Our Team

Since founding AVANA Companies 22 years ago, Sundip has cultivated a family of seven world-class lending and asset management brands. Each brand is committed to AVANA’s mission: Delivering Capital for a Better Tomorrow, with a keen eye on social and environmental impact.

The AVANA Family of Companies supports businesses, communities, investors, and stakeholders through innovative financial solutions in private credit, fintech, small business lending, clean energy, and more:

• AVANA Companies: Holding company recognized as an Inc. 5000 company with $1.7B in assets, creating over 5K global jobs
• AVANA CUSO: The US’s leading CUSO, offering full-service commercial real estate loans

Fintech Platforms
• LendThrive: Lending platform providing frictionless capital to small businesses across America
• EqualSeat: Fractional loan investment platform offering individual access to private credit investments

Regulated Entities:
• AVANA Capital: Licensed and regulated lending entity specializing in hotels and diverse commercial real estate properties
• AVANA Fund: SEC-registered fund for accredited investors and institutional investors for private credit opportunities in the US
• EZDAHER FINANCE Company: SAMA-licensed and regulated lender in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Sundip’s passion for social impact stems from his experience immigrating from Zambia as a child. His commitment to financial equity fuels his desire to uplift individuals, families, and communities.

In addition to being a seasoned entrepreneur, Sundip holds a MSc Social Business degree from London School of Economics and Political Science & a MBA from the University of California, Irvine. He also holds both CPA and CMA licenses in California.

Sundip balances his time between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, India and Phoenix, Arizona. He founded the Giggle Foundation to support underprivileged children and is an active member of young presidents organization (YPO).

A frequent speaker on investing, lending, social and environmental purpose-driven businesses, fintech, and technology, Sundip’s leadership continues to inspire and shape the financial landscape.

A veteran of the commercial banking industry with over 25 years of experience, Sanat Patel is the Chief Lending Officer of AVANA Companies, as well as a Co-founder of our legacy company, AVANA Capital.

In his position as Chief Lending Officer, Sanat oversees credit and risk administration, as well as the origination and syndication of commercial debt. Sanat excels at navigating the complexities of commercial debt management, as well as creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and create wealth for their businesses to thrive.

Prior to AVANA, Sanat served in various functions of commercial banking, supporting clients across segments of corporate banking within Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank, and JP Morgan. His competitive drive resulted in him being ranked in the top 10% of bankers nationwide within these institutions.

Sanat earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a dual major in finance and management science, and a minor in economics, from California State University, Fullerton. In 2008, Sanat completed the Banking Degree offered by Pacific Coast Banking School, held at the University of Washington. Currently, Sanat is pursuing an Executive MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Sanat was a founding member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Arizona and served as its President from 2014-2016. He also served as a Board Member for Make-A-Wish in Arizona and is the current President of the Phoenix chapter of Pratham USA.

Matthew Hunt is the son of a banker and began his own career as a teller at age 17. He has remained in the industry ever since and now has more than 22 years of experience in commercial banking.

Matthew joined AVANA Capital in 2015 as Chief Credit Officer. He advises small business owners on how to grow their businesses through real estate ownership, and he guides them through the process.

Prior to joining AVANA Capital, Matthew was Senior Vice President and Director of National Real Estate for Zions Bank. In that role, he oversaw the bank’s nationwide commercial real estate lending platform with a primary focus in SBA 504 lending. During his 16 years at Zions Bank, the National Real Estate Group originated over $10 billion in commercial real estate loans, including nearly $5 billion in SBA 504 1st mortgage loans.

Matthew earned an M.B.A. from the University of Utah in 2010. He also graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from University of Utah in 1998. In 2005, he also completed a master’s level extension program at the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School.

Strategic Financial and Operations Leader with an impressive track record of driving success and transformation through effective utilization of people, processes and technology. Deep expertise in accounting, budgeting, financial modeling and analytics, controls, process and tax. Passionate about utilizing agile change methodologies for continuous improvement and developing a controlled, financially sound operating model. Excellent communication skills that capture the trust and confidence of both subordinates and fellow officers and inspire the entire team to deliver positive bottom-line results.

• Business Strategy and Leadership. C-Suite leader who provides data driven insight on business operations and finance through analytics and metrics. Chair of Management Committee driving business direction, finance, new business opportunities and M&A.
• Strong Controllership, Operations and Systems Mindset. CFO/COO with a demonstrated ability to drive significant impact on early stage to mature businesses, enhancing existing process, systems and people. Assess and control risk across the business, vendors and service providers. Identify and implement best in class capability at a global and private business level.
• Process Improvement Proficiency. Certified Black Belt in Six Sigma/ LEAN. Trained in redesign of processes to improve operating effectiveness. Led strategy for global process improvement and system implementations.
• Asset Management Leader. Deep experience across public and private asset classes in 40 Act and alternative funds. Innovative self-starter and architect for multiple fund launches across many jurisdictions.

Chad joined AVANA Companies and its affiliates in 2023 as the Chief Operating Officer with his initial primary focus on AVANA CUSO with an emphasis on expanding the number of lead lenders and participating CUs, growing the AUM, and launching our SBA and C&I lending programs.Prior to joining AVANA Companies, Chad had an exemplary 20-year career at Zions Bank serving in several capacities, most recently as Senior Vice President and Director of its National Real Estate division where he oversaw the bank’s nationwide wholesale lending platform and multi-billion-dollar commercial real estate portfolio specializing in SBA 504 financing.

With a keen eye for streamlining processes, Chad has been pivotal in transforming operations to adapt to the rapidly changing financial landscape. His expertise lies in implementing cutting-edge technologies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, leading to enhanced service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Chad’s approach to operations is deeply rooted in his belief in teamwork and collaborative leadership. He has a track record of building and leading high-performing teams, aligning operational goals with business strategy, and ensuring seamless execution of complex projects. His strategic vision and hands-on approach have been instrumental in scaling operations, managing change effectively, and driving sustainable growth.As a Small Business Lending veteran, Chad has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO) for the last 5 years, and was on the Board of Directors for one of the nation’s Top 10 Certified Development Companies; Mountain West Small Business Finance, for 4 years.

Chad earned an M.B.A. from the University of Utah in 2009 and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Finance from Weber State University in 2003. In 2018 he graduated from the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School master’s level program.As the first college graduate in his family, Chad is a staunch advocate of higher education and community involvement. He has served over a decade on Weber State University’s Student Affairs Advancement Council and the Goddard School of Business & Economics Advisory Council, and volunteers as a mentor to students. Chad is also passionate about all things DEI; having served over 15 years on various employer and community DEI-related committees and projects, including scholarship fundraising for disadvantaged and underrepresented students.Chad enjoys sports, being active, and traveling. He is an avid basketball player, recently fell in love with pickleball, but maintains a love-hate relationship with golf. Additionally, Chad loves spending time with his family boating, kayaking, snorkeling in tropical locations, and biking/hiking Utah’s trails.

Brianna joined Extensia Financial in June 2012, as the Human Resources Manager. She was specifically recruited for her experience with credit union practices and philosophy, her extensive knowledge of human resources as well as the history of Extensia Financial.

Since joining the Extensia team Brianna has proven herself to be an effective project manager successfully taking on a number of mission-critical projects over the past several years. These projects have ranged from planning, managing and completing the organization’s move of its corporate headquarters to management of the process to outsource IT as well as the implementation of Extensia’s paperless project.

During the last seven years she has taken on greater responsibility for the ongoing operations of the organization and customer care. She is currently responsible for loan servicing including portfolio management, Information Technology and Systems, marketing, human resources and facilities.
Brianna began her career in human resources in 2001 at Telesis Community Credit Union. Prior to joining the credit union, she completed an internship at Mercy Corps International where she focused on recruiting for this multi-national organization.

Brianna holds a BA in Human Resources from Concordia University in Portland, OR.

Mae Monnette Julian is a Certified Public Accountant with 5 years of work experience in external auditing of various industries such as investment houses, insurance brokerage, hotels, construction companies, automotive and has experience in handling large group audits which involved consolidation of almost 80 companies. At AVANA, Mae will oversee investor accounting process, implement policies and internal audit procedures on loans to ensure proper accounting of investor earnings and proper managing of investor funding. She will also be tasked to produce credit updates on existing loans.

Prior to joining AVANA, Mae worked as a Senior Auditor in Ernst & Young (EY) in which she led the team to audit financial statements in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards and International Standards on Auditing and led the discussion of audit issues to her clients. She had also been a part of EY Middle East and North Africa (MENA) where she was involved in the preparation of various technical materials as guidance for the auditors across the EY- MENA region and participated in the development of innovative solutions and digitalization of audit processes and data analytics.

Mae graduated as Magna Cum Laude from Polytechnic University of the Philippines.