# Michael Burdick

> Michael Burdick is the Chicago-based founder of Paro, an AI-assisted marketplace for fractional finance and accounting work. After studying economics and psychology at Duke, earning an MBA at Northwestern Kellogg, working at Deloitte and freelancing during business school, he founded Paro in 2015 to give finance professionals greater control over their projects and careers. Paro's own leadership page lists him as chief strategy officer; a 2025 Forbes profile also described him as CFO.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Paro; also serving in a CFO capacity in 2025 coverage
- **Organizations:** Paro, Deloitte, Landmines, Roniin
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Economics; also studied psychology, Duke University, MBA, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
- **Known for:** Founded Paro in 2015 and developed it into a specialized marketplace for fractional finance and accounting expertise., Helped Paro raise $67 million in announced funding through its June 2023 Series C., Built an early vetting system that accepted fewer than 2% of applicants to Paro's expert network.

## Career timeline

- **Childhood** — Moved through eight or nine U.S. states and spent four years in Switzerland as his father advanced through a 30-year career at Caterpillar.
- **Before 2013** — Worked as a consultant at Deloitte, gaining finance and accounting experience while deciding that a rigid firm structure did not suit his preferred career path.
- **2013-2015** — Earned an MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and freelanced on the side, encountering the marketplace friction that informed Paro.
- **2015** — Founded Paro in Chicago as a specialized marketplace connecting businesses with vetted freelance finance and accounting professionals.
- **2018** — Publicly described Paro's early network as accepting fewer than 2% of finance-professional applicants and explained the company's human-centered approach to freelance work.
- **2020** — Promoted Anita Samojednik to CEO and continued as chief strategy officer, focusing on Paro's strategic vision.
- **2021** — Appeared publicly as founder, chief strategy officer and interim CFO, discussing freedom of choice in the freelance economy.
- **2023** — Paro raised a $25 million Series C led by Top Tier Capital Partners, bringing announced funding at the time to $67 million.
- **2024** — Outlined how Paro uses AI for candidate screening, matching, price discovery and team formation while preserving human final decisions.
- **2025** — Discussed his upbringing, hiring philosophy, view of the modern CFO and approach to frequent small failures in a Forbes profile.

## Achievements

- Founded Paro in 2015 and developed it into a specialized marketplace for fractional finance and accounting expertise.
- Helped Paro raise $67 million in announced funding through its June 2023 Series C.
- Built an early vetting system that accepted fewer than 2% of applicants to Paro's expert network.
- Oversaw the transition of the CEO role to Anita Samojednik while remaining responsible for strategic direction.
- Published commentary on accounting, finance staffing, company values and the freelance economy in outlets including Forbes, Entrepreneur and HuffPost.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — A Forbes profile described Burdick as founder and CFO and focused on his childhood moves, preference for hiring rising stars, and view that the modern CFO is a commercial growth partner to the CEO.
- **2025-05** — Appeared on Secrets of Rock Star CFOs to discuss Paro's origins, AI adoption, hiring former athletes and the changing CFO role.
- **2024-02** — Explained Paro's AI-supported vetting, matching, price discovery and team-building plans in an interview with the Center for Data Innovation.
- **2023-06** — Paro announced a $25 million Series C led by Top Tier Capital Partners and said it had tripled revenue since the previous funding round.

## Links

- Website: https://paro.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldburdick
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MBurdick12

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-burdick
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27