Derek Daniel
Market Street Partners, PLLC, a Chattanooga-based tax, audit, and consulting firm, announced Tuesday the promotions of Derek Daniel and James Purgason to partner roles. Each of the two new partners served as principals for the firm prior to their recent promotions.
Derek Daniel joined the team at MSP in 2020 after spending more than 17 years of his career at a regional accounting firm. Mr. Daniel serves industries including manufacturing, construction, logistics and transportation, hospitality, and government. He primarily works with middle-market, closely held businesses ranging from $20 million to over a billion dollars in revenues.
“I’m excited about being a part of a firm that takes pride in serving Chattanooga and its businesses,” Mr. Daniel said. “Our firm is stacked with top-quality future leaders that are eager to develop their client service and accounting skills. Our future growth is directly dependent on our ability to create new leaders, and our talent is providing us confidence and excitement about the future of Market Street Partners.”
Mr. Daniel is an active member of the Chattanooga community and spends a great deal of time cheering for and photographing the Chattanooga Mocs athletic teams.
Mr. Purgason also joined MSP in 2020, bringing with him over 15 years of accounting experience, including stints at two top-100 firms, as well as six years in the Army National Guard. His practice primarily revolves around mergers and acquisitions, private equity, real estate, and high-net-worth individuals.
“Becoming a partner has been a lifelong career goal and serves as validation that my partners are willing to entrust me with furthering the firm, brand, and culture, as well as continuing to grow technical competencies to serve our clients with the skills, knowledge, and experience they deserve,” Mr. Purgason said. “I’m grateful to my fellow partners for believing in me and am excited about continuing to establish ourselves as the first responder for our clients’ most challenging financial needs.”
Mr. Purgason is also deeply enmeshed in the Chattanooga community, spending time in a variety of volunteer roles, including his current positions serving on the Erlanger Health System Foundation board of directors and the finance committee of the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, as well as volunteering as a guest instructor for the Veterans Entrepreneurship Program at UTC.
Tuesday’s announcement follows a host of consequential moments for Market Street Partners in 2023, including their impending move to a larger office space later this summer, as well as being named one of “The Americas Fastest Growing Companies” by the Financial Times and being honored with a Gold Stevie Award in the “Company of the Year” category.
“I’m proud of every newsworthy moment we experience as a firm, but announcements like these that spotlight the incredible contributions of individuals like James and Derek are particularly meaningful,” said Kyle Bryant, co-founding partner at Market Street Partners. “These two embody the culture we’ve worked hard to build and preserve at MSP and they understand our vision for the future. I look forward to seeing how their efforts continue to support our team and our customers in an even more impactful way.”
James Purgason