Corporate Tax Authors | Jeff Westphal | Michael Davis | Bob Norton | Tax 2.0

Tax 2.0 features some of the tax industry’s most innovative thinkers. Senior executives from various parts of the tax ecosystem—corporate tax professionals, industry analysts and advisors, and technology providers.

Jeff R. Westphal
President and CEO
Vertex Inc.

Jeff Westphal is President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex, a leading provider of software solutions to the tax industry. He joined the company in 1988. During his tenure, he has served as Director of Marketing, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and later as

Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. In 1996, he was promoted to President and CEO.

Outside of the office, Jeff is engaged in many professional and charitable foundations, including the Young President’s Organization, Institute of Property Taxation, and the Conference Board. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Open Connections, Inc., a not-for-profit educational organization.

Jeff, in partnership with his wife Jenifer, created Kyle’s Treehouse, (www.kylestreehouse.org), a website for families seeking hope and guidance for the next steps in autism treatments for children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This initiative was inspired by their personal journey with their autistic son, Kyle.

Most recently, the Westphal family chose Breastcancer.org as a corporate-sponsored charity. Its mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast cancer, guiding them to the best decisions for their lives. As a first step in this sponsorship, Vertex donated $100,000.

A graduate of the University of Richmond, Jeff and his wife Jenifer and their three children reside near Philadelphia, PA.

John A. Viglione
Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Vertex Inc.

John has served as a Vertex Vice President and Chief Technology Officer since 1998. In this role John is responsible for the over arching technological direction of the organization, including commercial product and internal system development. John has been a pivotal force in forging relationships with key technology partners and the design and implementation of Vertex’s ERP system and Vertex’s flagship indirect tax product Vertex O Series.

In addition to his work at Vertex, John has trumpeted industry standards initiatives for Vertex by actively participating in OASIS, XBRL, UBL, ASCX12 (Tigers) and the Software Engineering Institute.

Prior to Vertex, John served for over fifteen years guiding Fortune 500 Information companies on comprehensive enterprise initiatives. He served as the Director of Architecture and Methodology for Reliance Group holdings. John earned his BS from St. Joseph’s University and his MBA from Pennsylvania State University.

Bob Norton
Chief Income Tax Officer
Vertex Incorporated

Bob joined Vertex in late February 2008 is Vertex’s chief subject matter expert for income tax. In this role, Bob will work closely with Vertex’s income tax teams to develop a global income tax solution vision and strategy, as well as act as Vertex industry champion and thought leader.

Bob brings over 25 years of corporate tax experience from both public accounting and global industry to his role. Most recently he was Vice President of Tax Solutions for Longview Solutions, a provider of corporate performance management software.

In his new role, Bob will focus on both providing subject matter expertise, and meeting with customers and partners to further understand their needs and perspectives. He will also concentrate on developing and strengthening Vertex’s capabilities in the areas of compliance, provision, and data management.

Alex Smith
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
Vertex Inc.

Alex joined Vertex in 1992 and since 2000 has been a member of Vertex’s executive management team. He serves as Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, providing leadership to the areas of branding, marketing communications, corporate communications, as well as government and community relations. Alex oversees the CPA team plus an advertising agency, two PR firms (US/UK based), a government affairs office in Washington, and a pool of free lance writers and communications professionals.

In addition, Alex serves as the steward for the Vertex Structure and Design Team, charged with developing the high level organizational structure and process to enable Vertex’s business direction. Alex is also an active member in the areas of business strategy development, as well as corporate policy and governance as part of Vertex’s executive management team

Prior to joining Vertex, Alex worked in public relations and journalism, winning multiple Virginia Press Association Awards and the prestigious SJ Talucci Total Quality Leadership Award sponsored by Rohm and Haas. He recently received Journal of Accountancy’s Ad Q Advertising Award and a Rebrand 100 Award for leading Vertex’s rebranding effort in 2004.

Alex holds a BA from Roanoke College, and when not at the office, participates on several Boards, including the Chester County Economic Development Council.

Michael J. Davis
Vice President
Nestle

Michael’s background includes the full spectrum of the corporate tax industry and embraces federal, state, sales and use, and property tax expertise.

Michael brings a unique blend of leadership skills with accounting, tax, and systems knowledge to his work as the leader for Nestlé Holdings, Inc. tax compliance.  Since 1986, Michael has held a number of senior positions at Nestlé.  In 2005, he was named as Vice President, Taxes for the organization—having previously held the role of tax director.  In this role he leads more than 30 professionals responsible for federal, state, sales and use, property, and foreign tax compliance in over eight tax locations with Nestlé sales exceeding $18 billion.  His financial leadership has included the development and implementation of value-added tax, accounting, and systems practices.  He also has the responsibility for record retention management for Nestle USA, tax department administration, and tax MIS management which includes Vertex, SAP, and other tax and accounting software and data archiving for tax.

Michael serves as an officer for numerous Nestle companies (e.g., Nestlé Holdings, Inc.; Nestlé USA, Inc.; Nestlé Purina Petcare Company; Jenny Craig, Inc.; and Gerber Products Company).  Beyond these roles, he is a member of the Nestlé Performance Leadership Team.

As an educator, Michael serves as an instructor at the University of New Haven for their MBA Leadership and Corporate Strategy classes, and he provides career coaching to EMBA students.  He holds an MBA in Accounting and a Senior Professional Certificate in Taxation—Taxation of Corporations.

An often featured speaker and frequent contributor to tax conferences, seminars, and publications, he has served as a member and chair of various tax and accounting committees.