Specialist depth when the platform-led decision needs it.

Niko O'Hara leads engineering and vendor strategy with a rare mix of technical depth and operating perspective. As AVANT's first engineer, he helped shape the bench from the ground up and built his reputation around cloud, SASE, backup and disaster recovery, and security-led solution design. His background in Electrical Engineering, including recognition as an Outstanding Senior at Northwestern, reinforces the caliber behind the way he breaks down complex modernization decisions.

Chip Hoisington brings more than 25 years of technology, engineering, and sales experience to connectivity and colocation strategy. His work spans global WAN, colo, mobility, and telecom expense management, giving clients a senior operator who understands both technical fit and commercial reality. He also carries certifications in security, data science, and IT support, which adds range to infrastructure and sourcing conversations.

Stephen Semmelroth brings an unusually high-bar cyber leadership profile to the bench. He is a vCISO, CISSP, West Point graduate, and former Army Ranger who led both cyber teams and infantry platoons in Afghanistan before founding and selling a cyber recruiting company. That combination of operational leadership, executive security judgment, and real-world resilience experience gives clients a materially stronger voice in high-stakes cyber and modernization decisions.

Dave Watson brings 25 years of experience across UC platforms and contact center environments, including selling, installing, and maintaining communications systems. He also spent time as a Trusted Advisor, which gives him a stronger view into how buyers evaluate fit, risk, and rollout realities. That dual perspective makes him especially valuable in complex UCaaS, CCaaS, and CX conversations.

John Paullin has spent more than a decade working across UCaaS, CCaaS, SD-WAN, conferencing, and collaboration. His background includes solution engineering roles at Stratosphere Networks and InterCall, and AVANT has highlighted him as a leader who has supported thousands of customer calls and led hundreds of trainings. That track record shows up in the way he brings structure and confidence to customer experience and communications modernization.

Hunter Edmisten brings 15 years of experience building relationships and solving technology problems across multiple sales engineering roles. His background in UCaaS, CX, and end-to-end solution design helps clients move from broad requirements to practical buying decisions. He is especially strong when a modernization effort needs a technical translator who can simplify evolving platforms without flattening the nuance.

Sarah Arnstein combines modern communications engineering with a broader technical pedigree that includes work as a patent engineer and as a mechanical engineer with Ford Motor Company. At AVANT, she focuses on UCaaS, CCaaS, and SD-WAN, giving clients a disciplined and highly analytical resource in voice, network, and contact center decisions. Her background stands out because it blends engineering rigor with customer-facing solution work.

Rick Mischka brings one of the most distinctive profiles on the bench. He is a cybersecurity specialist and public educator with a background that includes serving as a Special Forces Green Beret, firefighter-paramedic, professional volleyball player, national championship-winning coach, and, more recently, completing a Ph.D. focused on cyber psychology. That combination of leadership, resilience, and technical credibility makes him a powerful presence in security and risk conversations.

Tom Croft brings a multi-domain lens to communications and network transformation. While his core strength is UCaaS and CCaaS, he is also well-versed in connectivity, SD-WAN, SASE, and security, which helps clients avoid making siloed platform decisions. His experience is especially valuable when modernization work cuts across customer experience, network architecture, and user experience design.

Dane Menke brings 13 years of cloud and security experience with a foundation in IaaS, backup and disaster recovery, and infrastructure design. Before AVANT, he held architecture and engineering roles at Singlehop, INAP, Hipskind, and in the military. That blend of private-sector architecture work and military systems experience gives him a grounded, high-discipline approach to cloud modernization and resilience planning.

Amanda Bean brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across contact center, engineering, and IT operations. Her background spans both retail and healthcare environments, including large-scale contact center operations, which gives her practical credibility in CX transformation, process automation, and service design. She adds real operational maturity to conversations that can otherwise stay too theoretical.

Eric Cooke brings 25 years of industry experience, including 15 years supporting the channel across technical sales, provisioning, and project management. His specialties span connectivity, colocation, SD-WAN, voice, and UCaaS, making him a steady senior resource for projects that require both technical coordination and rollout discipline. He is particularly strong when infrastructure decisions have operational consequences beyond the sourcing phase.

David Bjerke has worked across the AVANT platform since 2013, with experience spanning operations, commissions, IT, and now cloud-focused engineering. His specialties include IaaS, DaaS, and backup and disaster recovery, giving him a practical understanding of how cloud decisions affect both architecture and execution. That internal range makes him especially useful when clients need a builder’s view of cloud modernization rather than just a product comparison.