Movers & Shakers: Marna Ricker, Ernst & Young

A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:

Title: Central region tax managing partner

Age: 45

Marna Ricker is leading 1,300 tax professionals with her promotion as the new Minneapolis-based central region tax managing partner for Ernst & Young.

Ricker, previously the company's Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska market segment leader, has worked in Ernst & Young's Minneapolis office for 13 years.

In her new role, Ricker said her focus is on customer service as well as attracting, retaining and developing employees to serve clients in nine tax service lines, including business tax services, state and local tax services and international tax services.

"Our job is to help our clients solve their business issues and capitalize on business opportunities," said Ricker, who also is responsible for driving growth and managing resources. "That's my No. 1 priority."

An Ohio native, Ricker has a law degree from the University of Cincinnati and is a licensed attorney as well as a certified public accountant.

Q: What do you like about your new role?

A: In my last role I was 100 percent focused on the Minneapolis market and focused on all service lines (advisory, tax, transaction, assurance). I've gone from the Minneapolis office of roughly 500 to work with 1,300 people just within the tax practice, and I'm able to have that type of breadth and depth of experience with our clients across those 17 cities.

Q: What distinguishes Ernst & Young in its approach to serving clients?

A: [We're] like one integrated team coming to a client to help them improve their performance on a particular issue. Coming to those business issues with a point of view that is broader than just taxes is something we really pride ourselves on.

A: I love the numbers and you just don't get as much into the numbers [in law]. I have a love of understanding the business impact of things and how the numbers inform you about what you might want to do, what you might want to be thinking about to run the business better.