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Our Leadership
Meet our exceptional leaders
At CFO Rick, we are led by a team of visionary executives who possess extensive expertise and a deep commitment to excellence. Our leadership is dedicated to propelling growth, providing exceptional financial solutions, and cultivating a culture of collaboration and innovation.
Rick Belgarde
Founder and CEO
Ever since Rick Belgarde took an intro accounting course in high school, he’s wanted to work in accounting. After graduating with a business degree in accounting, he got his start as the accountant for Capital Drive In, one of the most profitable drive-in movie theaters in the US at the time.
Rick’s passion for contract negotiation began when he was Revenue Manager for Paramount’s Great America, negotiating multimillion dollar contracts. In 1996, Rick changed direction – to professional sports – when he managed payroll and accounts receivable for the Oakland A’s. A few years later, Rick Worked for KPMG in the High Net Worth CFO Division in San Francisco. Ultimately, all these positions culminated in 2003 when he founded CFO Rick, which has since been enormously successful.
Rick loves traveling almost as much as he loves crunching numbers. In his lifetime, he’s visited over 42 countries.
Karen Keller
Tax Director
Karen Keller began her career at KPMG working with high-net worth individuals and various entities including partnerships, trusts, estates, and non-profit organizations. Karen has over 30 years of experience in making the tax compliance process as painless as possible and strives to save clients money through planning as well as efficient and accurate tax preparation for all types of entities.
Having known Rick since college, Karen joined CFO Rick over twelve years ago as the Tax Director, overseeing the tax aspect of the business and providing high-level tax services to all our small business and individual clients.
Outside of tax season, Karen takes immense pleasure in traveling, particularly to Disneyland and various wine tasting regions.
Karen Keller
Tax Director
Karen Keller began her career at KPMG working with high-net worth individuals and various entities including partnerships, trusts, estates, and non-profit organizations. Karen has over 30 years of experience in making the tax compliance process as painless as possible and strives to save clients money through planning as well as efficient and accurate tax preparation for all types of entities.
Having known Rick since college, Karen joined CFO Rick over twelve years ago as the Tax Director, overseeing the tax aspect of the business and providing high-level tax services to all our small business and individual clients.
Outside of tax season, Karen takes immense pleasure in traveling, particularly to Disneyland and various wine tasting regions.
Salvador Chavez
Managing Director CFO Rick Mexico
With nearly 30 years of experience in accounting, finance, tax, audit, and business consulting, Salvador Chavez began his successful career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. His expertise spans across companies from various industries. Salvador holds a deep passion for the business world, International Financial Reporting Standards, and the study of tax laws.
Salvador joined CFO Rick in 2021 as the Managing Director in Mexico. He supports our clients in France, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, as well as the United States.
When he is not working at CFO Rick, Salvador enjoys teaching at the master's level at various private universities in Mexico, a role he has fulfilled for the past 20 years.
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