Jeri J. Harman

Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon

Avante Capital Partners

Jeri J. Harman
Ms. Harman is Founder & Chairman, and former CEO, of Avante Capital Partners. Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Harman’s responsibilities include fund strategy and management, Investment Committee, portfolio management, investor relations, and brand management.

Ms. Harman has over 30 years of financing and M&A experience, involving well over $1 billion in aggregate investments. Prior to founding Avante, 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.

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 sits on the board of NN Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer of highly engineered components and Engineered Performance Technologies, a private manufacturer of automotive performance aftermarket products and solutions.

She has received numerous recognitions over the years including most recently being named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2018 and 2019 LA 500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles. 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, 2018, 2019 and 2020. In March 2017, she was recognized as one of 15 Trailblazers by Buyouts Magazine. In 2015, she was named one of the Most Influential Private Equity Investors in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal (LABJ). In 2013, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Los Angeles inducted Ms. Harman into their Hall of Fame.

Ms. Harman is a Co-Chair of the Association for Corporate Growth – Los Angeles Business Conference, an Ex-officio Board Member and Past Chair of the Small Business Investor Alliance, Executive Advisory Board member of JGSI (Jewish Graduate Student Initiative), and a Steering Committee Member of PEWIN. In 2018, Avante Capital Partners 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).

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).


Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon
Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon is the Managing Partner of Avante Capital Partners. Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Simon is responsible for identifying, executing and managing investment opportunities. She currently manages the fund’s portfolio and new deal activities. Ms. Simon joined Avante in 2009 as a founding member of the firm.

Ms. Simon has over two decades of middle-market debt and equity investment experience. Prior to Avante, she held positions at Palladium Equity Partners, Reliant Equity Partners and various investment banks including Salomon Brothers. Ms. Simon serves on the board of several companies including Quest, LLC.

Ivelisse is a longtime advocate and champion for women, minorities and the underserved and underrepresented. She holds leadership roles in several local and national non-profit organizations, including The Robert Toigo Foundation, The Hispanic Scholarship Foundation and Westside Family Health Center in Los Angeles. In 2019, the Robert Toigo Foundation honored Ivelisse with their prestigious Leadership Award recognizing her leadership in the advancement of diversity and inclusion in the financial industry. Ivelisse was also named to Mergers & Acquisitions magazine’s 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. In addition, Ivelisse and her two sisters launched a philanthropic organization called We Will to support and empower underserved women and minorities in the areas of healthcare, education and financial literacy.

Ms. Simon graduated with honors from the University of Illinois and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives with her husband and four children in Los Angeles and enjoys taking adventurous trips with her family to far-flung places.