Weaver, a national accounting and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of 15 team members to its partnership ranks. Effective June 1, 2025, the new partners are Stephen Arredondo, Sonali Bhakta, Liza Bowersox, Louis Brown, Neil Brown, Dan Brumwell, Filipe Costa, Jacob Eye, Austin Hatley, Brandon Hayes, Prerna Jagada, T.J. Liles-Tims, Kurt Lowery, Vache Ohanessian and Mark Ottosen.
“This class of new partners reflects the strength and depth of talent we continue to build at Weaver,” said CEO and Managing Partner John Mackel. “Their leadership and technical insight strengthen how we deliver practical, high-impact solutions across industries, geographies and service lines. These promotions represent an ongoing investment in our firm’s future and our commitment to meeting the complex needs of our clients.”
Additional information on each partner’s background, including professional affiliations and education, is available via the links below.
Stephen Arredondo, CMI | Partner, State and Local Property Tax | Houston, Texas
Stephen Arredondo has more than 20 years of experience in state and local tax (SALT), with a focus on property tax matters. He helps clients manage the full property tax cycle, from multistate compliance and exemption identification to valuation, appeals and audit defense. Stephen has worked with taxpayers across a wide range of industries, including commercial real estate, oil and gas (ad valorem), retail, technology, telecommunications, manufacturing and distribution, industrial, chemical, agriculture, financial services, health care and hospitality. He also supports clients with litigation matters and due diligence related to property tax planning and risk management.
Sonali Bhakta, CPA | Partner, Audit — Energy | Dallas, Texas
Sonali Bhakta has 12 years of audit experience supporting complex issues specifically in technology and oil and gas industries with additional experience in employee benefit plan audits and government audits. Within the Audit practice, she reviews financial statements, provides guidance on complex accounting issues and works proactively to meet client and compliance deadlines. Sonali’s client experience extends from privately held companies to public companies, and she regularly supports clients with financial statement audits, financial statement reviews, compilations and agreed-upon procedures. She has been an integral player within our India teams, supporting their involvement with audit over the past three years.
Louis Brown, CPA, PFS | Partner, Tax — Private Client Services | Fort Worth, Texas
Louis Brown has more than 20 years of tax advisory experience focusing on tax-efficient strategies for high-net-worth individuals. His work supports multigenerational wealth preservation and complex estate structures with substantial, diversified holdings. Louis supports tax planning and compliance engagements for individuals, trusts, estates, family limited partnerships, closely held corporations and not-for-profit entities. He works with clients’ attorneys, investment managers and other professional advisors to protect client wealth, reduce potential conflicts and streamline the execution of estate plans.
Neil Brown, CPA | Partner, Tax — Energy | Austin, Texas
Neil Brown has more than 13 years of public accounting experience with a focus on tax compliance and consulting for upstream oil and gas companies. He works extensively with private equity-backed portfolio companies, advising on complex tax matters related to mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions. His experience includes multistate income tax planning and compliance, as well as tax strategies for royalty funds and other energy-focused entities. He also advises clients on business transactional services across the energy sector.
Dan Brumwell, CPA | Partner, Transaction Advisory Services | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Dan Brumwell has more than 10 years of financial accounting experience, with a focus on buy-side and sell-side due diligence and M&A transaction advisory services for clients in manufacturing and distribution, professional services, construction and percentage of completion accounting, and software as a service (SaaS). He works closely with private equity groups, investment banks, business owners and CFOs to lead, coordinate and manage the entire financial due diligence process. Dan advises clients on new platform acquisitions ranging in size from $3 million to $50 million+ EBITDA. He also advises clients in industry roll-ups, divestitures, net working capital analyses and post-merger integration projects, as well as net working capital and earn-out disputes and resolutions.
