HKA welcomes five new Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages and Intellectual Property experts

Sean Sarsfield joins HKA as a Principal based in Houston, Texas. Sean has over 22 years of professional experience in forensic accounting, business interruption, litigation support, and expert witness services. He has provided fraud detection and forensic accounting services in investigations dealing with embezzlement, misappropriation of assets, financial reporting fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty.  

Sean has determined economic damages and lost profits in matters involving business torts and business interruption. His experience also includes providing expert witness testimony and support services in arbitration, mediation, and trial for various clients. 

Before joining HKA, Sean was a director at Forvis Mazars. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management at Albion College. He is a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Michigan, New York, and Texas.  

Samuel Baird joins HKA as a Director with over 10 years of experience in the IP space. His background includes matters related to mergers and acquisitions, economic damages, valuations, licensing and patenting issues, and FRAND royalty calculations. He creates economic models and applies data analytics to conduct comprehensive financial analyses and rigorous due diligence processes.  

Samuel has a Juris Doctorate from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, a Master of Arts in Intellectual Property Management and Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Brigham Young University. He is pursuing a Master of Arts in Quantitative Business Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  

HKA forensic engineers provide expert advisory, expert determination, and expert witness services for clients around the world. Depending on the assignment, the firm’s engineers act as sole experts within a specialized technical team or collaborate with other experts in complementary disciplines such as quantum, delay, forensic accounting, and commercial damages, known as HKA’s multidisciplinary service.

Christina Reynolds joins HKA as a Director with over 18 years of experience in forensic accounting and litigation support for economic damages, financial investigations, insurance claims, and other litigation matters. Her expertise includes restructuring and turnaround management, financial and fraud investigations, claims analysis, damages calculations, cash flow projections, lost profits analysis, and assessments of accounting and financial reporting systems and controls.  

Christina has supported the preparation and development of expert witness reports and testimony for various disputes, including those in the agriculture, energy, hospitality, retail, and construction sectors. 

Before joining HKA, Christina was an associate director at B. Riley Advisory Services. Christina has a Master of Accounting from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Miami. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), as well as the Houston Area ACFE Chapter. 

Maliha Zuberi joins HKA as a Director with over 12 years of experience specializing in economic and litigation damages. Her expertise includes IP matters such as patent and trade secret infringement as well as copyright, trademark, and International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations. Maliha’s commercial damages and dispute experience encompasses matters involving breach of contract, tortious interference, aiding and abetting, white-collar fraud, and analyses of mortgage-backed securities, mutual fund fees, and investment strategies.  

Maliha has supported the preparation of expert reports and expert witness testimony in various litigation settings, including state court, federal court, and international arbitration. 

Before joining HKA, Maliha was a director at Ocean Tomo, a part of J.S. Held. She has a Master of Science in Actuarial Science from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Irvine. 

Zachary “Zack” Kozub joins HKA as an Associate Director at our Chicago office with over nine years of experience. His FACD expertise is rooted in IP matters and economic damages, including quantifying and calculating disgorgement and lost profits damages, determining reasonable royalty damages, and assessing lost enterprise value or lost business investment damages. He has provided analysis and litigation support services for matters involving trademark, patent, and copyright infringement, false advertising, trade secrets, and antitrust and business insurance claims.  

Zack has experience in a wide variety of market sectors, including technology, biotechnology, consumer-packaged goods, industrial and manufacturing, real estate, software, and hospitality. 

Before joining HKA, Zack was a managing consultant at Berkeley Research Group, LLC. He has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Miami University.