Meet Donna!

CC Pace would like to introduce you to Donna Kenney, our new Controller who recently joined our Accounting team. She started her accounting career working for public accounting firms, and prior to joining CC Pace, she worked at Seneca Corporation for 20 years as a Controller. In her role, Donna is responsible for leading our Accounting operations and financial analysis/reporting functions.  She is extremely customer-focused and has already hit the ground running.

• What made you want to work for CC Pace? The Controller position described in the online job posting sounded like the mix I was looking for; it involved all financial aspects, plus a good mix of hands-on and oversight activities. It was a smaller company and a tech company, which is the industry I’ve enjoyed working in since leaving public accounting. I checked out the CC Pace website and learned a little more about the company, and I really felt that this was the place I had been waiting for to make my next move. One reason was the mix of business lines and client types.  However, the huge draw for me was the employee friendly feel that I got initially from the website, and then it was reinforced again during the interview process. Having worked at a company for almost 20 years where a number of employees had also been there 10+ years, the personality and corporate culture of my next company was very important to me.  A company that could boast a similar retention rate was a big plus when deciding to submit my resume, and then ultimately saying yes to an offer.
• In terms of moving to a new company, what has been your biggest challenge? Getting used to all the different processes and details.  Luckily, I have a great staff that has helped with the transition, and everyone else here at CC Pace has been very supportive.  It has actually been relatively smooth so far.  (Hopefully I didn’t jinx anything just now!)
•  What is your initial impression of the culture at CC Pace? As I mentioned, the atmosphere has been friendly and supportive, a true team working toward the same goals, where professionalism and respect are just a natural part of the package.
• What 3 words best describe CC Pace?  Probably not what you’re looking for, but what comes to my mind is simply “the right fit!”
• If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet? Why? That’s a hard question to answer, but I’ll say my Aunt Ann.  I am actually named after her (Ann was actually her middle name though she went by it, as it is mine).  She passed away a few years before I was born, but growing up I was often told how much I resembled her.  I think it would be interesting to meet her for both of those reasons.
•  What was the last book you read? Awaken the Darkness by Dianne Duvall
• What was the first job you had where you earned a real paycheck? At GC Murphy’s a 5&10. My mom worked there for many years, when I was young we would stop in the store and I always wanted to “help!” Particularly, using the pricing gun to put the price stickers on new merchandise.  I will admit actually getting paid and having to use the pricing gun took some of the pleasure out of it, versus when I wasn’t actually supposed to be using it and was just “helping” mom.
• Do you have a favorite quote? My dad always said, and I always try to keep in mind:  Everything happens for a reason and in the end works out for the best whether we understand it (or the hows/whys of it) or not.