Headfarmer is a leading Finance, Accounting, Technology and Human Resources Consulting and Recruitment firm in the Greater Phoenix area.

Our Recruiting Philosophy: Headfarming vs. Headhunting

Unlike other firms that reactively search for candidates—hunting until they find a possible fit for their client’s open position––we take a different approach that nurtures relationships yielding success for years to come.

We have a genuine interest in our client’s needs and culture, and a passion for personalization with our candidates acting on their behalf for the duration of their career.

We’re not headhunters, we’re Headfarmers.

Consulting

We provide Interim Solutions, as well as project-based Consultants ready to lead engagements from start to finish.

I'm a Consultant I need a Consultant

Recruiting

Headfarmer recruiting services covers Contingent, Retained and Contained searches for candidates and businesses.

I’m looking for a job I need to hire

Our Story

It all started when Eric and Jessica were cubemates at one of the largest national recruiting firms in the U.S. They had a passion for helping people and disliked the transactional nature of the recruiting industry. Their vision was to start a boutique firm that would establish a consultative approach to the industry and bring a level of transparency that was missing. After downing a wheatgrass shot at the local Whole Foods, the dream began. Established in 2011, Headfarmer has now grown to be the premier local Finance, Accounting, Technology and Human Resources consulting & recruiting firm in Phoenix. It is our calling and privilege to give back to the local community and make a difference in as many lives as we can.

Our Team

Jessica Corral

Chief Executive Officer

Jessica Corral is a Partner and Founder at Headfarmer, bringing over 20 years of recruiting experience. She started her career in New York City recruiting for Wall Street professionals. In 2000, she moved to Phoenix where she spent seven years working for one of the largest Accounting and Finance recruiting firms in the nation. She co-founded Headfarmer in July of 2011 and thus began the mission to exceed recruiting industry standards and focus on how to be of genuine service to people.
Jessica is passionate about giving back to the community and making a difference. She has chaired local non-profit board positions, is always donating her time to helping people both personally and professionally, and enjoys expanding her network by building relationships with quality people who also put service ahead of all personal goals. She has served as a trusted advisor to major employers and leaders in the greater phoenix metropolitan area….and she LOVES every minute of it.

Eric Ryan

Chief Revenue Officer

Eric Ryan is a Partner and Founder at headfarmer, bringing over 16 years of Accounting and Financial recruiting experience. Eric grew up in Phoenix, graduated from ASU, and has focused his career on helping professionals and organizations navigate the many facets of the local employment market.
Prior to co-founding headfarmer, Eric spent 10 years working for one of the largest Accounting and Finance recruiting firms in the nation. He also spent a year working as a Corporate Recruiter for a national Audit/Tax consulting firm. This role allowed him the opportunity to work with internal stakeholders and to understand the challenges that companies face when trying to build a strong workforce.
Eric has differentiated himself in the industry by taking on the responsibility of being a career coach and by helping people find the right job, regardless of financial gain. Eric’s willingness to go out of his way to help anyone is one of the foundations of the headfarmer philosophy.

Andy Ernst

President

Andy Ernst joined Headfarmer as President in early 2023, after a 20-year career working for 2 of the largest recruiting firms in the world. Andy’s business career includes supporting startups to global Fortune 500 companies on their people needs and has virtually held every position in the industry starting off as a Recruiter and finishing his big company experience as Head of Enterprise Sales. Andy is passionate about getting the most out of people and creating a long-term winning culture.

Andy was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and moved to Phoenix in 1999. Andy and his wife, Tracie, have 3 wonderful children, Ethan, Ryan and Ella. When not working or driving his kids around, Andy enjoys the Arizona sun, traveling with his family and rooting for his Buffalo sport teams.

Andy graduated from Fordham University in 1999 with a degree in Finance.

David Bolar

Managing Director, Finance

After graduating with an Accounting degree at Kansas State University and obtaining his CPA, Dave worked in public accounting and the private sector for seven years. While working as an Auditor, he received a call from a recruiter to give a reference for a colleague that was moving on to new opportunities; Dave had a lightbulb moment that you can actually have a career helping others to find that perfect job.
Intrigued by the recruiting process and understanding the needs of a candidate and client, he viewed the matching process as a satisfying puzzle to complete. Through detailed discussions with clients and candidates, he discovered you could understand what made the two come together as a perfect fit.
After the switch from his career in Accounting, Dave worked with a large national staffing firm as an Executive Recruiter and Perm Division Director. In 2013, he joined Headfarmer as Managing Director for Accounting and Finance and the lightbulb still burns bright.
Originally from Kansas, Dave moved to Arizona in 1993, where he quickly met his wife, Kristen. Married for 20 years, he has two wonderful kids (Sam and Annalie). He likes to spend his free time with family going to club volleyball or club swim meets and occasionally has the opportunity to golf, fly fish, or explore and hike here in the southwest.

John Brennan

Managing Director, Technology

A born and bred Northeasterner, John headed west to the desert in 2005 to pursue a career in the golf industry. He quickly ascended through the ranks to manage one of North Scottsdale’s premier golf courses. Having long been interested in both Technology and Recruiting, John decided to make a career of it in 2014. His transition to Technical Recruiting was a seamless one, as he naturally repurposed his experience hearing and responding to the voice of his customer while striving to be the best in a highly competitive industry.
Since entering the recruiting world, John has immersed himself in the dynamic and rapidly evolving world of Technology, so as to create candidate-client relationships that are rewarding on both a personal and a professional level. Having served as a Sr. Technical Recruiter, Recruiting Manager, and National Account Manager, John has experience with every phase of the recruitment life-cycle and is devoted to both his clients and his job seekers. With extensive seasoning supporting time-sensitive projects, John is well prepared to execute Headfarmer’s detailed, consultative methodology, while helping clients meet deadlines, and stay on schedule.
John likes to spend most of his free time swimming or playing games with his two terrific daughters, Avery and Colbie. The golf bug hasn’t left him either, as he loves to get up at the crack of dawn for an early morning tee time whenever he can.

Kerri Francisco

Executive Recruiter

A native to Arizona, Kerri launched her career within the staffing industry, recruiting for a large national firm. She quickly became passionate about recruiting because it afforded her the opportunity to make a difference in the lives she served – both job seekers and employers.

Now a staffing industry veteran with more than 20 years’ experience in the Phoenix market, Kerri has recruited for a variety of functional skill sets including Accounting, Finance, IT, and HR. Her network includes highly sought-after executives, managers, and high-potential professionals for Fortune 500, middle-market, and growth-stage companies.

A Sun Devil at heart, Kerri graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing. She is also a graduate of Scottsdale Leadership, a community leadership development program, and a current Board Member of Scottsdale Leadership, serving on multiple committees.

Kerri lives in the Phoenix metropolitan area with her Nebraska Cornhusker-loving husband and two children. She loves fitness, spending time with her family and friends, watching college softball, and going to the beach!

Amanda Ryan

Vice President of Finance & Operations

Amanda has been with Headfarmer since its inception and brings with her an extensive background in Accounting, Finance and Treasury Management. As her career and responsibilities grew, she found new professional opportunities that took her career path into Organizational Change Management, Public Relations and Operations. She enjoys the agility and dynamics of the staffing industry and demonstrates through her daily activities the importance of Community and Acts of Service. In her free time Amanda is dedicated to supporting her husband, their two children, school activities, including fundraising for the parent teacher organization, and service to other local non-profit organizations within our community.

Connie Samano

Manager, HR & Finance

Connie joins the Headfarmer team with extensive experience in Accounting, Finance, and Human Resources. She spent the last fifteen years in the beverage industry overseeing many aspects of the supplier and personnel relationships with an emphasis on customer service and the ability to develop strong relationships with trust and confidence from Clients and Colleagues. Connie is bilingual in both Spanish and English.

She’s called The Valley home for almost 20 years, and in her free time, she is dedicated to family time with her daughter and husband, serving her community and faith while enjoying crafting, cooking, and traveling.

Terry Schwartz

Director, Financial Consulting

Terry joins the Headfarmer family with over 40 years of public accounting experience after retiring from a large national CPA firm, where he was an audit and client relationship partner serving numerous middle-market businesses. In addition, Terry served as the Office Managing Partner of the CPA firm’s Phoenix office for over four years. Terry was viewed by his clients as a trusted advisor while consulting on a variety of financial and business advisory issues. The majority of his client base consisted of portfolio companies owned by private-equity firms.

His transition into Consulting and Recruitment services was an effortless decision with his proven success in serving his clients and his direct accounting, audit, and business advisory experience. As a CPA, Terry brings a unique perspective while taking the time to fully understand the needs of his clients and working collaboratively to identify the right solutions to support them.

When Terry is not networking and building new relationships, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Barb, and family, including trips to visit his children, hold’em Poker nights with friends, and walks with their dog, Louie.

Bara Siwabessy

Executive Recruiter

Bara joins the Headfarmer team with several years of recruiting experience throughout the Phoenix market. Growing up in San Jose, CA, by way of Indonesia, he found his home in Phoenix by enlisting in the Air Force and being stationed at Luke Air Force Base.

Bara gained invaluable experience throughout his tenure in the military, working in various Accounting and Finance positions. It was natural for Bara to venture into recruitment in accounting and finance when the opportunity arose, given his experience and depth of knowledge. He is passionate about connecting and building lasting relationships with his candidates, clients, and colleagues.

When not focused on the happenings of the Phoenix job market, Bara enjoys traveling and spending quality time with his family and friends.

Rachel Montalvo

Executive Recruiter, Human Resources

Rachel Montalvo has a passion for forming quality matches between the worthy companies and candidates of the Phoenix Valley. Rachel earned a BS in Criminal Justice with a minor in Military Science and Leadership from the University of Arizona (Go Wildcats!), where she studied Public Policy & Administration, Leadership and Ethics, and Public Organization Management. Upon graduating, Rachel had the opportunity to explore coast to coast, moving to South Carolina then to sunny California, and finally settling down back in Arizona. It was here in Arizona that Rachel transitioned into her first recruiting role. Since then, Rachel has built a proven track record in client success, business improvement, human resources, staffing and leadership that spans multiple industries. Rachel is known as a driven, results-oriented, people person with a knack for personal, professional and procedural development.

Rachel now applies her multifaceted knowledge as an Executive Recruiter for Headfarmer, where she provides creative, informed services that promote growth for professional talent and clients alike.

Corey Phallen

Director, Operations

Corey joins the Headfarmer team, bringing with him nearly ten years of accounting, finance, and operations experience within the staffing industry. After attending ASU, he joined a national firm in an operations support role. He quickly found that he had a passion for building personal relationship, as well as developing strategic partnerships, with his field counterparts. He eventually made his way into the finance department, where he supported sales operations across the western half of United States.

In his free time, Corey enjoys spending time with his two children, playing hockey, and working on traveling to every state in the US!

Adrian Gonzalez

Executive Recruiter - Human Resources

Adrian Gonzalez joins Headfarmer as an executive human resources recruiter. Adrian brings years of direct HR and recruiting experience to her role, offering elite insight for both candidates and clients alike. Known for her technical skill, industry knowledge and tremendous leadership skills, Adrian is also celebrated for her warmth and dedication to building success for others.

Amanda Flaig

Recruiting Coordinator

Amanda Flaig embodies the people-first mentality of Headfarmer. Amanda set to work utilizing her skills to improve resident experiences and facilitate essential processes across the housing industry. Making a transition from Property Management to the Lending industry, Amanda became federally licensed to originate mortgages through the NMLS- specializing in refinance. She continues her dedication to serving others as a Recruiting Coordinator at Headfarmer. Amanda’s superior organizational skills, creativity and genuine knack for customer service empower the success of both candidates and clients.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Amanda loves nature and takes any opportunity she can to explore the beauty of our Arizona landscapes.

Our Consultants

Susan Hanson
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Susan Hanson

Financial Consultant

Susan Hanson joined Headfarmer in 2019 as an Accounting and Finance Consultant. Susan graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a BS degree in Economics.

Susan brings a diverse range of experience and knowledge to her role, providing a broad frame of reference for new clients and assignments. Prior to joining Headfarmer, Susan worked as a Senior Staff Accountant in the hospitality and travel, transportation, property management, insurance, and financial services industries.

Susan’s favorite part about being a consultant at Headfarmer is that her role allows her to constantly learn new systems and technology, experience new industries, and incorporate a vast array of techniques to better perform accounting, audit, and financial functions.

Tanya Heykoop
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Tanya Heykoop

Financial Consultant

Tanya Heykoop is a Consultant at Headfarmer. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Tanya is an accomplished accounting and financial management professional with experience working in fortune 500 companies and Big 4 auditing. She has an extensive background in internal and external financial reporting, GAAP research and implementation, process improvement, integration of financial systems and functions, general ledger closings and financial systems upgrades.

Prior to joining Headfarmer in June of 2020, Tanya worked in public accounting at PwC as an Audit Manager, with a focus on the oil and gas industry. She also worked as a Senior Manager of Internal Reporting in the waste management industry at Republic Services and as a Project Manager in the mining industry at Freeport McMoran, among other roles.

Outside of work, Tanya enjoys spending time with family, working out, binge-watching TV shows, live music concerts, happy hours, and casino games, particularly craps and blackjack.

Jeff Isbel
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Jeff Isbel

Financial Consultant

Ken Miller
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Ken Miller

Financial Consultant

Ken Miller is a Senior Finance and Accounting Consultant at Headfarmer, where he brings years of consulting experience to his role. Ken graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.

Prior to joining Headfarmer, Ken worked as the VP of Finance and Controller for Edison Power Constructors, an Interim Contract Controller for Robert Half Resources, and a Senior Director of Financial Controls for Time Warner Cable, among many other successful contractor positions.

Ken is a focused, proactive, and highly motivated professional equipped with years of senior-level accounting, finance, and treasury management experience. A passionate, results-oriented leader with a strong internal control and process improvement focus, Ken has been recognized for consistently achieving organizational and fiscal objectives and driving multi-million dollar finance and accounting initiatives, resulting in favorable bottom line results.

Janessa Schuellein
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Janessa Schuellein

Financial Consultant

Janessa Schuellein joined Headfarmer as a Financial/Accounting Consultant in August 2020, bringing her technical expertise along with skills in process improvement and automation to her role.

Janessa graduated from Wichita State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting with a minor in Management. She is an Excel expert and builds spreadsheets that are user friendly and require the least amount of manual updates possible.

Prior to joining Headfarmer, Janessa worked for Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately-held company with over $115 billion in revenue. In her work on the consolidations team as an Accountant II, Janessa was able to oversee activity across the various Koch companies and was responsible for creating a daily trade reconciliation of $9 billion in assets under management to reconcile on trade day, instead of the day after trading. This allowed any trade errors to be traded when foreign markets opened and allowed for the identification of over $1 million in trading errors with options.

Janessa also worked in the public sector as a Senior Treasury Analyst for Sprouts Farmers Market, where she created the Cash Over Short dashboard to identify stores based on trends with employee theft and implemented Microsoft Power Automation to send automated emails to warehouses for monthly reporting.

When she is not implementing process improvements that save valuable time and money, Janessa enjoys traveling the world, reading, hiking, biking, playing cards and board games, and spending time with family and friends. Janessa loves to host foreign exchange students to give them a taste of American culture.

Renee Swisher
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Renee Swisher

Financial Consultant

Renee Swisher joined Headfarmer as the Senior Accounting Consultant in 2021. Renee brings more than 20 years of experience in the accounting field, as well as recent experience in the hospitality industry, to her role. Renee is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA. She holds a BS in Accounting from Mankato State University.

Prior to joining Headfarmer, Renee held a variety of leadership roles at Taco John’s International, Unicover Corporation, and McGladrey & Pullen, CPA. Her areas of expertise include financial reporting, problem solving, improving processes, and financial analysis, along with strong Excel skills.

At Headfarmer, Renee enjoys making a difference within the organization and in the lives of her clients by saving time and reducing risk. She is currently implementing procedures to ensure accounts are reconciled and efficiencies are obtained.

Outside of work, Renee’s passions include golf and reading.

Paul Velasquez
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Paul Velasquez

Financial Consultant

Paul Velasquez has been an Accounting Consultant with Headfarmer since 2015, where he brings his decades of experience in corporate accounting and his experience with multiple enterprise software conversions across multiple industries to his role as an Accounting Consultant.

Paul holds a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Arizona State University, with minors in Spanish and International Business. Prior to joining Headfarmer, Paul worked as a consultant in the telecommunications field and as a contractor in the oil and gas industry, among other roles.

Paul prides himself on his ability to coordinate a team of contractors and employees to work towards consolidating financial statements for companies partnered with Headfarmer. Paul’s ability to coordinate complex projects, his strong leadership skills, and his fluency in Spanish are assets to the Headfarmer team.

In his free time, Paul enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and visiting national parks and monuments.

Stephen Hays
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Stephen Hays

Financial Consultant

With 15+ years of experience in Finance, FP&A, Accounting, Supply Chain, and process improvement, Stephen Hays boasts a wide industry background spanning global manufacturing, senior living, financial services, logistics, energy markets, and management consulting.

After earning a BA in Chinese and History from the University of Oregon, Stephen went on to earn a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Nanjing China, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Stephan is skilled in financial modeling, annual operating planning and budget creation (including capital expenditures and capital budget), acquisition / divestiture underwriting, pro-forma income statements and balance sheets, and cash flow projections. Stephen is detail-oriented and well-versed in various analytic methods and ERPs.

Stephen is fluent in Mandarin and enjoys providing volunteer and pro bono work for health and educational organizations.

Chris Conaway
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Chris Conaway

Financial Consultant

Chris Conaway is a skilled financial consultant with almost two decades of experience spanning accounting, analysis and auditing. A graduate of ASU’s W.P. Care School of Business, Chris has worked in a variety of industries including athletics, aerospace and aviation, housing, and technology. Chris is a trusted manager with expertise across various aspects of accounting and finance who brings both knowledge and character to his role as a consultant.

Alicia La Forest
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Alicia La Forest

Financial Consultant

Alicia La Forest brings years of experience as a controller to her consulting role at Headfarmer. Skilled in managing corporate accounting functions, providing accurate and timely company records, financial statements and reports, and providing expert fiduciary guidance to clients, Alicia is a valuable asset to Headfarmer’s team of consultants.

Debbie Krebs
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Debbie Krebs

Financial Consultant

Deborah (Debbie) Krebs is an Accounting Consultant with 20 years of well-rounded Controllership experience. After earning her Masters in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University in 1997, Debbie took a position at Deloitte & Touche, and rapidly rose to a leadership role. Since then, she has built her career in both public and private companies of all sizes, most recently with Telgian Fire Safety, InsightEnterprises, Inc. and Cushman & Wakefield. She holds a strong reputation for streamlining processes, building best-in-class accounting teams and identifying and implementing controls, policies and procedures.

Debbie joined Headfarmer as a consultant in 2020, and brought with her a passion for learning and a growth mindset which translates into effective leadership, coaching and mentorship. As a leader, Debbie believes in striving for the highest quality of work while remaining committed, accountable and humble. She believes that people are our greatest asset and never misses an opportunity to impart best practices or learn from others.

Debbie is a seasoned professional with a dynamic background whose passion for cultivating success is paramount in her consulting work for Headfarmer.

Valerie Nicolaison
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Valerie Nicolaison

Financial Consultant

With more than 20 years of accounting experience across multiple areas of focus, Valerie brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise to the Headfarmer Consulting Team. Valerie has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Scranton, one of the nation’s leading accounting programs.

Valerie has served both private and public organizations as a senior accountant, an auditor, payroll specialist, and general accountant. She has designed and implemented process improvements, overseen acquisitions and managed both foreign and domestic entities. Her meticulous attention to detail, collaborative skills and dynamic professional background makes her an asset as a consultant.

With more than 20 years of accounting experience across a variety of industries, Valerie brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise to the Headfarmer Consulting Team. Valerie earned both bachelor’s and master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Scranton, one of the nation’s leading accountancy programs.

Valerie has worked at both publicly traded and privately held companies that have both domestic and foreign operations. Her roles have included serving as an auditor, senior accountant and payroll specialist. Valerie has significant experience preparing account reconciliations and participating in monthly closing processes. In addition, Valerie has conducted a variety of special projects such as mapping and implementing process improvement initiatives around different accounting cycles and overseeing accounting integration activities in connection with acquisitions. Valerie’s meticulous attention to detail, collaborative style and passion to add value are some of her attributes that make her an excellent project consultant.

Laurel Park
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Laurel Park

Financial Consultant

Laurel Park joined Headfarmer as a Financial Consultant in June of 2022. Laurel has over 25 years of accounting and financial reporting experience in both the private and public sectors in a variety of industries.

Laurel is a second-generation graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining Headfarmer, Laurel spent most of her professional career working her way from a staff accountant to become the Chief Financial Officer of a multi-million dollar, privately held international company, specializing in technology and franchising, with over twenty domestic and global subsidiaries. Laurel was responsible for leading and directing the accounting staff, GAAP compliance, drafting full financial statements and footnotes, managing independent audits and reporting results to interest holders. Laurel focuses efforts on providing a quality work product, improving process efficiencies, cost reductions and the development of talent.

Laurel’s extracurricular activities include spending time with family, traveling and especially hiking. Also a second-generation Arizona native, Laurel loves to explore the diverse landscapes Arizona has to offer and partakes in as many day trip adventures as possible.

Headfarmer in the Community

At Headfarmer we believe our commitment to stakeholders goes above and beyond the clients and candidates we represent. We feel a deep responsibility to give back to the local community in any way we can.

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