Executive Team
John Hewitt has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Liberty Tax Service since October 1996. Mr. Hewitt also served as the Chairman of Liberty-Canada since September 1997 and as its President from September 1997 until April 1998 and from April 2003 until the present. From August 1982 until June 1996, Mr. Hewitt was the Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Jackson Hewitt Inc., in Virginia Beach, Virginia. From December 1969 until June 1981, Mr. Hewitt held the varying positions of Tax Preparer, Assistant District Manager, District Manager, and Regional Director with H&R Block in Buffalo and Elmira, New York and Moorestown, New Jersey.
Ms. O'Gorman has served as the Vice President of Marketing of Liberty Tax Service since November 1996. From September 1989 until October 1996, Ms. O'Gorman served as the Director of Communications for Jackson Hewitt Inc., in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Ms. Curry has served as the Vice President of Legal and Human Resources since July 1997 and as the Corporate Secretary since April 2006. She also held the position of Vice President of Technology from July 1997 until May 1999. From September 1992 until July 1997, Ms. Curry worked for Jackson Hewitt Inc. in Virginia Beach, Virginia in the varying capacities of Corporate Attorney, Director of Tax & Software and Regional Director. From January 1995 until March 1996, Ms. Curry temporarily left Jackson Hewitt and served as Product Manager for Best Programs, a Reston, Virginia software concern.
Mr. Johnson has served as our Vice President of Area Development since July 2001. From March 2000 until June 2001, Mr. Johnson served as our Assistant Vice President of Franchise Development. From August 1993 until January 1999, Mr. Johnson served as a Senior Franchise Development Representative for Jackson Hewitt Inc., in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Mr. Kirkpatrick has served as our Chief Information Officer since March 2002. From June 1998 until March 2002, Mr. Kirkpatrick served as Director of Product Development and later Director of Customer Relationship Management at InfiNet in Norfolk, Virginia. From January 1997 until June 1998, Mr. Kirkpatrick was an Information Technology Consultant at Metro Information Services in Virginia Beach, Virginia. From August 1996 to January 1997, Mr. Kirkpatrick served as Technical Operations Manager at Bell Atlantic Video Services in Chesapeake, Virginia. From January 1988 until August 1996, Mr. Kirkpatrick served in various technical management roles as Vice President at the Bank of America Technology Division in Norfolk, Virginia.
Mr. Baumgartner has served as our Chief Financial Officer since February 2004. From August 2003 until February 2004, Mr. Baumgartner served as an independent consultant to the Company. From May 1999 until August 2003, Mr. Baumgartner served as Chief Financial Officer for InfiNet Company in Norfolk, Virginia. From August 1991 until May 1999, Mr. Baumgartner served as Senior Vice President of Operations for First Coastal Bank in Virginia Beach, Virginia. From June 1986 until August 1991, Mr. Baumgartner worked for Price Waterhouse in Norfolk, Virginia under the varying capacities of Audit Staff, Audit Senior and Audit Manager.
Mr. Lepkowski has served as our Vice President of Sales and Marketing since January 2005 and served as a Director for us from June 1999 until June 2006. From October 1984 until February 2005, Mr. Lepkowski served as a Marketing Manager for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Vanderpool has served as our Vice President of Operations since June 2006. From June 2004 to June 2006, Mr. Vanderpool served as our Vice President of Software Development. From April 1998 until May 2004, Mr. Vanderpool served as COO of Orrtax Software, Inc. in Bellevue, Washington. From June 1996 until April 1998, Mr. Vanderpool served as President and CEO of Abacus Software in Edmonton, Canada. From June 1988 until June 1996, Mr. Vanderpool served as COO of Microrim, Inc., in Bellevue, Washington.
Mr. Hughes has served as our Assistant Vice President of Area Developer Operations since May 2006. From December 2003 until April 2006, Mr. Hughes served as an Assistant Regional Director for us in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Hughes has also served as the President of Crown Consulting Corp. since October 2004, an Area Developer for us in Arkansas since July 2004 and Missouri since October 2005. From September 2004 until September 2005, Mr. Hughes was a Liberty Tax Service franchisee in Little Rock, Arkansas. From October 2003 until April 2005, Mr. Hughes was a Liberty Tax Service franchisee in Grandview, Missouri. From December 2001 until December 2003, Mr. Hughes served as National Recruiting Manager for H&R Block Financial Advisors in Kansas City, Missouri. From June 1999 until December 2001, Mr. Hughes served as a Financial Advisor for UBS in Overland Park, Kansas.