Megan Roberts

Change leadership for firms that can't afford to wait.

I help professional services firms navigate the hardest parts of growth — mergers, technology transformations, and the cultural shifts that come with them. Not with theory. With frameworks built from doing it across 14+ acquisitions, multiple industries, and one firm that went from 60 people to 90 on my watch.

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Leading in Rooms I Wasn't Built For

I'm the Chief Operating Officer at HD Growth Partners, a PE-backed CPA and business advisory firm where I've helped grow the team from 60 to 90 people and revenue from $7M to $15M — through acquisitions, a firm-wide technology overhaul, and the kind of culture work that doesn't show up on a balance sheet but determines whether everything else works.

My background is unusual for this industry. I have a BFA in Playwriting from Ohio University and an MS in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Change Management from Norwich University. Before HD, I spent nine years as Operations Director at a wealth management firm, where I managed operations across six locations and represented the sole female voice in firm management throughout my tenure. I was the first person to cross from a client-facing role into firm leadership — a pathway that didn't exist until I walked it.

That combination — the storytelling instinct, the systems thinking, and a career spent being the outsider who has to earn the room — turns out to be exactly what professional services firms in transition need. I don't come from the technical side of any industry I've led. I come from the change side.

At HDGP, I led the Karbon implementation that won the 2023 Karbon Excellence Award for Breakthrough Firm of the Year and saved 5,800+ logged working hours annually. Our firm has since been recognized for Culture & Balance, named a Best Firm for Women multiple consecutive years, and earned a client NPS of +61.

I speak and write about what I've learned — not the polished version, the real one.

Ohio Society of CPAs Power of Change Honoree 2026 ATHENA Award Nominee Karbon Excellence Award Winner BDO Evolve Speaker - 2025, 2026

Current Sessions

Practical frameworks from someone who's lived through the changes she teaches. These sessions are built for leaders in professional services who are tired of theory and ready for tools they can use Monday morning.
BDO Evolve 2026 · Las Vegas

The Eye-Roll Antidote: Leading Change When Your Team Has Heard It All Before

Your team has initiative fatigue. Every new program gets the eye-roll treatment, and even good ideas die from cultural antibodies before they have a chance to take root. This session delivers change management strategies built for skeptical professionals in firms that can't slow down — how to build genuine buy-in instead of compliance, using bounded sprints and the psychology of how your people already work.

BDO Evolve 2026 · Las Vegas

The M&A Survivor's Guide: What They Don't Tell You About Life After the Deal

Co-presented with Tim Petrey, CEO

Everyone talks about finding the right target. Nobody talks about the 18 months after signing when everything you thought you knew gets turned upside down. A brutally honest look at post-merger integration from two people who've lived through it — the cultural collisions, the honest conversations leaders skip, and the frameworks that actually work when two firms become one.

Session Toolkits

Every framework and tool referenced in my BDO Evolve sessions, ready to use. Enter your email and the toolkit is yours — I'll also let you know when new resources are available.
The Eye-Roll Antidote Toolkit
Five tools for leading change with skeptical teams · 19 pages
Everything referenced in the session, in one document: the Cynicism Assessment Framework, the Four-Question Change Communication Template, a Bounded Sprint Planning Worksheet, the Resistance Archetype Quick Reference, and Trust-Building Strategies for burned-out teams who've heard it all before.
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The M&A Survivor's Guide Toolkit
Four tools for post-merger integration that actually works · 21 pages
The tools Tim and I actually use — not theoretical frameworks, but practical documents born from 14+ acquisitions. Includes a Post-Merger Integration Checklist, a Culture Assessment Framework, a Shared Language Glossary Template, and a Conflict Resolution Quick Reference.
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Forthcoming Book
Abrupt but Thoughtful
A book about leading change in organizations that can't slow down — written by someone who's done it from the inside, not the consulting floor. Sign up below and I'll let you know the moment it's available.
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No spam. Just a single email when the book is ready.

Let's Talk

Whether you're navigating a merger, rolling out new technology, or trying to get your team through another round of change without losing them — I'd love to hear from you.