A Note From Kristen

If you’re reading this, I would like to thank you for being a part of the Breakaway story. Every one of our colleagues, clients, friends, and believers has had an important part in building this amazing community that supports small businesses and brings JOY to accounting, for both our clients and our advisors. 

When Martin and I “broke away” back in 2019, it was with a crystal clear vision of what we wanted to build and we watched in awe as it came into reality. While it grew somewhat differently from what we had originally imagined, it has gone beyond our dreams in its impact. Since that time, we have widened the scope of the impact we want to make - into tax preparation and consulting (with the acquisition of Sherwood Tax in 2020) and offshore accounting services (with the creation of Cadencia in 2021, a staffing agency in Mexico to support accountants who want to scale their firms sustainably).  

In doing this I realized that while Breakaway is my baby, it needs a dedicated custodian and vision-maker and I am not able to give it that focus. So it is with great excitement (and a little sadness) that I hand over the reins as CEO to the person who has been our right arm since we started - the fabulous Shea Keats!

Shea started with Breakaway as a consultant when we didn’t even know how to set up an email account.  She grew in her role in the last three years as the go-to person for all our advisors when they needed help with marketing or support running their practices.  It will come as no surprise to them that Shea is the obvious choice for the CEO role.

Kristen Keats

Founder

I am excited to see Shea take up the mantle and create her own vision of what the future of Breakaway looks like.  I feel at peace knowing that she shares the core values that make us who we are and will endeavor to keep striving for JOY in the accounting and advisory industry. Please join me and the rest of the Breakaway team in congratulating Shea and welcoming her to this new role.