About Us
Aventi Group is a consulting firm that specializes in accelerating revenue for technology companies. Formed via the merger of BusinessLaunch and Pacifica Group, Aventi Group executives and consultants act as an extension to our clients’ management teams. Aventi Group offers a range of strategic planning, business development and marketing services. Since 2001 we have successfully helped our clients:
- Launch new products/services
- Drive more sales through the channel
- Identify and capture new market opportunities
- Expand revenue with aligned sales/marketing efforts
Aventi consultants have deep expertise in security, storage, networking, compliance, business intelligence, and wireless/mobility. A partial list of clients includes Adobe, Cisco, Computer Associates, Covad, Forsythe, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, NetApp, SAP, Seagate Sony, Sybase, Symantec, as well as many early stage technology firms.
Jeff Thompson is Managing Partner of Aventi Group, a marketing leadership and strategy consulting firm. He has over 20 years experience in marketing strategy, marketing operations and strategic business development. Prior to consulting, Jeff held senior marketing and business development roles at both large and small firms including Sprint, Oracle and NorthPoint Communications. His career also includes a extensive background at IBM in several marketing and sales roles of increasing responsibility. He has successfully launched multiple SMB and enterprise product and service offerings and has led large channel and partner organizations as part of several of his roles. Jeff’s consulting career began in 2004 and during the past 4 years, he has led BusinessLaunch Consulting Services and now Aventi Group in delivering interim marketing leadership to many clients in the high tech industry. Jeff is also the President – Elect for the Northern California Chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC), a national consulting professional organization. Jeff holds a BS in physics from the University of California, Davis and a MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA.
Sridhar Ramanathan, General Partner, is a 20-year veteran of enterprise technology companies. As the Marketing executive for Hewlett-Packard's IT Outsourcing business, a $1.1B unit, he was responsible for worldwide marketing. He also held profit & loss responsibility for electronic messaging outsourcing and e-services business units. Sridhar's efforts led to HP being the #1 ERP Outsourcer and to HP's growth in the data warehouse market now a $1B revenue stream. Sridhar holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, and is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Golden Gate University. He is also a member of the CMO Council.
Bill Reed, General Partner, has over twenty years experience as a business development, sales and marketing executive with successful technology firms. Bill was co-founder and VP Business Development for Abrevity, an enterprise data management software company. Prior to Abrevity, Bill served as VP Sales and Marketing for Acirro, a global distributed file system company acquired by Intel; co-founder of 2netFX, acquired by Helius Corporation; and as channel manager for Micropolis, a leading storage technology firm. He has also provided executive consulting for clients such as SAP, Covad, Forsythe, Sony, Network Appliance, Computer Associates, ADIC, Adapted and numerous startups. An author of three books, Bill is a dynamic presenter and an expert in legal discovery, compliance and security data management. Bill holds a BBA Marketing (MBA Candidate) from California Coast University.
Reena Kapoor brings over 18 years of new products & brand management experience from Fortune 100 CPG companies and venture-backed Silicon Valley companies. Her deep consumer brand and general management experience stem from tenures at Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods where she managed a $100 million Knudsen brand business. Reena has also led product management and marketing functions at start-up enterprise software and online consumer marketing services companies. Reena has a B.Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India and an MS degree from Northwestern University. Reena had only one marathon race in her which she completed at the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco in 2007 and became a top fundraiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma society!
Anne Merkert brings over 16 years experience in product marketing and channel strategy at technology and telecom companies. As vice president of product marketing at Covad Communications, Anne was instrumental in launching the company’s new voice over IP service and growing revenues by 500%. She also negotiated contracts and managed channel marketing relationships for Covad’s top partners including AT&T, Verizon, EarthLink, Cisco, Intelisys and other master agencies. Anne has managed multiple cross-functional product launches, corporate and product messaging development, market research and channel program development for companies such as SAP, Inktomi, NorthPoint Communications, AT&T, and Credit Agricole. She holds a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MBA in Marketing from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Al Morgan has 20 years of enterprise computer marketing experience, including 14 years with Hewlett-Packard Company. While at HP, Al managed alliances and alliance-based programs with companies such as Cognos, Oracle, Netscape and Sprint, as well as services alliances with integrators such as Ernst & Young (now Capgemini). Al supports companies such as ChevronTexaco, Seagate, and Hewlett-Packard with internal and external partnering, strategic planning, and change management projects. To improve knowledge transfer and skill building, Al has developed tools and methodologies for alliance planning, assessment, and governance. Al holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Davis.
Sam Young has helped drive companies to market success for over 20 years, leading or supporting the introduction of literally hundreds of products for dozens of successful technology firms. His expertise includes planning, analysis, research, marketing operations, outbound marketing, and both online and traditional promotion. Prior to Aventi Group, Sam served as an independent marketing consultant, working with several firms to author business plans, evaluate marketing efforts and plan strategies. Previously, he co-founded and served as VP of marketing for WebTelecom, a provider of online collaborative communications services. Before WebTelecom, Sam was EVP of a San Francisco advertising and public relations agency. He holds a BA in applied mathematics from Berkeley and a JD from UC Hastings College of Law.