Los Angeles, California

John Curtin joined NOW CFO in late 2020 as a Partner in the Los Angeles Market. He graduated from Biola University with a degree in Business Administration and Accounting. Before joining NOW CFO, John was responsible for managing and allocating over $2 Billion in investment funds for Sterling Capital Group of Companies and acting as CFO for a major Original Equipment Manufacturer supplier in the fitness industry. He began his career by founding the Ghost Tribe Entertainment and Lazarus Technologies companies responsible for developing now industry-standard facial animation.   

John brings a diverse breadth of Accounting and Financial experience to NOW CFO, in addition to a proven track record in management, leadership and a powerful growth mindset. He has consulted with over 38 companies implementing ERP systems, raising startup capital, managing banking relationships, and providing valuable solutions for pressing business issues. John describes himself as a Capital Allocator with a talent for simplifying the complexities of Finance.  

William joined NOW CFO in 2021 and serves as Market President over the Inland Empire region and Riverside County in California. He graduated from Biola University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and went on to receive his Master of Professional Accountancy. William has over 7 years of experience working in the accounting industry and is a licensed CPA. He comes from the Big 4 public accounting background and has extensive experience working across multiple industries and sizes of companies.

William recognizes that there is not a one size fits all approach and brings a hands-on, personalized touch to help businesses grow. He enjoys complex accounting issues and working to resolve them. NOW CFO is the solution to so many of the problems companies face in the modern business world, and William thoroughly enjoys being able to provide long-term success for organizations.

Melissa Paradise joined NOW CFO in 2022 as a Business Development Representative for the Los Angeles area. After experiencing financial needs that arose in owning her own business, her clients, and past employers, she was drawn to NOW CFO’s vast expertise. Melissa can identify with the challenges businesses have and provide impactful solutions through NOW CFO and their networking partners.

In the course of Melissa’s career, she has worked globally with Fortune 500 companies to mom and pop shops. Her work has spanned a diverse network of industries to include clients Siemens Healthineers, Ferrari, Bandai Namco, Budweiser, NBA All Stars, Mountain Dew and more.

With extensive experience in event production and marketing, her expertise has been vital to her past clients and employers, earning her a commendable professional reputation. Notably she spent several months in Germany producing a 40,000 sq ft event space and marketing plan at GamesCon for the world’s largest gaming convention, produced the City of Cleveland’s first official New Year’s Eve celebration in history, increased profits as the CMO of former employer by 28%, and increased profits 33% as Director of Entertainment & Marketing. She went on to start her own successful business specializing in tradeshow and digital marketing and market launches for startups.

Lorena joined NOW CFO in 2022 and works as a Business Development Representative in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science. In the future, she aspires to earn her MBA from Stanford University. Her degree in Cognitive Science has provided her with a thorough understanding of human attention and communication patterns, as well as an extensive knowledge of data analytics and computational models. Lorena also worked as an instructional designer for UCLA, which allowed her to put her studies of the human mind to practice and become highly proficient in people skills, organizational skills, and technology-based innovation.

Lorena is always open to a challenge and thrives in evolving environments. Lorena excels at building long-lasting relationships with her clients. She takes personal pride in being a part of her clients’ success stories and being a support system every step of the way.