Jessica Leonard serves as a Managing Director and the leader of the Accounting Advisory Services line of business at E78 Partners.
Jess brings with her more than 17 years of experience in accounting, finance, consulting, and private equity. Before joining E78, Jess was a Partner and CFO of a Cleveland, Ohio-based private equity firm. Her role within private equity was deep and varied, as she served on both the Investment Committee, sourcing and executing deals, and on the Portfolio Management and Value Creation teams. Her responsibilities included leading the Firm’s internal finance and investor relations functions, fundraising and recap activities, and heavily supporting the Firm’s entire portfolio on finance and accounting-related needs, including office of the CFO, M&A integrations, ERP implementations, and more.
Prior to operating as a financial sponsor, Jess was the Ohio Private Equity Leader at RSM US LLP. Her tenure in public accounting at RSM, preceded by KPMG LLP, spanned 14 years. During that time, she primarily focused on serving clients in the private equity industry, both sponsors and portfolio companies, though her clients also included Fortune 500 publicly traded companies and founder-led small businesses.
Jess is a certified public accountant and has a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in accounting from Baldwin-Wallace University where she was a student-athlete on the varsity volleyball team.