Get to Know TaxConnex: Partner Q&A Series - Jackie Breiter

Looking to find out more about TaxConnex? What better way than hearing from our founders and partners? Learn from the best by hearing from the ones that built TaxConnex. Over the last few months, we've been highlighting the Partners of TaxConnex. Finally, we have our Chief Operating Officer, Jackie Breiter!

Can you tell me about your career leading up to TaxConnex? 

It’s been a journey for sure!  I’ve worked in various industries and business functions, laying the groundwork to join TaxConnex.  Starting at the beginning, I graduated from Florida State with a degree in Industrial Engineering and joined AT&T out of college.  I was there for 12 years gaining a breadth of experience in data analytics, technology, organizational development, finance, and operations.  While there, I went back to school to get my MBA from Emory’s Executive MBA program.  After AT&T, I joined PharMerica as VP of technology services and was able to participate in synergy and transition planning for a large company merger including a public offering.  After the deal closed, I shifted my focus to gain sales and marketing experience and joined CA Technologies as VP of the global customer success team.  After a bit, I went back to my  roots, followed my passion for education, and joined Emory University as the CIO for the business school.  Now for the big shift, I was presented with an opportunity to run a startup from early concept to realizing revenue from fortune 500 companies.  Coming out of a startup,  I went in the opposite direction, joining a large, established company (NCR) as VP of digital innovation leading a team in evaluating emerging trends.  Realizing how much I enjoy smaller companies, the ability to work across business functions and with clients in multiple industries is what led me to TaxConnex.

Can you describe your time here at TaxConnex and how your position has evolved?

My time at TaxConnex has been a blur, 4 years has flown by.  When I started, the other partners told me time goes faster in our industry.  I didn’t think that was possible, time is time, right?  But it’s true and it’s hard to explain.  My role at TaxConnex is to oversee Operations, which includes onboarding clients, managing the compliance cycle, and developing our proprietary technology.  Last year, we aligned sales with my role, which has been a great opportunity to connect the sales team with the operations team, building a better understanding of the dependencies.  

What accomplishments/milestones are you most proud of?

In the 4 years that I’ve been here we have doubled our revenue which means we needed to scale operations to support that growth.  Building the team, the systems, and the structures to scale, while maintaining our white glove service to our clients is a source of great pride.  Pride in the team for enduring the quick pace and enormous amount of change while keeping the monthly compliance cycle running with outstanding service to our clients.  During this time, we received NPS scores of 83 and 81 demonstrating our focus on client success not just our success (spoiler alert we are anxiously awaiting this year’s results and we are trending even higher). 

What do you hope is in store for the future here at TaxConnex?

Ongoing success for our clients and our team members!  My hope is that our continued growth allows us to provide white glove service to more clients and career opportunities to more team members.  And, when both of those things are happening, TaxConnex is successful.  Oh, and I want TaxConnex to be the premier, largest sales tax outsourcer.

What TaxConnex core value means the most to you?

Our internal saying is that we drive growth on our TIRES (Transparency, Integrity, Responsibility, Excellence and Service).  It is hard to say which of these values is most important, they are all intertwined and woven together, and we can’t succeed if we aren’t delivering on our promise of all five.  That sounded like a total avoidance of the question,  if I must pick, I’m going to pick Responsibility (that selection even surprised me), but it encompasses the others by having the responsibility to be transparent, honest, and provide excellent service.  So there you have it, I’m back to saying it’s all five. 

What qualities do you think a leader must possess to be successful?

There are too many individual qualities to name, but here goes, empathy, communication, focus, integrity, clarity, self-awareness, action oriented, authentic, decisive, supportive, and the list could go on.  I think of leadership qualities as a toolbox and knowing when and how to use each tool is the fundamental nature of leadership.  The instinct to realize what is needed in various situations is a true art form that is tough to master. Being humble and vulnerable when you don’t get it right (because you won’t always get it right), that may be the most important quality. 

Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you in your career?

There are so many people that have impacted my career, thinking about this question makes me smile.  As I reflect on the word “impact”, a strange thought comes to mind, I value the experiences with people that had a negative impact on my career “almost” as much as the extremely positive.  I learned a lot about myself and leadership from those tougher experiences.  I’m hesitant to name just one person, however, my friend and mentor, Kathy Waller can’t go without being mentioned.  She has been by my side since the early AT&T days, took me under her wing and believed in me from the start of my professional career.  Without her, I’m afraid of what kind of leader I may have become.  To this day, she still points me in the right direction even when I don’t want to hear the hard truth.  I wish I could name everyone else, but this would become an academy award speech and the music would play me off.  

What is your favorite aspect of your job?

Creating, building, growing, changing, improving … what’s not to love!  Ok, the intensity and demands of the monthly compliance cycle can be grueling.  Back to the love part, I am a self-proclaimed change junky and fortunately, my role fuels that desire.  There is never a dull moment and I’m lucky to be able to continually reinvent myself and the team to align to new opportunities and demands.  Another favorite aspect of my job is learning about our clients, we support some fascinating, fun businesses and I enjoy learning about them.  

What qualities do you look for when hiring for your team?

Curiosity is the first thing that comes to mind, the drive to learn more and find new ways to add value and solve problems.  Sportsmanship is one of my personal values, which encompasses a commitment to ethical behavior and integrity, and general goodwill toward others.  Determination and resilience go hand in hand for me, not giving up and learning from mistakes.  Having an ownership mindset (accountability) and asking for help when you need it (vulnerability).  I guess you could summarize by saying, I look for how you work and interact with other people and with ideas.  Some would call those “soft” skills, but the word “soft” bothers me, they aren’t “soft”, they are hard core qualities that really matter and will make you stand out.  

How have you seen sales and use tax change since you've been in this field? And do you think it will continue to change and develop in the years to come?

I am the junior partner when it comes to exposure to the sales tax world.  I joined the company just after the Wayfair decision which disrupted sales tax in the same way technology disrupts other industries, it was a major shift.  When I was running a startup, I remember trying to figure out physical nexus for our products and services across the country, and now there is the added burden of economic nexus.  In short, a lot has changed since I joined TaxConnex, the landscape of companies that are obligated to collect and remit tax has exploded. 

What do you think makes TaxConnex unique?

I have been in a lot of companies that talk about people, process and technology and I know that is a rather overused business slogan, but we really live it. We rely on exceptional people working in structured processes using technology to help drive efficiency and quality while reducing risk.  That was a lot of business jargon, but it is truer here than anywhere I have worked.   At the same time all that people, process, technology “stuff” is happening, we care deeply about our clients, and mean it.  We want to remove a burden for them and make their life better.  These aren’t just empty words at TaxConnex, our actions support them.