Blue & Co., LLC Announces 2024 Director Promotions

CARMEL, Ind. (January 4, 2024) – – Blue & Co., LLC is proud to announce the promotion of Joell Grisel, Greg Heitkamp, Debbie Herbert, and Kevin Umberger to Director effective January 1, 2024. 

Joell Grisel, CPA, is an accounting director within Aliign, an affiliate of Blue & Co., LLC, and is based in the Carmel, IN office. 

Joell specializes in providing accounting, tax, and consulting services to closely held businesses and non-profit organizations. He works closely with clients to manage the day-to-day challenges and the accounting and bookkeeping aspects that come with owning and operating a small business or non-profit organization.  Joell directs all phases of the relationship with a hands-on approach and works to maintain consistent communication with the management team in order to remain proactive in addressing their ever-changing needs and circumstances.

Joell is a graduate of Blue’s award-winning Building Leaders program and was a recipient of Blue’s David Windley and Ron Blue awards. He holds a CPA in the state of Indiana and earned his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from Ball State University. He currently serves as treasurer of the Indiana Youth Track Association.

Greg Heitkamp, CPA, CIA, is an audit director in the Columbus, OH office. His experience includes more than fifteen years of experience performing financial statement audits, internal audits, and risk assessment services for healthcare and not-for-profit clients.

Greg graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting and Finance from Bowling Green State University. 

Greg is a graduate of Blue’s award-winning Building Leaders program, and was a recipient of Blue’s Ron Blue award. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Blue Foundation and is a member of the firm’s Audit and Assurance Quality Control Committee. Greg is an active member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Ohio Society of CPAs, and the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Debbie Herbert, CPA, is a director in the Seymour, IN office with more than 20 years of experience in public accounting in the assurance practice. Prior to joining Blue & Co. in 2019, Debbie had a long career at a top-four accounting firm, where she had served clients in the manufacturing and financial institution industries and specialized in audits of Employee Benefit Plans. 

Within her Employee Benefit Plan specialization, Debbie serves 401(k), 403(b), defined benefit, health and welfare, and employee stock ownership plans for clients in multiple industries. She also leads Blue’s Employee Benefit Plan niche group and develops and leads annual Employee Benefit Plan training.

Debbie is a graduate of Blue’s award-winning Building Leaders program. She graduated from Indiana University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance and is a CPA. Debbie is a member of the Indiana CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

Kevin Umberger, CPA, is a Director with a focus on tax compliance and consulting in the Blue & Co. Carmel, IN office. He began his professional career at Blue in 2010 and has been with the firm for fourteen years. Kevin specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting services to closely held commercial businesses. The majority of Kevin’s time is spent serving clients in the manufacturing & distribution industry and he actively serves on the firm’s Manufacturing Services Group.

Kevin is a graduate of Blue’s award-winning Building Leaders program, and was a recipient of Blue’s David Windley award. Kevin earned his MBA and Bachelor of Science degrees from Ball State University. He is a member of the Indiana CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In 2022, Kevin was recognized as a nominee for Indy’s Best and Brightest Award.

About Blue and Co.
Founded in 1970, Blue & Co., LLC is an independent accounting and advisory firm with more than 500 people in 10 offices across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Blue’s public accounting expertise includes the practice areas of assurance, tax compliance and consulting, healthcare consulting, benefit plan services, valuation and litigation support, and business services. Its industry specializations include healthcare, construction, nonprofit, manufacturing & distribution, technology, financial services organizations, and agribusiness.

For more information, please visit www.blueandco.com.

About Aliign
Aliign was founded in 2011 and is an Indiana-based professional services firm dedicated to the success of small businesses. Aliign is an affiliate of Blue & Co., LLC, which allows small business clients access to the resources of a large accounting firm with the added benefit of local, one-on-one client support.

For more information, please visit www.aliign.com.