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2023 AVANT Company Kickoff

Last month, we brought the ENTIRE AVANT team together for the first time since before the pandemic and it was an unforgettable day that has left our entire company invigorated, excited, and ready to WIN in 2023!

The theme of our kickoff was Better Together and it couldn’t be truer. Together, we reminisced on the journey AVANT has gone on, from a 10-person organization to more than 200 employees. We dove deep into what it means to be a teammate and work together to build on our individual strengths. We also recognized some of our top performing employees who never stop hustling to make AVANT the best in the industry! Join us in congratulating our Hustle Award and Value Award winners, as well as our Employee of the Year!

2023 Hustle Awards

The Hustle Awards recognize those who are leading by example, promoting our culture, and positively impacting others with their dedication and drive. Seventy-eight AVANT team members were nominated for a Hustle Award, and nominations spanned every single department! You can check out the full list of winners at the bottom of this post.

2023 AVANT Values Awards

Our values are a display of who we are as a company: passionate, intelligent, competitive, committed, and visionary. The individuals who were honored for our AVANT Values Award winners clearly embody these characteristics, and we couldn’t be prouder or luckier to work with them each and every day! Congratulations to Josh Swenson, Chevon Martin, Elise Zhang, Monica Chudik, and Liz Rose on their well-deserved recognition. 

Newcomer of the Year

For the first time, AVANT recognized our top Newcomer of the year, honoring an employee who is new to the team but who has made an instant impact on our organization and those who she works with each day. Christi Clark came to AVANT from our PlanetOne acquisition, and she brought with her an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience that allowed her to hit the ground running as our Director of Post Operations. She is a massive value add to our team and to the next-level support we provide our partners.

Employee of the Year

To work with Brooke Kennedy, our Employee of the Year, just once is to understand why she deserves to receive this award! Brooke lends support, positivity, and expertise in every project she leads or joins. She joined AVANT from a different industry completely, but she never let that hinder her in using her skillset to create and manage an in-depth training certification program that hundreds of our Trusted Advisors have used to grow their knowledge and guide their clients. Brooke is an employee anybody would be lucky to work with, and we couldn’t be prouder to have her on our team!

As the year continues, we look back on our 2023 Company Kickoff as the fantastic start to yet another great year for AVANT! We cannot wait to begin executing on the strategies, tools, and resources we have planned for our Trusted Advisors. Connect with your dedicated support team to learn more about our upcoming product launches and newest resources!

Full List of 2023 Hustle Award Winners

Engineering
Brooke Kennedy
Dane Menke
Dave Bjerke
Dave Watson
Joe Colletti
Neil Farnsworth
Niko O’Hara
Sarah Arnstein
Stephen Semmelroth

Finance
Alex Bankov
Becky Lankheet
Charmaine Jackson
James Malinowski
Johnathan Anaya
Lisa Dorr
Monica Chudik
Sam Kiesling
Tobey Harbour

People Team/Executive Support
Bryanne Vander Pluym
Liz Rose

Marketing
Amy Ridder
Elise Zhang
Ellie Bennett
Jace Inman
Jesse Garing
Joan Courtney
Joanne Watson

Operations/Pricing/Partner Support
Allison Hammond
Alyssa Hamlett
Chad Dickerson
Chevon Martin
Christi Clark
Colton Fellows
Dale Gatlin
Emely Irula
Gabrielle Fountain
Hayes Pontiff
Jennifer O’Boyle
John Carlson
Karen Carver
Lauren Yates
Margaret Knutson
Mike Dougherty
Niki Keen
Pete Mandich
Peter Callowhill
Ralph Gonzalez
Renee Schoedler
Sherry Arledge

Sales
Brittany Ruth
Doug McWilliams
Eddie Acosta
Garrett Foster
Gary Mabe
Jen Gallego
Jessie Denney
John Lopez
Max Schuman
Nikki Togami
Sam Tropeck
Vanessa Bloom

Technology
Akhil Modi
Brandon Ciancio
Cassidy Blank
Chase Mahony
Derek Tupper
Emilio Alvarado
Jennifer Wolfel
Kamlesh Kharade
Lijo John
Logan Clark
Mikel Rosenthal
Nitin Kharade
Priya Ramanathan
Riley Safford
Tony Ikpi