Richard Asquith serves as Vice President Global tax for Avalara, Inc. Based in the UK, Richard is responsible for helping businesses understand and manage their growing tax compliance obligations as they enter or expand into new markets. Previously he was with TMF Group, where he founded and led its global VAT practice for nearly 10 years. Whilst there, he conceived and successfully brought to market the insurance sector’s first global premium tax engine now used across the world as the industry standard. He began his career at KPMG in the UK and later joined Ernst & Young, working in Russia, Hungary and France, assisting companies entering new markets. Richard is a frequent contributor to discussions on global tax issues in the media, and serves on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tax committees.

Jeff Carroll is the General Manager for Avalara for Beverage Alcohol (formerly Compli). Previously he served as the Chief Product Officer at Compli, overseeing the development of software solutions, sales and marketing, business development, and compliance research. Prior to Compli Jeff was VP of Compliance and Product at ShipCompliant. He regularly speaks about and advises customers on beverage alcohol compliance issues, particularly in the areas of direct shipping and sales tax.

Joe DePetris is a Certified Public Accountant specializing in direct sales for more than 20 years. He is a veteran of more than 1,200 direct seller IRS Audits, and creator of 1SourceTax.com, a DSA affinity partner that helps direct sellers comply with tax laws. 

Diana DiBello has spent over 25 years working with various industries in supporting the sales & use tax function. She has industry recognized expertise in the areas of tax technology, leasing, jurisdictional identification, tax processing, telecom, and property tax. As a public speaker and author, Diana has developed numerous papers and presentations on the topic of taxation including articles for the Journal of Accountancy and the Journal of Multi-State Taxation. Diana is also a MLM seller and an avid MLM product consumer.

Joe has 10 years experience working with clients on a broad range of tax issues. He specializes in corporate income tax matters including incorporation, contributions, distributions, redemptions, liquidations, mergers and acquisitions, and reorganizations, and also specializes in U.S. taxation of international transactions including transfer pricing

Joe is a Certified Public Accountant with a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University, Cum Laude and MAcc from Brigham Young University, Cum Laude. Prior to starting at Squire in 2014, Joe worked for 10 years with PwC in Southern California and Washington, D.C. serving clients in multiple industries

Rob is a lawyer specializing in all Canadian commodity tax and customs and trade matters. He is founding partner at Millar Kreklewetz LLP of Toronto.

Since 1996, Millar Kreklewetz LLP has been a super-boutique law firm specializing in commodity tax and trade law, and has been consistently ranked as one of Canada’s top tax firms, with a client base comprised of national and international leaders in virtually every industry sector.

Rob has published more than 500 articles and papers, spoken at more than 200 conferences and seminars and has 29 years (and holding) of experience in commodity tax, customs and trade.

Christine Martin is the Senior Partner Alliance Manager at Phocas Software, a Business Intelligence solution provider based out of Reno, NV.  Prior to Phocas, Christine was a senior Solutions Consultant at Avalara, the leading transaction tax provider, for more than 12 years.  She has spent 25-plus years working in the sales and use tax space, starting her career at Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.  Christine has been a tax manager at a Fortune 1000 paper manufacturer as well as Director of Compliance for the first sales tax compliance outsourcer for telecommunications tax. Christine has been a frequent presenter on sales and use tax topics at Direct Selling Association events as well as several industry events such as TEI, ACT, Telestrategies, and CPA Academy.

Michael leads Global Access’ business development efforts in the direct sales industry providing customized solutions for clients that simplify the complexities cross-border commerce and are easily integrated into direct sellers unique selling processes and operations. Michael earned his MBA from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.

Gerry Nelligan is a Regulatory Analysis Manager at Sovos, leading a team of counsels covering information reporting, including 10-Series IRS reporting, Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting and Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI).

Colt Passey is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at Nexio and works closely with social selling partners, merchants, and back-end offices in the payments space. Colt has worked diligently in the industry for 10 years and has become a thought leader with a deep understanding of social selling and payment industry shifts. Colt graduated with a degree in marketing from the University of Idaho. Since then, Colt has traveled to all 50 states and 38 countries for either business or pleasure. When not on the road connecting with partners, solving complex situations, or speaking at events, Colt can be found in the mountains snowmobiling or snowboarding, relaxing with friends, or probably still working. 

Scott Peterson is the Director of Government Affairs for Avalara, Inc. In his role, Scott leads Avalara’s effort to be the first name in sales tax automation. Prior to joining Avalara Scott was the first Executive Director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. For seven years Scott acted as the chief operating officer of an organization devoted to making sales tax simpler and more uniform for the benefit of business. Before joining Streamline Scott spent ten years as the Director of the South Dakota Sales Tax Division where he was responsible for the state sales and use tax, the state’s contractor’s excise tax, the sales and use tax for over two hundred cities, and the sales and use tax for four tribal governments. He’s also spent years helping Direct Sellers and States navigate the many rules and regulations around “volunteer” and non-volunteer” status in the Streamlined Sales Tax program.  

Wendy is the Solution Principal of tax information reporting at Sovos.

Being the subject matter expert on all things 1099, she works closely with Sovos’s fortune 500 companies to implement modern tax solutions and help them stay compliant

Wendy has over 16-years of successful tax operations and compliance leadership and spent more than 10-years building tax compliance programs for Zions Bancorporation and leading tax operations and withholding teams at JP Morgan Chase.