Rick Zitelman, CPA, CVA
President

Rick Zitelman founded The Zitelman Group in 1985 to identify closely held investment opportunities and provide financial services to entrepreneurs who share his vision - success. His goal was simple - to help turn entrepreneurs into business people and their businesses into successful endeavors.

Since then, the company has evolved to provide asset management, investment and merchant banking, investment advisory and active investor services. Rick is also a Registered Investment Advisor and Registered Principal with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Zitelman Group has an affiliated company, Shelyn Securities Corporation, a Broker-Dealer registered with the NASD and licensed to sell private placement investments.

In 1977, Rick began his career in public accounting at Ernst and Ernst (now Ernst & Young) where he spent two years in the audit and tax divisions. From 1980 to 1985 he provided investment advisory, tax planning, accounting and tax preparation services to high income and net worth clients. At the same time, Rick was the president and principal of a Registered Broker-Dealer responsible for the due diligence, structure, negotiation and finance of many limited partnerships, primarily in radio broadcast and real estate.

Rick has co-founded many companies including Spring Broadcasting, Bid4Assets and eDeposit, as well as Valuation Services, Inc., which was established in 1994 upon recognizing the growing demand for valuation and litigation support services.

A graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and a major in Accounting, Rick is published, is often a speaker at financial conferences and events and has been engaged as an expert witness in litigation cases throughout the country. Rick is involved in many philanthropic organizations, is a co-founder of Save a Torah, Inc. and serves on the board of directors of Aish HaTorah in Washington, DC.

 

Stuart Bassin, CPA, CVA
Vice President

Stuart Bassin joined The Zitelman Group in 1990 and has since acted as outside chief financial officer for several closely held companies while specializing in the financial analysis of investment opportunities, financial management and oversight of The Zitelman Group's portfolio companies. He co-founded Valuation Services, Inc. and focuses on the preparation of valuations of closely held companies and their respective ownership interests. He is a Registered Securities Representative with the NASD and an Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

In 1988, Stuart passed the Maryland CPA exam and began his career with the accounting firm, KPMG Peat Marwick as an auditor.

Stuart received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with concentration in Accounting and Finance from the Washington University (St. Louis) in 1988. He is the past president of the Maryland/Washington, DC chapter of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), the northeastern regional advisor to the president of NACVA and a member of the NACVA Quality Review Committee and Quality Enhancement Team. Stuart is co-Chairman of NACVA's June 2007 National Conference.