Maria Castañón Moats
Center:
Neel Corporate Governance Center
Biography
Maria is PwC’s US Assurance Leader. In this capacity, she serves as a member of the U.S. Leadership Team and the Global Assurance Executive Leadership Team. Maria’s leadership of the national Assurance practice encompasses business strategy, quality and regulatory relations, innovation, risk management, portfolio strategy and business development, and human capital.
Professional Experience: 27 Years
Maria is a results-oriented leader who has built her career by delivering great client service, primarily to retail, consumer and industrial product clients.
Maria’s professional experience spans accounting, financial reporting, investigations and M&A. She has led audits of both public and private entities, initial and secondary public offerings, and private placement and public debt registrations.
Prior to her current role, Maria served as the Regional Assurance Leader for PwC’s East Region, overseeing operations for offices from Boston to Florida. From 2011 to early 2016, Maria was PwC’s Chief Diversity Officer where she led the strategy and execution of the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts. During that time she led the firm to significant achievements, including the #1 ranking on DiversityInc’s list of “50 Best Companies to Work For.”
Maria’s significant technical accounting and auditing experience led to her appointment in 2009 as a consulting partner in PwC’s National Office, advising partners and engagement teams in assessing risk, including client and engagement acceptance, error evaluation and resolution, going concern and investigations.
Prior to joining PwC, Maria was an internal auditor for a large financial institution where she acquired significant experience with the evaluation of internal controls.
Maria is fluent in Spanish and has traveled extensively on client assignments throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.
In 2017, Maria was named number two on Fortune’s inaugural 50 Most Powerful Latina’s List.
Representative Client List
Maria has served as the lead engagement partner on a variety of clients, including:
- Fortune 100 retailer of apparel and home fashions
- Fortune 500 consumer electronics retailer
- Grocery retailer that recently emerged from Chapter 11
- Global manufacturer of security products and slides
- Leading domestic manufacturer of steel fabricated wire products
- Global leader in airline catering and in-flight service related processes
- She has also served as the Quality Review Partner on a number of leading retail and industrial products corporations.
Certifications and Not-ForProfit Associations include:
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Texas at El Paso
- Certified Public Accountant licensed in: Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York
- Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Member, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting
- Served as the Chair & Board Member of the March of Dimes in Northern New Jersey 2012- 2013
Maria is PwC’s US Assurance Leader. In this capacity, she serves as a member of the U.S. Leadership Team and the Global Assurance Executive Leadership Team.
