At a glance
* Name: Nick Decosimo* Age: 64* Job: Office managing shareholder in Chattanooga for Elliott Davis Decosimo* Education: Undergraduate degree from University of Virginia; MBA from University of North Carolina* Civic: Served as chairman of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Foundation; board member of the national Ethics and Public Policy Board in Washington, D.C.* Family: He and his wife, Karen, have three sonsTop manager Nick Decosimo, office managing shareholder in Chattanooga for Elliott Davis Decosimo, is the 2015 Chattanooga area manager of the year. A luncheon will be held June 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. To learn more, go to www.camoy.org, or contact Valerie Gifford at 634-3563 or valerie.gifford@tvfcu.com.
Nick Decosimo quips that when Chattanooga accounting firm Joseph Decosimo and Co. merged with South Carolina's Elliott Davis last year, he was the only person demoted.
"I thought the merger was a good idea for us to really grow," said Decosimo, the combined company's office managing shareholder in Chattanooga, about the deal that catapulted the business to No. 28 on Accounting Today's top 100 firms list.
Decosimo, the eldest son of company founder Joe Decosimo, was previously managing partner of the Chattanooga accounting firm where he has worked for 36 years. After the merger with Elliott Davis was completed in January, Nick Decosimo relinquished his top job to Elliott Davis' managing partner, Rick Davis, although Decosimo has remained the top manager of the Chattanooga CPA office and a member of the combined firm's executive and compensation committees.
His efforts at leading Chattanooga's biggest accounting firm -- and its merger with South Carolina's biggest firm -- will be saluted by area business groups in June when Decosimo is recognized as Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year during the group's 30th annual awards program.
Decosimo, 64, joined Joseph Decosimo and Co. in 1979. The firm was named after and started by his father, who was the 1989 manager of the year.
Nick Decosimo became a partner in the CPA firm in 1981.
Elliott Davis Decosimo, with about 140 people in Chattanooga, was cited this year as the accounting, tax and consulting services firm with the highest level of annual revenue growth for 2014 by Accounting Today.
The merged firm has more than 800 employees working out of 17 offices.
"I was a champion of proceeding," Decosimo said of the merger. "I thought it was the best thing for us by far."
Decosimo said Joseph Decosimo and Co. was a $40 million a year business before the merger. Elliott Davis did about $75 million in revenue, he said. Decosimo said there was little overlap in terms of services and geographical locations between the two companies.
"Our banking practice was almost nil. They have 120 bank clients," he said, adding that 90 percent of the banks in South Carolina are their clients.
Tennessee has 170 banks and that gives the merged firm "a huge opportunity" to grow that business, Decosimo said.
Also, while Joseph Decosimo and Co. had a robust hedge fund business, Elloitt Davis had practically none, he said.
Culturally, Decosimo said, people at both companies spent months getting to know each other.
Dan Saieed, co-chair of the 2015 manager of the year event, noted Decosimo's commitment to both his company and the community.
"Nick Decosimo is a true leader and a role model who manages by example and through encouragement," said Saieed in a statement. "Our city has benefited tremendously from his wide ranging corporate and community engagement."
Decosimo was cited for his support of the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, ArtsBuild and others entities.
He was a founding member of the Signal Mountain Bible Church, where he has served as treasurer and is a church elder.
"I'm humbled to receive this honor, especially in light of others who have received it, all of whom I admire and many of whom I count as friends," said Decosimo. "The greatest honor, however, is being in a group that includes my father."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.