David Wurtzbacher – 2023 “20 Under 40” Influencer

Recent Career Highlights
Having raised private equity capital from Alpine Investors, I formally began building a management team in January 2023, and striking our first partnerships with exceptional firms. In our first year, we partnered with 8 entrepreneurial firms and achieved industry-leading growth rates, executed 4 additional mergers, strategically acquired an outsourcing business for CPAs in India, made dozens of lateral professional hires via our talent acquisition team, released our first productivity-enhancing AI products, and hired nearly 40 people to the Ascend team who work every day to deliver the resources of a large CPA firm so that independent regional firms can reach their goals in the new era of accounting. We have rolled out an equity and compensation scheme that makes winning talent easy, launched our leadership development program, created community and opportunities for sharing across firms, and established our vision – Stay Independent, Ascend Together – as a unique pathway for business model transformation.

What are you doing to make a difference in the profession, your community, the world?
I am passionate about offering my leadership to drive excellence so that others may be lifted up, and Ascend is my professional expression of this passion. I believe the accounting industry is a bedrock of society and I want to see it thrive. I hope that our contributions to the industry will revitalize the profession so that people have the trusted advisors they need.

Current Professional Reading / Listening
I love reading and listening to podcasts about investing, building businesses, and admirable leaders. I’m a big fan of the podcast, Founders, at the moment. I consider it an obligation as a leader to learn and gather inspiration so that I can integrate “outside” thoughts into what we are building at Ascend.

See all of the 2023 “40 Under 40” and “20 Under 40” honorees.