Reprinted with permission of the Rochester Business Journal.

VOLUME 31, NUMBER 28 WWW.RBJDAILY.COM OCTOBER 9, 2015

Rafael Vidal andRobert Pickering wantProNexus to be big

ProNexus LLC helps its clients tackle a mix of challenges, from achieving profitable growth to dealing with reg-

ulatory burdens.“We are truly a unique organization,”

says Robert Pickering, co-founder and se-nior executive vice president of Pro-Nexus. “Think of us like an accounting firm that only provides non-attest professional ser-vices. We don’t sign audit opinions or tax returns; however, we handle all other non-attest finance, accounting and IT needs of our clients.”

ProNexus offers its customers assistance with finance, accounting, information tech-nology and financial services. A group of experienced professionals, many of whom are CPAs, the ProNexus team provides clients a higher degree of service, compe-tency, efficiency and productivity at a more cost-effective rate than other professional service firms, officials say.

“We have a great staff,” Pickering says. “We formed the company on the premise that if we treat our clients, our consultants, our employees and our strategic partners just like we would treat our own family the business will take care of itself.”

ProNexus started a little more than three years ago.

“It was just Robert and I sitting in a 10 by 12 office,” recalls Rafael Vidal, co-founder and president of ProNexus. “If we got up at the same time our chairs would clash. It is hard to imagine that it has only been a little over three years. We have seen dramatic growth.”

Forty-five employees in Rochester and a new expansion in Michigan have helped

ProNexus log double-digit growth year over year.

“While we’re certainly proud of our growth,” Vidal says, “the most rewarding thing has been creating more jobs locally and giving back to the community. If I were to point my finger at the one thing that has allowed us to achieve that growth, it’s our people. We believe in hiring and retaining a team that believe in us and why the firm exists.”

Vidal and Pickering describe their lead-ership philosophy in three words: passion, purpose and people. Hiring people who be-lieve in the firm’s philosophy allows them to build a culture of authenticity and pas-sion that excites others, they say.

Empowerment lies at the core of build-ing a strong team.

“We allow our team to come up with solutions, help steer the ship and come

up with creative ways of doing things different-ly,” Pickering says. “We believe in coaching and mentoring. It’s OK to make mistakes because the only way to be suc-cessful is to fail.”

Client feedback sur-veys prove that Vidal and Pickering are on the right track. High scores, they say, are a testament to the value that ProNexus adds every day.

Much of the firm’s phi-lanthropy is driven by its employees. So far, ProNexus has donated more than $15,000 to lo-cal charitable causes and non-profits, including the establishment of a college scholarship for accounting students this year.

“As 80 percent of our client service team are women, we support a number of women’s ini-tiatives as well, including

Willow Domestic Violence Center and the Young Women of Distinction Awards pre-sented by the Rochester Women’s Coun-cil,” Pickering says.

Adds Vidal: “We also give back to the community with our time. We all are ac-tively involved and engaged on a number of boards and committees, and this is true for not only the founders, but for all of our partners and directors.”

With an eye to the future, the co-founders are not afraid to modify their course if nec-essary. Immediate plans include launching a fourth practice in the Northeast. Roch-ester will remain a focus by building and growing it as a national client service cen-ter, Vidal and Pickering say. Their vision is to be a $100 million professional services firm with locations nationwide.

—Christopher Coffey

Tackling a mix of challenges with smart solutions2015 Business Person of the Year

BUSINESS PERSONRochester’sof the YEAR

2015

Photo by Kimberly McKinzie

Rafael Vidal and Robert Pickering, co-founders of ProNexus, say empowering staff lies at the core of building a strong team.