April 2021 Member Spotlight - Mark Winkler

 
Title:  Managing Director, Tax
 
Company:  FCCI Insurance Group
 
Length of FEI membership: 8 years
 
FEI Chapter involvement: Have served on the Board for three years. Currently the VP of Membership.  
 
Work email: [email protected]
 
Tell us a little bit about your career, educational/professional background and how you got to where you are today. 
 
I studied accounting at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where I earned my undergraduate and master’s degree in accounting. After graduation, I worked in public accounting in Cleveland for a few years, and then in Tampa. And after a few years in the Sunshine State, I transferred my CPA license to Florida and permanently said goodbye to the frigid north.
 
After public accounting, I was fortunate to have had an interesting mix of industry experience over my 30-plus-year career. Over the last half of my career, I’ve focused on insurance company taxation. Prior to that, I also worked for a large publicly traded company with diverse industries that included real estate, manufacturing and mining operations. One unique part of my job responsibilities was touring plants that included
steel and aluminum foundries, coke furnaces, and a deep shaft coal mine that was 2,100 feet underground.
 
How did you discover your passion for finance?
 
I remember leaving class after my first accounting midterm exam and overhearing a group of students saying the exam was impossible, and the material made no sense at all. I laughed to myself and thought the exam was easy and the material covered made perfect sense. It was around that time I realized I must have an ability for accounting, so I quickly chose accounting for my major.
 
I then got interested in tax while working toward my masters. I like how it is constantly changing, so I’m always learning. And there’s no point in memorizing code sections, because it’s probably going to change. The key is knowing how and where to find the answers.
 
What is one piece of information you wish someone had told you when you first started your finance career?
 
Find something that you like to do that few people would want to choose for a career. Of course, make sure there are jobs to be found that pay well. Tax fits those criteria very well. Most people can’t imagine a worse way to spend a day than working on taxes.
 
What is your best tip for how to stand out in the finance field?
 
Be curious and never stop learning, and always look for ways to improve efficiencies and reduce the likelihood of errors – I take these very seriously.
 
Also, let your supervisor know that you want to learn about everything that’s done in your department. Try to learn how to do everything required for your next promotion long before it’s even a possibility to get it. Then, every time you find a chance, offer to help out by doing those tasks.
 
In this way, when the position suddenly becomes available, it will be a no-brainer for your company to promote you because you’ve already been doing the job. For most of my career, positions in finance have often opened up when you least expect it. So, you have to be ready.
 
What is your best networking tip?
 
If you’re not comfortable in some area of networking, find a way to force yourself to do it. FEI is a perfect place to start. The in-person networking events really helped pulled me out of my shell. At many meetings, I could only find courage to talk with board members, who always seemed available and easy to talk to. After that, I used my connections with board members to get introduced to other members I hadn’t met. 
 
Since I was already friends with many of the board members, the natural next step was to take a board position. My role on the board progressed to VP of Membership where I am now in charge of making sure members feel included in the chapter and are encouraged get involved and attend in-person events.
 
With FEI, there is always an opportunity to get more involved and serve your chapter. We are always looking for volunteers for the Membership Committee to call other members and encourage them to attend in-person networking events. As you can gather, I’m a big fan of the in-person events. This is what I’ve missed most during the pandemic.
 
I’m really excited that we’ve started having these events again. As soon as you feel safe to do so, I strongly encourage members and prospective members to attend one of our events.
 
What is the most rewarding part of being on the FEI Tampa Bay board?
 
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the members and helping to improve the FEI Tampa Bay chapter. We have some really interesting and knowledgeable members.