Led by Inova Payroll President & CEO, Farsheed Ferdowsi, the Inova Payroll management team is comprised of payroll and HR experts with decades of experience serving employers. Many of our team members have worked together for much of that time, making Inova a connected group of professionals with deep industry expertise. We’re committed to working smart, championing fairness, earning your trust, and delivering a higher standard of service in this industry.
In 1991, he founded PayMaxx, a payroll service outsourcing company, which took off on the national scene reaching the rank of top-10 largest in the USA. PayMaxx was included in the prestigious Inc. 500 list for four consecutive years and was a five-time winner of the Nashville Area Chamber’s Future 50 Hall of Fame award. In 2005, PayMaxx combined its operations with CompuPay where Mr. Ferdowsi served as Chief Development Officer for two years. After a brief hiatus from his 30-year career in the payroll services business, he decided to reengage the industry he loves by launching Inova Payroll™.
Farsheed was recognized by the Nashville Business Journal as the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002 and is an alumnus of Leadership Nashville. Throughout the years, he has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations in Middle-Tennessee. These include the Red Cross, the Nashville Zoo, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Middle Tennessee YMCA, and the Rotary Club of Nashville.
He holds a master’s degree in structural engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University.
Ben has over two decades of experience building and leading finance and operations groups with significant scale and complexity. Prior to Inova’s launch, Ben held various key positions throughout his career within the payroll outsourcing industry. After starting in client funds balancing, the money movement process, and tax filing services, the scope of Ben’s experience expanded to include corporate finance and treasury functions, mergers and acquisitions, and risk and investment. His favorite part of business is working with people, whether at Inova or the many organizations the company serves.
Ben holds an active Tennessee certified public accountant license, the designation of chartered global management accountant, a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in information systems from Middle Tennessee State University, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Austin Peay State University. He is a member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs and American Institute of CPAs.
Charlie has served in key management positions throughout his career including nine years with a national payroll organization where he oversaw the relationships of more than 2,500 clients. His diversified skills and focus on client satisfaction is a valuable asset and will help Inova Payroll maintain the highest satisfaction for our clients.
Charlie holds a master of business administration degree from the Massey School of Business at Belmont University.
In 2003 Mary founded Payroll Strategies with the goal of servicing her CPA clients with a level of expertise and customer service that was unheard of in the payroll outsourcing industry. Payroll Strategies merged with Inova Payroll in 2017, and today Mary serves as Executive Vice President of the combined organization.
A native of Hazard, Kentucky and a graduate of Georgia State University, Mary has practiced public accounting in Atlanta and Chicago and was intimately involved in mergers and acquisitions as an associate with a Chicago venture capital firm. Mary currently serves on the board of the National Society of High School Scholars Foundation, and on the pension committees for several clients. She is a member of the Georgia Society of CPAs, AICPA, NPMA, American Payroll Association, Independent Payroll Providers Association, and SHRM.
A consummate professional, Melanie prides herself on establishing long term relationships with her clients, never taking a “hit and run” sales approach. Happy customers before, during and after the sale are important, and that’s what sets Melanie apart from the rest.
Melanie, along with Jordan, leads Inova’s HR and payroll sales efforts and is focused on providing solutions tailored to meet clients’ needs. Her experience in meeting the complex requirements of large employers makes her especially suited to bring value to major accounts. She holds a PHR certification through HRCI and a SHRM-CP certification from the Society for Human Resource Management. She is also an active member of the local chapter of SHRM where she has served on the Membership Committee.
In 2000, Myers sold the company and began his insurance career. He was most recently a senior benefits manager with Atlanta-based Brown & Brown Insurance, where he worked for 14 years.
Bringing a wealth of knowledge to the Inova Benefits program, Myers is widely recognized and respected by his peers for his honesty, integrity, and straight-forward approach as it relates to both insurance vendors and his clients.
A Memphis State University graduate with an education degree, Myers enjoys spending time with his eight grandchildren, playing golf, weight training, and traveling the world with his wife, a Delta Airlines flight attendant for more than 25 years. Myers is an accomplished singer and enjoys performing at weddings and other events.
Venza holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in computer information systems from Georgia State University. He also holds the Fundamental Payroll Certification from the American Payroll Association and is a Certified Healthcare Reform Specialist® as designated by the Health Care Reform Center & Policy Institute and Healthcare Reform Magazine.
Gary is very committed to ensuring that all Inova clients are in compliance with applicable payroll tax laws and regulations and that all tax payments are made in a timely and accurate manner. Gary is a member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.
Along with Melanie, Jordan leads Inova Payroll’s national HR and payroll sales efforts. Customer loyalty and personalized service are extremely important to Jordan’s business philosophy, and he treats every client— no matter how large or small—with the same personalized service. Like the rest of Inova’s Executive Team, Jordan has a reputation of going the extra mile for our clients.
John is responsible for all computing and communications systems at Inova. He oversees the daily operations and strategic direction of the IT department and is charged with setting the overall technology strategy, maintaining security standards and procedures, and helping define process improvement.
Barry leads the company’s internal HR strategies, including recruitment and retention, employee benefits administration, employee relations, training and organizational development and related compliance.
Barry has served on various committees and task forces in the community and formerly served on the Board of Directors for the local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in international business from Penn State University. A Pennsylvania native, Jason enjoys spending time with his wife, three kids, and three dogs.
