Meet Christopher Masters | Doeren Mayhew, Houston Managing Shareholder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher Masters and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
The easy answer is you never give up. You may end up with a different vision or the goal may change as you learn more about the process but giving up isn’t an option. In order to create opportunity for you, the team and the client, moving forward and growing is the only option. Complacency and reduction in drive will stall the company out and competitors will be happy to take over.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Doeren Mayhew is a leading group of CPAs and trusted advisors who go beyond traditional accounting to help mid-sized businesses grow and prosper. We do so by fulfilling our brand commitment to offer insight to deeply understand a business, its industry and overall goals, oversight to proactively advise on sound business practices and foresight to continuously offer forward vision and helping them anticipate issues, identify trends and seize opportunities.

I began my career with Doeren Mayhew as an audit associate in our corporate office located in Troy, Michigan. I worked there for four years before leaving to work for a steel construction company because I wanted to gain accounting experience on the industry side. After one year, I had the opportunity to return to Doeren Mayhew, worked my way up and was promoted to shareholder in 2008. When Doeren Mayhew announced they were expanding its offices to Houston, Texas, in 2010, my wife and I jumped at the opportunity to move down here. I stepped into the Houston Managing Shareholder role in 2016 and continue lead the Houston office today.

Looking back at my first year as the Houston Managing Shareholder, we experienced one of the worst natural disasters to date in Houston, which was Hurricane Harvey. Our local office was severely damaged, and we had to work remotely for a few months until we were able to safely return to the office. During this remote work time, I held weekly if not daily calls with the Houston staff and regularly checked in employees who were also personally devastated by the storm to ensure we offered all the resources possible for their families.

With a disaster behind us, we needed to focus on growth. Since 2016, Doeren Mayhew has grown significantly, both organically and via acquisitions. The firm successfully acquired four Houston accounting firms to build and expand on our tax, audit and consulting capabilities. This growth also provided employees with the opportunity to work with a more diverse set of clients and offer them the opportunity to expand their technical knowledge.

To support the firm’s local growth efforts, I wanted the firm to have a permanent fixture in the Houston market, which recently led to the firm’s move to a new office space. This endeavor began in March 2020, just before the pandemic began. With a space secured and work environment unknowingly changed forever, I wanted to create a space that inspired people, offered collaboration and motivated employees to want to come to the office when the time was right. I put a team together to help deliver on this idea. We have developed a beautiful and inspiring office environment that accomplished our goal of having people voluntarily return to in person collaboration.

As was the case for every leader, the pandemic shifted the work dynamic and the firm’s ability to engage, both with each other and clients. Despite feeling lost myself, I wanted to make sure that we helped to reduce the anxiety in the team. Personal interaction keeps the team together and provides mental stimulation that makes work satisfying. If the team loses a connection to the company they have no reason to stay.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston has a lot to offer visitors, and my wife and I enjoy taking new adventures throughout the city. We particularly enjoy the museum district with all the fantastic art and education. The Heights and Montrose area is where we usually take visitors out for fantastic food and fun nightlife. If the Astros are playing, we always enjoy taking guests there as well.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family has driven me throughout my life. Starting with my parents and grandparents instilling in me the drive to succeed, to my wife working with me to achieve our success today. Family is everything and I am grateful for the strong support I have received.

Website: www.doeren.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-masters-b7094113/