LEXINGTON PARK, Md. – Always start with the end in mind. That was the approach of AVIAN’s owners when forming their company. But what is that end? For AVIAN, part of that plan includes employee ownership.
That is why on July 6, 2018, AVIAN became 49 percent owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Using the Congressionally authorized program called an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, AVIAN created a plan to provide employees with a retirement incentive in addition to its AVIAN 401k.
“From the beginning, my business partner and I have always wanted to bestow a gift of our legacy to our AVIAN family,” said Kevin Switick, president of AVIAN. “We are truly excited to announce that the gift is now in place to give our team the opportunity to share in the future success of AVIAN as an individual stakeholder.”
AVIAN’s decision to sell part of the company to an ESOP is rooted in its commitment to its corporate value – we take care of each other.
At the end of July, new employee owners were invited to an ‘Owners Meeting’ where they learned about the program and what it means to them. Over the next year, employee owners will learn more about AVIAN’s ESOP and how each person plays a vital role in the plan’s success.
“Jeff Sherman [founder of AVIAN] and I are truly excited about this next step in our corporate evolution,” Switick said. “Now it’s up to our collective efforts to keep AVIAN growing, as this has the potential to be a fantastic wealth-building retirement plan.”
As part of the preparations for becoming employee-owned, AVIAN also underwent an entity change.
Effective June 30, 2018, AVIAN LLC became AVIAN, Inc. All ownership and leadership of AVIAN LLC carry over with no changes. This decision allows AVIAN more agility and flexibility as it continues to grow and move toward its strategic business goals.
Although selling 49 percent of the company implies that AVIAN’s leaders are planning for retirement soon, both Switick and Sherman have said that they’re in this game a bit longer.
“Our team can’t get rid of me that easily,” Switick said. “This is the first step in our succession plan, but we’re gonna be here awhile longer. We’re still having too much fun.”
About AVIAN, Inc.
AVIAN, Inc. is a service-disabled, veteran owned small business. We believe talent and passion generate solutions to today’s business challenges. We understand that these characteristics thrive in a business culture that embraces innovation, creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit.
We are resourceful, responsive and reachable for our clients in program, financial, and logistics management; engineering and systems engineering; test and evaluation of manned and unmanned systems; workforce development and training; and communication strategy and graphic design.
AVIAN is headquartered in Lexington Park, Maryland with more than 240 employees located across the county. Specifically, we are supporting customers in Huntsville, Alabama; China Lake and San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; Panama City, and Jacksonville, Florida; Lexington Park and Patuxent River, Maryland; Arlington and Quantico, Virginia.
Overall, AVIAN provides a broad range of niche expertise to many government and commercial clients such as the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR); the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); the Office of Naval Research and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
For additional information:
Tara Strickland
Director, Communications
tara.strickland@avianllc.com
