), a non-profit organization started in 2006 to raise funds to support research and increase awareness of Metastatic Melanoma and Mucosal Melanoma cancers.


Ryan G. Lafferty
Founding Partner
rlafferty@attolon.com

Ryan is a co-founder of Attolon and has over two decades of experience within the finance and accounting industry both as a recruiter and as a CPA. At Attolon, Ryan is responsible for client relations, business development and firm strategy. Ryan began his career as an Audit Manager at KPMG, serving Philadelphia area healthcare and life sciences companies. From there, he became Controller of a publicly-traded pharmaceutical services company. In his next roles as Vice President of Finance and later Chief Operating Officer for a successful technology start-up, he was directly responsible for all financial functions including capital raising, human resource management, and controllership.

Ryan's mix of experience as an accounting professional, a hiring manager and a recruiter gives him expert insight from both sides of the desk; he understands his client's hiring cycle and technical requirements and is also able to relate to his candidate's needs in terms of career goals and fit.

Ryan graduated from Lafayette College with a BA in Economics and is a CPA. He lives in Jenkintown with his wife and five children. Ryan is a Board member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Chartered Public Accountants (PICPA) and also serves on the Editorial Board and the Careers & Lifestyles Committee.


Philip J. Klauder
Founding Partner
pklauder@attolon.com

Attolon Partners' Consulting practice is lead by Philip J. Klauder. Phil has over 21 years experience in business and financial consulting, public accounting, and corporate industry.

Prior to joining Attolon, Phil was co-founder and lead consulting partner of a regional based consulting practice with a client base of public and private companies ranging in size from emerging growth and middle market to Fortune 500 companies. Phil secured and managed client assignments focusing on financial reporting, technical accounting compliance, financial planning and analysis, internal controls, and business combination and transaction support.

Previously Phil worked in consulting and audit capacity functions at the public accounting firms of Ernst & Young and Deloitte. Phil also held Controller level positions in the private sector, servicing businesses in the manufacturing and telecommunications industries. Phil is a CPA. He received a B.S. in accounting from LaSalle University in 1989, and a M.B.A. in finance and strategic planning from the Joseph M. Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.


Keith Van Auken
Partner, Information Technology
kvanauken@attolon.com

Keith Van Auken leads the Information Technology practice at Attolon Partners. Keith has over 20 years of experience in retained, contingency, and interim placements for technology professionals. He has a thorough understanding of the roles and technical requirements as well as a strong network of qualified candidates.

Prior to Attolon, Keith held senior leadership positions at leading advisory firms in the Philadelphia region. He was responsible for sales, recruiting operations, and professional staffing for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500.

Keith earned a BA from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, where he also played basketball. He resides in South Jersey with his wife and two teenage sons. Keith spends most of his free time coaching or attending his sons’ baseball and basketball games.

OPERATIONS

Diane Smith
Director of Operations
dsmith@attolon.com

Diane is Director of Operations at Attolon Partners with responsibility for the oversight, strategy and delivery of all aspects of research for each Attolon engagement. Diane joined Attolon Partners in 2015 bringing with her a deep background in administration, database management, and marketing.

Prior to joining Attolon Partners, she spent 10 years working in an Investment Banking department for a regional Financial Services firm. Diane began her career with the Philadelphia Flyers.

She holds a masters and an undergraduate degree from Temple University and lives in Havertown, PA.


James DeLuccia
Director of Operations and Market Research
jdeluccia@attolon.com

Jim has 20 years of communications experience in the finance and accounting industry. Prior to joining Attolon as Director, Operations and Market Research, Jim led media outreach and public relations, published blogs, produced videos and podcasts, and managed events for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.

Jim earned his BA in Communications and Marketing from Albright College. He lives in Doylestown with his wife and daughter.


Julia Guerin
Recruitment Coordinator
jguerin@attolon.com

After three semesters interning, Julia Guerin took her first full-time job as Recruitment Coordinator at Attolon Partners in 2023. Julia earned her BBA in Marketing from Temple University and resides in Philadelphia.

MANAGING DIRECTORS

Jason G. Beckman
Managing Director
jbeckman@attolon.com

Jason is a Managing Director at Attolon Partners. He comes to Attolon with a strong background in recruiting, including 15 years' experience focused on the Accounting and Finance industry. Most recently Jason spent five years as a Senior Director in the Accounting and Finance division of a leading regional search firm. Prior to recruiting, he worked in corporate accounting for a Fortune 500 company, and he began his career in public accounting as an auditor with a regional CPA firm. His mix of experience as a recruiter and an accounting professional gives him the ability to better understand his clients' needs and manage his candidates' expectations.

Jason graduated from Temple University with a BS in Accounting and has served on various committees and boards, including academic student affairs and North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). He is an active supporter of various non-profits, including Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Make-A-Wish, and Deborah Heart and Lung Center.

He lives in Doylestown, PA with his wife and two children.


Al Niemela
Managing Director
aniemela@attolon.com

Al is a Managing Director at Attolon Partners. Al comes to Attolon with a strong background in recruiting, including over 14 years in various executive search roles.  He spent the last four years with a retained search firm focusing on senior level positions in the pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods industries. His primary responsibilities were sourcing and recruiting for multiple positions and managing the candidate through the interview process.

Al holds an undergraduate degree from West Chester University and lives in Mt. Laurel, NJ.


Greg Smith
Managing Director
gsmith@attolon.com

Greg is a Managing Director at Attolon Partners. He has over fifteen years of experience in recruiting, successfully placing executive and senior level candidates while in retained search, internal talent acquisition and recruitment process outsourcing roles. The functions he has supported include: corporate (finance and accounting, technology and human resources), sales and business specialists. The industries he has supported include: professional services, software & technology, investment & retail banking, pharmaceutical & life sciences, healthcare, and manufacturing. He has over 10 years dedicated to the successful placement of accounting & finance professionals in this region.

Greg has a degree in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science from Lafayette College. He lives with his wife and two children in Philadelphia.


Lori W. Braden
Managing Director
lbraden@attolon.com

Lori joined Attolon in spring 2022 and brings over 20 years of marketing, technology, and management experience. Prior to joining Attolon, Lori was Vice President of Marketing and Communication for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs (PICPA) where she was a key member of the executive team. Lori set the marketing strategy, deployed an integrated MarTech stack, and led a team of 10 creative professionals to achieve financial and operational goals.

Lori graduated from LaSalle University with a bachelor's degree in communication and lives in Philadelphia, PA.

EXECUTIVE RECRUITERS

Forrest Braziel
Executive Recruiter
fbraziel@attolon.com

Forrest is an Executive Recruiter at Attolon Partners. He comes with 10 years of experience and a focus on recruiting finance and accounting executives in the Philadelphia area. Prior to joining Attolon, Forrest led recruitment activities in the Mid-Atlantic for a private equity executive consulting practice at a large, multinational recruiting firm. He started his career recruiting and managing accounts for a boutique consulting firm specializing in investment banking before joining an RPO company where he led recruitment activities for finance, treasury, data analytics, and other departments of a large international consumer bank.

Forrest has a degree in Economics from Florida State University and lives with his wife in Philadelphia, PA.


John Herbut
Executive Recruiter
jherbut@attolon.com

John joined Attolon in spring of 2022 and has nearly a decade of experience in the insurance sector. Before joining Attolon, John was the Director of Digital Business Transformation at UnitedHealthcare where he also had extensive experience in sales, product development, and operations. While with UnitedHealthcare, John was able to grow not only the Medicare sales footprint but also the sales team.

John has a degree in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double concentration is Business Management and Operations & Information Management; he lives with his wife in North Wales, PA.