Join a session with Jeri Harman, the Founder and Chairman of Avante Capital Partners, to gain a deep understanding of Private Equity boards and their operations. Allow her to lead you through a wealth of knowledge and viewpoints. As a seasoned speaker, she will share her experience in promoting diversity within the private equity industry.

Avante is a majority women and minority-owned organization focused on increasing diversity in the private equity industry.  WON, Women’s Operating Network, is a 175+ private equity universe of candidates and sponsors, and Jeri will share information on how it might be a great next step for you.

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Meet Jeri Harman, Founder & Chairman, Avante Capital Partners

Jeri Harman is a seasoned executive, investor and entrepreneur who has built teams and markets for major institutional investors, and founded and run a highly successful private asset management business.  Over the course of her career she has held (as an active board member or observer) Board roles in over 20 private middle market companies across the U.S. in a variety of industries, including healthcare, business services, consumer products, and industrial.  She currently serves as Chairman of NN, Inc. (Nasdaq NNBR) and as a director of Engineered Performance Technologies.

As part of her investment and board roles, Ms. Harman has consistently provided advice on strategy, growth, management and organizational development, acquisitions and financial matters.  Moreover, she is an expert in finance, M&A and capital markets issues and is a frequent speaker on these topics at conferences and symposiums across the country.

Ms. Harman is Founder & Chairman, and former CEO, of Avante Capital Partners.  With over $900 million of capital under management, Avante makes debt and equity investments to finance buyouts, minority recaps, acquisitions and growth. In 2020, Avante was named One of the Most Innovative Firms in Commercial Finance by ABF Journal. In 2018, Avante was named Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) of the Year by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  The firm was also named Women-Owned Firm of the Year 2018 by Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN).

Ms. Harman has over 40 years of financing and M&A experience, involving well over $2 billion in aggregate investments.  Prior to founding Avante in 2009, Ms. Harman started-up and led the Los Angeles offices for two multi-billion dollar publicly traded private equity and mezzanine investment funds – American Capital and more recently Allied Capital, where she was also a member of Allied’s Investment Committee.  Earlier career highlights include various senior level positions with Prudential Capital.  She has served as a Steering Committee Member of PEWIN since its inception and was recently asked to join the PEWIN board.

She has received numerous recognitions over the years including being named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA 500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles in 2018 through 2023. In 2021 and 2022, the LA Times named her a Banking and Finance Visionary. In January 2016, Ms. Harman was on the cover of Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and named one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, a recognition she again received in 2017 through 2022. In March 2017, she was recognized as one of 15 Trailblazers by Buyouts Magazine. In 2013, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Los Angeles inducted Ms. Harman into their Hall of Fame.

She received a MBA from the University of California – Berkeley, and a Bachelors’ degree in Business from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (summa cum laude).

Current Corporate Boards:

• Engineered Performance Technologies
• NN, Inc. (NNBR, NASDAQ), Chairman

Current Non Profit Boards:

• Small Business Investor Alliance
• Ex-officio Member, Past Chair
• Jewish Graduate Student Initiative (JGSI)
• Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN)

About Women on Boards

We hope you will join us for this session of our Women On Boards series, which is part of our  Premium Membership  Our Women on Boards series, brought to you by the Forté Alumni Leadership Council, demystifies the board process. Candid discussions and Q&A with successful business leaders on current trends in board leadership provide insights into what it takes to secure your seat at the table. 

We’ve also partnered with FranklinCovey, the world’s most trusted leadership company, to bring you FranklinCovey workshops and the exclusive FranklinCovey Access Pass, which includes 360° assessments, a weekly professional development newsletter, and all of FranklinCovey online course offerings as part of your annual Forté Premium Membership.