Steve Valdiserri

Please introduce your company and describe your role as founder.

I founded Avanti Strategy Group to help healthcare organizations get unstuck. The name is Italian — it means “always forward” — which is a nod to my heritage but also the whole thesis of the firm. Too many organizations know they have operational or financial problems but can’t move past them. I work directly with leadership teams to diagnose what’s broken and fix it. Strategy, workflows, efficiency, data — whatever is standing between them and the value they should be capturing. I’m hands-on. I’m in the work, not watching from the sidelines.

What is your company’s core business model?

Lean and intentional. I’m the primary operator — I stay close to the work because that’s where the value is. When a problem requires specialized depth, I bring in the right people. But there’s no large bench billing hours. Clients get me, not a rotating cast of junior consultants learning on their dime.

How do you differentiate in a crowded market?

Most consulting firms sell strategy decks. I fix what happens on Monday morning. Who owns the workflow. Whether the data is trusted. Whether the team actually knows what to do next. I spent nearly a decade at VillageMD building value-based care operations from the ground up as one of the first employees and am now doing the same thing at Tally building the financial operating system with automation and expertise for multi-site healthcare providers. That experience taught me that the gap between a good strategy and real results is almost always operational execution. Execute. That’s exactly where I work.

What industries do you serve?

Healthcare primarily because that is where my expertise lies. Provider groups, health tech companies, value-based care organizations, and healthcare startups that are scaling. I also work across revenue cycle management and healthcare finance. That focus is intentional — depth beats breadth in this industry. 

What do clients come to you for?

The problems that are too messy or too cross-functional for internal teams to solve on their own. For example, attribution breakdowns in value-based care contracts. Workflow bottlenecks that are bleeding money. Scaling operations that can’t keep up with growth. AI implementation that needs to actually work inside existing processes, not just look good in a pitch deck. It usually comes down to the same thing — execution isn’t matching the strategy, and they need someone who’s been in the trenches to close that gap.

How do you stay ahead of industry shifts?

I stay close to the actual operators. Not the conference circuit, not the headlines. I’m running operations at an AI-powered healthcare finance company right now alongside Avanti, so I see these shifts in real time — what’s working, what’s not, what’s hype versus what’s actually changing workflows. I also completed a certificate in AI in Health Care from Harvard Medical School, which sharpened how I think about where AI fits practically in healthcare. The best insights come from doing the work, not reading about it.

How do you measure client success?

Clear ownership of processes that were previously ambiguous. Fewer operational breakdowns. The needle actually moving from action actually happening.And ultimately — measurable financial outcomes. It’s simple, leaders I work with should feel the anxiety lift and weight redistributed. If we fixed an attribution problem, show the panel numbers. If we improved a workflow, show the throughput, get the feedback. Deliverables don’t bring success unless things actually changed.

What post-engagement support do you provide?

I don’t disappear after the project ends. Most engagements transition into a lighter advisory relationship — focused check-ins, availability when something comes up, and accountability to make sure what we built actually sticks. The implementation is only as good as the follow-through.

How do you structure pricing?

Typically project-based engagements or advisory retainers, depending on the scope and duration. I’m flexible on structure because the goal is to match the engagement to the actual problem, not force it into a template. My preference is retainer / project based because then I’m not limiting myself to billing hours…I’m focused on spending whatever time is needed to get the job done.

What is your typical project range?

It varies — and I care more about fit than price point. If the problem is real and the leadership team is committed to solving it, we can define a scope that works. The worst engagements I’ve seen in this industry are the ones where someone paid a lot of money for a firm that wasn’t the right match. I’d rather get alignment on the problem first.

Have you turned down work?

Definitely.. If there’s no clear problem to solve, or if the organization doesn’t have leadership willing to own the outcome, it’s not going to work. I’ve also passed on engagements that were really just asking for a strategy deck with no intention of executing. That’s not what I do.

What challenges have you faced?

Discipline. Saying no to interesting problems that don’t align with where I’m focused. When you’ve spent your career as an operator who loves solving things, the temptation is to chase every opportunity. The hardest part of building Avanti has been staying focused on the highest-impact work and not spreading too thin.

How do you foster innovation?

Start with the basics. I’ve seen too many organizations chase innovation — especially AI — on top of broken operations. You can’t automate a bad process and call it innovation. Get the foundation right first. And most of the time, getting the foundation right is actually pretty easy and right in your face. Then the technology becomes a multiplier instead of an expensive experiment.

What role does culture play?

Everything. Clear thinking. Low ego. Accountability. The organizations I work best with are the ones where leadership is honest about what’s not working and willing to do something about it. The ones that struggle are the ones protecting turf or avoiding hard conversations. Culture is whether people actually own their outcomes.

Where do you see the company in 5–10 years?

Still focused. Still high-impact. I’m not building Avanti to become a 200-person consulting firm. I want to stay close to the work that matters — helping healthcare organizations operate better, capture more value, and stop leaving money on the table because their execution can’t keep up with their strategy. If we do that well for the right clients, the growth takes care of itself.

How has your leadership evolved?

More direct. More focused. Less tolerance for noise. I spent a decade inside a large, fast-growing organization and learned what real execution looks like at scale. Now I apply those lessons with more precision and less patience for things that don’t move the needle. I’ve also gotten much more comfortable saying “I don’t know yet” — which, paradoxically, makes me a better advisor.

What trends excite you most?

AI in healthcare — but specifically where it improves real workflows, not just where it generates buzz. I’m seeing AI transform revenue cycle management, financial reporting, and operational decision-making right now. The organizations that will win are the ones treating AI as an operational tool, not a strategy slide. I’m also watching attribution management finally get the attention it deserves in value-based care. That shift is overdue and will create real financial opportunity for organizations that get ahead of it.

What advice would you give to others?

Focus on execution. Ideas are everywhere. Strategy decks are everywhere. The organizations that win are the ones that build systems — real, repeatable systems — that turn strategy into daily action. Complexity in healthcare is always present but confusion can be optional. Build the operations to handle the complexity, and the results follow.