Providing the best accounting solutions for our clients, creating an exemplary work environment, and taking care of our employees is of the utmost importance at Pro Back Office (PBO). In this month’s newsletter, we are proud to highlight Drake Lyons as PBO’s September Employee Spotlight. Drake has been with Pro Back Office for 2 and ½ years as a staff accountant, and recently attended our company outing to the Del Mar races earlier this month. A fun and interactive experience for the Pro Back Office team, to say the least!
Drake is originally from the Bay Area, Fremont, California. He moved to Mission Viejo during middle school and finished his high school years there. He then met his girlfriend, Amber, while studying accounting in college at CSU San Marcos. Now, as a staff accountant for PBO, Drake takes on a multitude of responsibilities such as bank reconciliations, cash flow forecasts, production of month-end financials, accounts payable/receivable, COGs allocations and processing payroll.
Colleague, friend, and now co-worker, Gabrielle Romero, first informed Drake about Pro Back Office. After learning about PBO and its culture, Drake decided to apply for a position once he graduated college. What excites him most about working for PBO is the opportunity to produce information that the executive team uses to make decisions for the business. Drake values doing his part to help the business grow. He believes Pro Back Office is a distinct place to work because of the diversity of all the remarkable people in the PBO family. This includes clients and fellow employees that bring unique and valuable experiences from various industries. Drake states, “We get to learn a lot from one another’s experiences and enhance our skill sets through teamwork and bonding.”
When asked about his proudest moment while working at PBO, Drake promptly responded:
“One of my proudest moments was meeting with one of my clients to go over their month-end financials and to also go over their cash forecast. They were extremely happy with how everything was going and how the future was going to look, so much that they even offered to hire me full-time. However, I love PBO and enjoy my time here, so I had to respectfully decline. But just knowing that I’m able to represent PBO and have that effect on my client was a very rewarding feeling. I felt like a real asset to the team!”
Drake is a big football fan; he loves the 49ers. However, he also enjoys soccer, baseball, and going on adventures. Did we mention not only has he played the guitar for ten years but is completely self-taught? When asked how long it took him to master the musical instrument without any guidance, he wittily stated, “Ten years.”
Playing the guitar is a way for Drake to challenge himself. He enjoys the necessary work and frustration that goes into learning a new song and finds it rewarding. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Pearl Jam, and the Foo Fighters are amongst his favorite bands and jams to play on the guitar. His absolute favorite song to rock out to is “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica, of course.
Drake and his girlfriend Amber are adventure enthusiasts. After their college graduation, they departed for a backpacking trip through Europe. They visited Paris, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, staying in hostels along the way. What an experience! His current goals involve planning another overseas adventure. This time to attend Oktoberfest back in Germany. His next steps include applying to the MBA accounting program at Cal State San Marcos.
Thank you, Drake!