Testimonials — Ash Varma, NYC

Tamyko McCaskill Brown
“Ash Varma personifies exemplary leadership. I had the pleasure of working with Ash Varma at Capitol Outdoor (the original Ted Turner media entity) in Atlanta when he served there as President & CFO. Ash is a visionary with integrity, confidence and wisdom. He excels in each leadership category on the most elaborate of leadership charts. Ash is accountable, empathetic, honest and trustworthy. His transparent leadership style is of a coaching/mentoring nature. He has superior intuition and insight on how to empower his team members by delegating and encouraging new opportunities for growth and development. I consider Ash to be the very best of the best, without reservation, on every level and to the utmost. During my time within (and without) leadership roles, I have embraced and 'mimicked' the outstanding examples of leadership exemplified by Ash. Sincerest Regards, Tamyko D. McCaskill Brown ”
Jennifer Ramthun
“I was at a pivotal moment in my career when I met Ash. I knew that the next step in my journey to leadership would require some help and I wanted someone who could provide an objective perspective to help me with my strategy. When I spoke with Ash for the first time, we had an immediate personal connection which was very important to me. It was also important to me that I find someone who really understood the unique challenges women can face. Ash not only understood the challenges, he listened attentively, formulated an objective perspective, and guided us towards a strategy. With Ash, I have learned to strengthen my leadership skills, move out of my comfort zone, overcome limiting beliefs, and most importantly, I have learned how to think more strategically about my leadership path. I continue to be so passionate about the success that I have had with Ash, that I have recommended him to others. Ash has also been a support to Professional Women in Healthcare – an organization that is built upon a strong history of women leaders in the healthcare supply chain industry who continue to create a platform for progressive leadership and mentoring for the next generation. Amid COVID, PWH provided weekly webinars to support those in the industry. Ash was happy to support our cause by hosting a webinar entitled “Strategies for Career Transition” which empowered and supported so many other women during this unprecedented time. Working with Ash has given me the opportunity to position myself for new leadership opportunities. And that is exactly what I asked for. Forever grateful for his encouragement, guidance and complete faith in me and my abilities. ”
Breonna Danielle Rodriguez-Delgrosso
“Everyone deserves to have a personal team of experts dedicated to helping them succeed. And adding Ash to that team, for me, was the best investment I have made in both myself and my career. Careers and pathways to leadership can be tough to navigate. Through job searching, salary negotiations, onboarding and leadership coaching, Ash has motivated and encouraged me through every step of the way. Always with a smile. Never without a solution. I’m incredibly happy with the strides we’ve made together, and highly recommend his coaching services. ”
Tamara Gunash
“When I hired Ash, I was stuck and totally frustrated, not knowing what to do next, after resigning from a supervising role with a well-known company. Working with Ash has been life-changing for me. It wasn’t just his knowledge that spoke to me. It was his kindness and empathy that helped me the most. Ash had numerous ways to address my issues and used them accordingly. All the things that were stuck inside me were finally out, on paper and looked great. I felt incredibly free, strong and confident. I was given the paths to pursue, tools for success and a brand-new network! I am finally laser-focused and centered. I know exactly what I want and how to get it. In Ash I got a true long-term career partner. Absolutely beneficial for anybody, no matter where they are in their career development. ”
Michelle Spiro
“I met Ash when I left Warnaco/Calvin Klein Underwear, when PVH bought Warnaco in 2013. Ash was doing "Special" sessions with a few higher ranked executives at Partners, an outplacement agency. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for one of those sessions. I was at a crossroads in my career, after spending 25 years in corporate, and was trying to figure out a way to live my life half in New York City and half in Paris, France. I knew that starting my own company was something I had always thought about, but did not know where to focus and had not yet found the courage to try. My first meeting with Ash was electric. He is the best listener I have ever met, which enables him to target his counsel and guidance with fierce strategic accuracy. He is a global thinker as his advice and feedback come from many different perspectives from all of his diverse experiences. In our first meeting Ash asked me about where I wanted my life to be personally. We then, sorted through my professional skill set to construct a professional plan that could support my dreams. Ash asks the most insightful questions that make you think. He helped me to help myself, which was so powerful. During our first meeting we constructed a map consisting of many boxes. These boxes have become, about six months after our first meeting, my company, LYS Partners. I am also now living half in NYC and half in Paris - the original dream- doing something I love. My business partner and I continue to be guided by Ash's invaluable input, feedback, constructive criticism and advice. We know how blessed we are, as we near the one year anniversary of our company in March of 2015. Ash was an integral part of our inception and is an imperative part of our future. ”
Jennifer Brown (she/her/hers)
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Ash Varma for about 4 years, and working closely with him for nearly 2 years now. I asked him to join me as CFO and COO at JBC, as well as my Trusted Advisor, and we have worked effectively together in terms of outlining and thinking through our key financial and operational strategies, as well as numerous other areas. In additional to his tremendous operational competencies, Ash has particularly impressed me with his deep and profound commitment to many of the issues that we focus on, relating to diversity in the workplace and the challenge of ensuring we communicate a compelling business case for diversity.Ash and I work on the core messages of the firm very closely together, and it has been a pleasure to do so. Ash has significant financial, strategic, administrative and legal experience (which particularly comes in handy on the many RFPs which we have been lucky enough to have been invited to participate in). He has also been a great help to me, personally, on financial, tax and strategic planning. It is my absolute pleasure to write this recommendation for Ash, and I continue to look forward to working together with him for quite some time to come. ”
Dave Ciliberto (he,him,his)
“I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Ash for almost 5 years now. We first met when he joined Partners International as CFO and COO. One of the many things that I most liked about working with Ash, which I have often mentioned to him, was his innate ability to immediately assess a situation, the people involved, and then move forward very quickly and strategically, but always in line with our own intrinsic core values. Ash immediately instituted Senior Level Weekly Management meetings, helped establish a clear Agenda for each, began the process of creating full detailed Financial Budgets and Planning, and generally providing a forum for additional thoughts and planning to prevail. We were able to, under his general guidance, quickly prepare detailed Forecasts and Budgets which we were able to jointly present to our Chairperson. As Ash and I worked together, besides his strong knowledge of both Strategy and Finance, we were able to utilize his distinct Legal background, as well -- particularly, when it came to our many RFPs, where Ash and I worked very closely together, and where his abilities were able to save our Company considerable outside legal expense. Additionally, as SVP of the Career Transition practice, on several occasions I called upon Ash to be the Executive Coach for several of our candidates, particularly Senior Level C-Suite individuals, Legal Attorneys, and Business persons considering becoming Entrepreneurs, all areas where Ash has considerable experience, both professional as well as personal. I have really enjoyed working with Ash over these years and getting knowing and becoming close friends with him. I would strongly recommend him for his great talents in Strategy, Finance, Law and Executive Coaching. Respectfully, Dave”
Gour Saraff
“Ash and I have been professional colleagues and friends for thirty years. I have worked with him on India Festival committee and then subsequently as a business owner involved in East European business ventures. This long term relationship has given me a keen insight on the many powerful abilities that Ash has as a professional and a warm human being. He galvanized and lead the Indian community in a pioneering venture called the India Festival Commitee in the early 1980s. He was able to manage and create spectacular community events which have morphed into huge national events that they are today. Ash made it abundantly clear about his strengths in management, creativity and adaptable skills in executing this operation from start to finish. He was a guide with a clear vision for all of us. This was however only the beginning. Ash and I continued to collaborate as he worked his way in the most challenging M&A, legal and financial restructuring environment that we had seen until that time. He was successful and I believe it is largely due to his ethical values as a professional who worked with integrity to enhance enterprise and shareholder value. Because of his powerful networking skills I drew on his contacts to help me with my own business in East Europe. Ash was and continues to be a true globalized person who demonstrates an uncanny ability to connect with people from all over the world. His warm personality and his strength to quickly decipher the complexities of the business world enables him to evaluate and strategize on appropriate opportunities that ultimately help the organizations that he gets involved with. Its rare to come up with an individual with this level of talent, experience and wisdom and undoubtedly will continue to be critical resource for any serious business partner.”
Judy Crowhurst
“I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Ash Varma for well over 5 years now in various different capacities and projects. We first met when I was Vice President, Investor Relations at The Tube Music Channel (the first nation-wide Digital Multicast Television Music Network in the world). Interestingly, Ash first came to us representing certain Investor Groups and started to send to us extremely detailed “Due Diligence” listings and questionnaires. As we started to ferret through them and hone in more detail on our own Strategic Initiatives, we began to realize that Ash could be a very strong internal asset for us in our next stages of development and growth. Our CEO then asked Ash if he could come on as our Strategic Financial Consultant in that capacity which he agreed to do. Ash worked diligently over the next several months, holding twice weekly conference calls with our COO, Vice President of Development and President, in helping them create and prepare a very detailed Financing Plan for the Company. The plan had to be extremely carefully crafted, with much new detail and thought, as no other such Digital Music Network even existed in the Marketplace. As the VP, Investor Relations, I was quite familiar with how well the Financial Plan, and its Assumptions and Methodologies were received by Investor Groups and Investors as we tried to move forward with them. In addition, we, at The Tube, were all very impressed with Ash’s skill sets in Managing all sorts of different issues and people with us. Subsequently, after The Tube, Ash and I continued to work on several different projects together, covering motion pictures, healthcare and various other areas as well, and continue to focus on additional new projects, even today. I have the utmost respect for his skill sets in Managing People, Finance, creating new Strategic Initiatives, and Due Diligence and sifting through and vetting new Companies and Projects with great speed and business acumen. I would gladly recommend Ash for services in any of these areas.”
Kevin Ciavarra
“I had the pleasure of working with Ash for several years while I managed a distressed portfolio of loans that included a loan to PNE Media. Although our positions were often adverse, Ash was a consummate professional that understood how to deal with a lender when his company was in financial duress. His integrity and ethics are admirable and he's someone that I respect greatly. Ash is one of those unique individuals that has a high degree of knowledge for both tax and legal as well as the general business that he serves.”
Louis Sebastien Rouleau
“Photogram hired V&A in order to create a new Financial Model for its business project and assist in negotiating a better business valuation for venture capital investments. In 2005, we were able to obtain a venture capital investment with Desjardins Capital de Risque (“Desjardins”), one of the major venture capital investors in the East Coast of Canada. With V&A’s assistance, Photogram has been able to demonstrate to Desjardins that it possessed a strong & experienced management team and a business model that made them look at us as "Media" Company, not only a Manufacturer. Desjardins further complimented us highly on the Financial Model that we sent them, which lead to an investment agreement and business valuation model very favorable to Photogram and its founders. After the initial investment of Desjardins, V&A also provided a rapid and diligent follow-up of all management and Board of Directors requests with regards to rapid business growth and evolution. Photogram as been very pleased of its relationship with V&A and would highly recommend its Turnaround and General Business Consulting services to any startup company.”
Terry Myers
“I have known Ash Varma for over 25 of my thirty years in the Advertsing and Media business. I first had the opportunity of working directly with him at Capitol Outdoor, the original Ted Turner Media Entity in Atlanta, where he served as CEO and CFO and I was part of his Senior Management Team as Local Sales Manager. I was very impressed with the way Ash was able to meld together all the different Units and Divisions in the Company (particularly Accounting with Sales), empower all of his Senior Management Team by allowing them full access to Budgets, Planning and P&L's and continually focus on having his Senior Management Team continually working together and updating one another in our bi-weekly Senior Management meetings, which he instituted. Ultimately, under Ash's outstanding leadership and fiscal discipline, we were able to substantially increase our Annual Revenues and nearly double our Operating Cash Flow in a little less than 18 months, ultimately, resulting in a sale at a premium price as per the wishes of our then owner, Cigna Investments. I have also known Ash through numerous other Projects ( both in Out-Of-Home Media and otherwise) and would highly recommend him for his integrity, experience, versatility, educational background and his unique ability to solve complex problems.”