From intern to CEO | Accounting Today

These days, not many people stay at the same organization for their entire career. But my good friend Nathen McEown, CEO of Texas-based Whitley Penn, has parlayed a wide variety of roles, responsibilities and experiences into the top job at the 850-employee firm with $240 million in revenue. 

Starting as an intern 21 years ago, McEown joined the firm full-time directly out of college and hasn’t looked back since. At the time, Whitley Penn had only 60 employees and $10 million in revenue, but that was part of the attraction for McEown, who liked the collegial nature and scrappy startup feel. Unlike many of his undergraduate classmates, McEown didn’t feel the pressure to join a Big Four firm. He told me he was more drawn to firms like Whitley Penn that were small but growing aggressively. “I thought I could make a bigger impact there,” he recalled.

If McEown seems young to be a CEO of such a large firm, that’s not a coincidence. The firm’s average partner age is about 44 to 45, and it has 15 partners under the age of 35.

“That’s a testament to how quickly we’re growing and developing talent,” McEown said. “It boils down to passion. If you have a passion for what you are doing, it’s easier to put in the long hours and hard work. There was never a point in my career when I did anything just for the money. It was always about the opportunity to learn something new, implement something new, or enhance my growth.”

Four core principles have guided McEown throughout his career.

1. Culture of growth (firmwide and personal);
2. Willingness to step into difficult situations and always say yes;
3. Focus on relationships; and,
4. Recruiting, retaining and developing talent.

Culture of growth

Early in his career, McEown said he gravitated to partners who were excelling at business development: “They seemed to have a lot more control over their careers. At a young age, I told myself: ‘I’m going to be the one who goes out and helps grow the business by finding new clients, by getting involved in the community, by networking with folks in the local business community, and by establishing my circle of influence.'”

McEown brought in his first client when he was just a senior, and he said that enabled him to carve out his niche much faster.

“Our firm has a passion for growth,” he said. “We know if we’re not growing, we’re not going to be able to create new partners and promote more people from within. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing those below you achieve success and further their careers.”

Professional growth

Like McEown, I’ve found growth isn’t just about enhancing firm revenue — it’s about enhancing personal development. According to McEown, when you’re early in your career (staff to mid-manager) you need the proverbial 10,000 hours of experience to really learn the craft and the trade. Then as you progress, he said you need to start focusing on the other side of the business that often gives accountants trouble: soft skills, mentoring and developing additional ways to help clients beyond the pure service line that you’re working in. 

McEown said Whitley Penn’s NextGen program takes high-performing seniors and teaches them how to learn next level soft skills, client development skills, mentoring and training skills. The firm’s Growth Champions program is for experienced senior managers or managing directors who are on the path to partner. He said that’s where participants learn how to do a deep dive into the business of public accounting and a prospective client’s business. It’s also where they learn to describe succinctly how Whitley Penn can help a client not just through the service line they’re currently in (i.e., audit or tax), but through its wealth management, client accounting and advisory services, digital, deal advisory group or any of its other advisory service lines. 

Willingness to step into tough situations

From the earliest age, McEown said he always played the role of “fixer” — the person who would take on the jobs (or clients) that no one else wanted. For example, in the early days of his career, Whitley Penn was doing a lot of energy work but wasn’t getting a lot of private equity energy work. So he took on the challenge of getting to know the folks in the PE energy space and bringing them in as clients.

“In 2016, I moved to our Houston office which wasn’t growing as quickly as Whitley Penn is used to,” recalled McEown. “I took it upon myself to convince the firm’s executive committee that there was a huge opportunity in Houston where the massive energy market is based. I told them I would move my family to Houston if they let me have the role of the Houston office managing partner to see if I could change things.” 

At the time, McEown said the Houston office was only doing about $10 million in business. In 2025, Whitley Penn expects the Houston office to hit $50 million. “You can’t be afraid to fail,” said McEown. “When you swing for the fences, you’re going to strike out sometimes, but that’s the only way to learn and get better.” 

Building relationships

Whether it’s navigating your own firm, handling existing clients or breaking into new markets, McEown said you can never stop building relationships. He said he had more strikeouts than homeruns during his first two years in Houston, and it entailed a lot of cold-calling and reaching out to energy leaders for breakfast, lunch, dinner or drinks — anything to develop new relationships and opportunities.

Since the Houston office was small, McEown and his team not only had to find the work themselves but then do the work, too. “It was a lot of late nights, but it was fun and some of the most rewarding times I’ve had at the firm because I was able to cause change quickly,” he said.

Another valuable lesson McEown learned was, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” He said you must be willing to reach out to people and say, “Hey can you introduce me to friends who may need our services.” Or, “Who are you using? Are you happy with their service? If not, how about letting Whitley Penn bid on your work?” 

“Don’t wait for things to happen; make them happen,” he said.

McEown believes clients must always feel they’re a priority for his firm because “so many of our competitors don’t treat them that way.” He frequently reminds his staff: “Don’t just be the auditor. Go into the client’s office and ask about their family. Find out what’s going on in their life beyond the workplace.” McEown believes that once you build a client relationship and earn their trust, you can afford to make a few mistakes. “However, if you’re just an email or an invoice, that’s when you become a commodity and they’re going to jump to the next firm,” he said.

Recruiting and retaining talent

Long before COVID and the great talent shortage, McEown said his firm has always taken recruiting very seriously. “We get our partners involved at all levels, including on-campus recruiting. It’s not just our staff or paid recruiters. The partners give presentations, get to know people and shake hands. Even during busy season, our partners know they need to roll up their sleeves and get on campus and engage with the students. Our talent is the lifeblood of the firm and we view it as a critical part of our secret sauce.”

Like McEown I’ve found that ultimately we’re responsible for our own career path. Find what you’re passionate about and let others at the firm move you along.

What is your firm doing to recruit and develop talent and keep growing? I’d like to hear more.