Our Story

A History of Helping the Insurance Industry

AVYST was started by industry veterans who were determined to solve the challenges caused by overwhelming, inefficient insurance processes.

Eliminating cumbersome manuals, visits to multiple websites and paper-based sales steps to improve the daily operations for agents, carriers, MGAs and wholesalers is our goal.

Our collaboration resulted in our first in market solution, eForms Wizard, a technology innovation that allows single entry to ACORD forms, carrier-unique forms, agency questionnaires and supplemental applications. And because we are industry insiders, we knew the importance of building forms with bidirectional capabilities, which makes integration with almost any system or technology solution possible.

Improve Insurance Agency Processes

Beyond the efficiency gains that promote increased profitability for your firm, here’s how you can benefit by engaging with our solutions:

Eliminate inefficient workflows.
Use built-in ACORD standards for easy system integration.
Create carrier-unique forms and specify required fields.
Access information anywhere, anytime.
Enjoy straightforward, one-time data input.
Apply time saved to more gratifying client service responsibilities.
Access a Glossary of Terms and Guide Me text to make learning the business easier.
Collaborate with like-minded insurance professionals.

Our Leadership Team

Too many technology experts know nothing about insurance. They expect the insurance industry to just figure out how to use and conform to their technology.

AVYST works differently because everyone on our leadership team has an insurance background, which helps us design solutions that actually work.

Management & Board of Directors

Marc Still

CEO, Chairman of the Board

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Mr. Still has been an active participant in the investment banking and private equity sector for over 30 years. In 1983, Mr. Still began his career at Bear Stearns & Co. focused primarily in Risk Arbitrage.

Subsequently, he was Vice President at Kidder Peabody, Principal at First Southwest Company, President of Dallas Research, and Senior Managing Director at Imperial Capital before forming Aspen Advisors, LP, a Dallas, TX based merchant banking firm, in 2000. Having participated in over one hundred corporate transactions, Mr. Still has earned a reputation for being creative in implementing strategies and structures for companies, management teams, Boards of Directors, secured lenders, and entrepreneurs. In addition to serving on several Boards of Directors, he has also directed the operational and financial turnarounds of distressed companies and has acted as CEO in many instances in a variety of industries including financial and business services, technology and telecommunications. Mr. Still holds a BBA from Southern Methodist University.

Kitty Ambers, CIC, CISR, CPIA

COO

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Kitty joined AVYST in January, 2019 as Chief Growth Officer after more than 5 years as CEO of NetVU. In September, 2021 she assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer. Kitty uses her diversified insurance industry back to help independent agents grow their profitability by embracing more efficient point of sale workflows. The goal: enable agents to focus on building relationships and sharing insurance expertise by embracing AVYST technology solutions that can do the heavy lifting.

Gail Salazar, CIC, CPCU

Chief Design Officer, Board Member

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Gail began her career at Safeco Insurance in 1987 and served in a variety of roles over a 15-year period including underwriting, accounting, claims, agency support, commercial lines, and many others.

After Safeco, Gail formed her own independent insurance agency in 2002 which became the basis for the formation of Wave Financial Partners and ultimately, Wave Insurance Technologies, dba AVYST. Gail holds a variety of licenses including property, casualty, and life in addition to being a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and completing the final institute of the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

Keith Savino

Vice-Chairman of the Board

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Mr. Savino serves as an AVYST Board Member. He is Managing Partner for Broadfield Group, LLC, a National insurance agency/brokerage with roots dating back to the 1800s. His disciplines include Telecom, Technology and Bio Science practices and Professional, Executive and Specialty Lines.

He is also a specialist in High Net Worth Private Client programs. He oversees the firms longstanding Cyber Liability practice, with over 15 years’ experience in this area.

His experience and commitment to the industry is impressive. Keith is the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) National Director for the state of New Jersey. He is an executive committee member of PIA National, serving as Vice President. He is past President of the Professional Insurance Agents, New Jersey (PIANJ). Mr. Savino is well known as the father of the “buy button”. An industry effort around the issues facing placement of insurance.

Committed to technology automation and industry standards, Keith serves as the immediate past Chairman of the Board of NETVU (Vertafore user group). He has served as the industry relations chair and participates in numerous Carrier and Industry groups on behalf of NetVU such as the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) for the IIABA. He is a current member of the Leaders Council for AUGIE (Association and User Groups Information Exchange), representing PIA National. He sits on the IVANS advisory board and DocuSign Advisory Councils. In Addition, Mr. Savino is a former member of the ACORD Board of Directors. ACORD is the insurance industry standards setting body. He chaired the Professional and Specialty Lines group, among numerous standards projects over two decades.

Over the years, Keith has been past-president of a number of National insurance associations including: ARIAS (now called ANEU), the retired user group for Ebix Inc., and a past-president of The CPIA Society (now called AIMS), an organization dedicated to certification of insurance sales excellence and education. Additionally, he has served terms on many Carrier advisory boards / councils including Hanover, Adirondack and Preferred Mutual.

Steve Aronson

Board Member

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Mr. Aronson is President of Aronson Insurance, an Acrisure Partner Agency based in Needham, MA. He has been an insurance industry technology leader and advocate for over 25 years.

He has held national committee and leadership positions with many users groups, including AMSUG/NetVU, AUGIE and IIABA’s ACT committee. In addition, Steve has been an instructor for many insurance industry programs, including CIC, ACORD’s Power of Change as well as many industry conference classes and panels.

Brandon Dawson

Board Member

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Mr. Dawson is the founder of Audigy Group, his first management shared services company, which supports more than 250 of the leading independent hearing healthcare businesses throughout North America.

From a startup, Audigy Group was a disruptor in the Hearing Sciences sector and grew to approximately $30 million in revenue in 2016 before the sale of the Company in July of 2016 to a strategic investor. Audigy Group was honored as one of Portland Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Private Companies for six consecutive years, is a five-time Inc. 5000 winner, and is a two-time winner of the Inc. Hire Power Award for outstanding success in job creation. Additionally, Brandon has personally been named a finalist twice for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Pacific Northwest.

Our Story

A History of Helping the Insurance Industry

Improve Insurance Agency Processes

Our Leadership Team

Management & Board of Directors

Marc Still

Kitty Ambers, CIC, CISR, CPIA

Gail Salazar, CIC, CPCU

Keith Savino

Steve Aronson

Brandon Dawson

Contact AVYST