Ian M. Berkowitz has dedicated his career to one mission: helping people in business succeed. As the founder of Business Counselor, Berkowitz & Associates, P.A., Ian combines the depth of a seasoned corporate attorney with the instincts of a true business advisor, serving entrepreneurs, small and mid-sized businesses, and foreign companies seeking to operate in the United States.
Ian’s legal career began in public service. He served as an Attorney/Advisor to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Hearings & Appeals in Washington, D.C., where he assisted administrative judges in reviewing appeals involving federal procurement, business financing programs, government assistance programs, and minority business programs. He later organized and supervised the SBA’s 250-employee legal department during Hurricane Andrew, one of the most catastrophic disasters in U.S. history, a defining experience that shaped his ability to lead under pressure and deliver for clients when it matters most.
Ian went on to join The Heideman Law Group, P.C. in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on business and corporate law, business development, financing, joint ventures, and federal assistance programs. He also served as a clinical intern for the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Trustee.
Today, Ian’s practice spans business acquisitions and sales, complex corporate transactions, real estate, SBA financing, government contracting, capitalization strategies, international business development and estate planning. He has advised clients across the United States, Israel, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean, and throughout Latin America, and regularly assists financial institutions in identifying investment and acquisition candidates.
Ian is a member of the Florida Bar, the United States Supreme Court Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin, a Juris Doctorate from Nova University, and a Master’s in Government from Johns Hopkins University.
He is based in South Florida, where he works side by side with his wife and partner, Cici Castelli, building something far greater than a law firm.
Cici Castelli brings more than two decades of executive leadership to Business Counselor, with a career built at the highest levels of corporate America. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, she arrived in the United States with nothing but ambition and built a professional life that took her around the world. When the dot-com era began taking shape she recognized the opportunity, left Boston, moved to California, and stepped into the technology industry, beginning what would become a 20 plus year career at the highest levels of corporate America.
In 2010 she joined Royal Caribbean International. Over the next 16 years Cici held leadership roles across technology, operations, and product development, where she ultimately served as Director of the Program Management Office, overseeing the project management of a billion-dollar destination development program. She has led cross-functional teams across Miami, Boston, California, Madrid, and Shanghai, and became known for one thing above everything else: delivering results when others couldn’t.
As COO of Business Counselor, Cici oversees firm operations, client experience, and business development bringing the same strategic precision and high-performance mindset to our clients that she honed in some of the most complex corporate environments in the world. She is also a Certified High-Performance Coach and the author of “Mindset Unlocked,” a testament to her belief that extraordinary results are not a matter of luck, they are a matter of system and execution.
Cici holds a Master of Science in Project Management from Boston University and a Bachelor’s in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. She is based in Miami and is proudly building her next chapter alongside her husband and partner, Ian M. Berkowitz.