Tax Shareholder Transitions As Client’s CFO


Share this article! Tax Shareholder Michael Lortz, CPA, LEED AP is transitioning from his role at Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based accounting firm, to join the firm’s longtime commercial real estate client, Downtown Development Group, as its Chief Financial Officer. The transition isn’t a surprise move as Lortz has served over the past several years as … Read more

Tax Shareholder Michael Lortz, CPA, LEED AP is transitioning from his role at Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based accounting firm, to join the firm’s longtime commercial real estate client, Downtown Development Group, as its Chief Financial Officer.

The transition isn’t a surprise move as Lortz has served over the past several years as a trusted advisor to the Goodman Family. The Goodman Family owns the Downtown Development Group, which has been investing in Portland commercial real estate since 1955.

“Of course it’s difficult to lose one of our talented and respected leaders,” noted Michael A. Rompa, Geffen Mesher’s Managing Shareholder. “But it underscores our firm’s commitment to our client’s best interests, and Michael will be an excellent addition to the Downtown Development Group.”

Lortz joined Geffen Mesher in 2001 as an intern after having worked in the industry since he was 15 years old. He was hired full time in 2002, and he made firm history as its youngest Shareholder in 2011. Lortz’s many accomplishments include spearheading the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative in 2013, which addresses gender-specific challenges and inequity in the workplace. In 2015, he received the Portland Business Journal’s prestigious Forty Under 40 award, and that same year became the Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Industry Group. He helped launch the firm’s Family Office Group in 2013, which provides customized financial management and administration for high net worth individuals and families.
 
“I’m thrilled to call my former clients my new employer,” explained Lortz. “I’ve always been invested in their success, and I look forward to continuing that success in my new role as CFO.”

The firm wishes him the best in this exciting new endeavor.

About Geffen Mesher: Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based accounting and consulting firm, that focuses on providing ongoing financial strategy, accounting and tax services for businesses and high-net-worth individuals. We serve many industries and create solutions that help our diverse clientele plan and build their financial pictures wisely.

For more than 85 years, our focus has taken us beyond the numbers and into the lives, plans, and strategic goals of our clients. In providing professional tax, financial and business consulting, and reporting, we have successfully guided our clients through booms and busts, recessions and recoveries, with an approach and model built around the commitment of our people, decades of experience, and expertise across a wide range of industries.