Adam Holtz has enjoyed his first eight-plus years at Ayres, and he’s eager to put his 17 years of accounting experience to work as the firm’s new controller. His official start date in the position is December 30. The position opened up when Lisa Pronschinske was promoted to executive vice president/chief financial officer, effective in January 2025.

Holtz looks forward to helping the company continue moving forward financially. He expects to step up his face-to-face time with his fellow employee-owners as he transitions to the new position.

This personnel adjustment won’t bring any noticeable transformations with it. “I don’t anticipate too much of a change,” says Holtz, who works in Ayres’ headquarters in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “I don’t really want to change what’s working.”

Holtz, who describes himself as quite approachable, is a staunch advocate for a strong balance sheet. He is a big proponent of “knowing the why,” so he aims to do a good job of explaining the reasons behind mantras such as “cash is king.”

“Adam is such a pleasure to work with, and I have every confidence that our accounting and operations staff will enjoy working with Adam to fine-tune systems such as billing, payroll, expenses, and reimbursables,” Pronschinske says.

Holtz says his wide variety of previous experience covers most facets of accounting. That includes his previous work for Rusk County Memorial Hospital in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, and Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire. Holtz describes himself as a thinker and a learner who likes to investigate how things work and how problems can be solved. Among his responsibilities at Ayres has been facilitating the accounting side of the individual stock ownership program. Holtz’s new responsibilities include oversight of 11 Accounting staff; monthly financial statements; revenue review; annual budgeting, cash flow, and business plans; internal control reviews; financial reporting; outside audit management; and overhead cost analysis. He also will oversee various accounting functions such as project costing, billing, budgeting, fixed assets, accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash, cash books, and payroll.