When Avanti Capital (originally known as Avanti Insieme) was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur and investor Alexis Khazzam, it was a born of a practical need. “The purpose was to be a vehicle to consolidate and steward our family’s growing portfolio of operating businesses, private investments and real estate holdings,” explains Alexis’ daughter, Stella Khazzam Hobbs, who today serves as managing partner of Avanti Capital.
What began as an extension of Alexis’ entrepreneurial platform has since evolved into a multi-generational family office designed to preserve and expand the family’s assets, create long-term value and advance its philanthropic mission. “From 2017 until 2024, it basically functioned as a holding entity behind a few specific investments and development projects,” Stella says.
But the decision to formally restructure and institutionalize the single-family office was made in October 2024, following the death of Alexis’ mother, Viviana Goren Khazzam, who was an award-winning journalist, cultural and scientific communicator and philanthropist. “My dad’s mother passed away and just left behind a mess of decisions and a lot of change came from that,” Stella explains. “So, after that period of transition, we reestablished the business with defined governance and equal ownership among all the partners.”
The five partners in the family office are Alexis, his wife Elizabeth Leiter Khazzam and their three children Nicholas (“Nico”), Stella and Matteo. The family changed the organization’s name from Avanti Insieme to Avanti Capital and rebranded with a new logo, website and LinkedIn profile “to create transparency around our portfolio and also to open doors to new opportunities.” Most importantly, the Khazzams sharpened the family office’s focus on impact investing and philanthropy. “We clarified our long-term mission, which is aligning capital deployment with both disciplined returns and meaningful impact,” Stella says.
A ‘Beautiful Gift’
Today, the office serves the five core family members and is structured for longevity. “Our mandate is inherently long-term capital preservation, responsible growth and legacy building across decades,” Stella says. Additionally, all five family members play a role in decision-making at Avanti, though only three are involved in day-to-day operations: Alexis is founder and chairman; Stella, who has a business degree and is pursuing an MBA, is managing partner; and Nico, who is pursuing a law degree, is chief philanthropic officer. Matteo is currently in college and Elizabeth, who is active in civil leadership, prefers to take more of a bird’s-eye view, so both contribute to Avanti on a part-time basis.
In addition, the family office works closely with a trusted accountant, an investment advisor (“who we consider like our therapist,” Stella laughs) and dedicated private banking and legal teams. As the platform matures, “we view external expertise as critical to maintaining discipline, objectivity and institutional standards,” Stella says.
“Impact investing” has become a buzzworthy phrase in the family office space, but for Avanti Capital it’s a central tenet rather than a fleeting trend. “For us, impact investing is not a marketing label, it’s an alignment principle,” Stella says. “It means deploying capital in ways that generate competitive financial returns, but also contributing positively to communities, innovation, and long-term social impact or societal advancement.”
The family takes this responsibility very seriously. “We realize we have this beautiful gift and a unique opportunity to actually affect meaningful change. So, broadening our scope to reflect that has been both meaningful and incredibly exciting.”
Unity and Flexibility
Avanti Capital has a real estate vertical called 3rd Wave Development, where investment decisions are primarily led by Alexis and the family’s longtime business partner Charles Hollis III. But all other types of investments can be sourced by any family member. In fact, Stella sourced its three most recent projects.
That process tends to begin casually and inspiration can strike in any form. “Honestly, it starts with a glass of wine in some cases or a text in the family group chat,” Stella says, adding, “Ideas can come from literally anywhere, whether it’s a newspaper article or an interesting conversation with a new acquaintance, but usually that’s the beginning of a long and informative dive into any topic we may be curious about.”
The process of deciding which opportunities to pursue is more structured, with the five family members evaluating each potential investment target together with its advisory team, aiming for “unified alignment.” “One of our strengths is our ability to communicate frequently — all the time — and move decisively,” Stella says. “As a family office, we can act with agility, which allows us to capitalize on time-sensitive opportunities.”
Recognizing that, even among five people, unanimity is not a given, the family has also built in some flexibility. “If three people are saying ‘yes,’ then those three people make the investment and the other members won’t be seeing the returns from that,” Stella says, adding, “It hasn’t happened that frequently and, obviously, we prefer to go into things together, especially under this structure where everyone is an equal owner.”
Unity on Avanti’s major capital deployments is crucial because the family favors active over passive investing. “Once we align with a team and opportunity, we commit fully — providing not just capital, but partnership and long-term support,” Stella says.
So, while financial returns are obviously an important consideration, the family’s investment decisions primarily hinge on whether the companies they’re partnering with share their views on responsible stewardship. “We believe strong leadership and aligned values are more predictive of long-term success than any single idea,” Stella says. “Many viable concepts fail due to misaligned teams or short-term incentives. For us, responsible stewardship begins with people.”
Philanthropy Focus
Avanti Capital’s philanthropic efforts operate alongside impact investing, but with a distinct approach. The family office’s impact investments tend to be targeted, project-based capital deployments aimed at economic development, cultural enrichment or community enhancement. Its philanthropy, meanwhile, focuses more on sustained programming like fellowships and research funding that reflects both the family’s local ties and global footprint.
For example, the family has roots in Peoria, Ill., and serves that community with initiatives like AppsCo, which mentors low income public school students as they develop apps for local businesses, and Project Springboard, which provides seed capital and other support to upcoming entrepreneurs at Bradley University.
The Khazzams also have deep ties to Italy, where Viviana Goren Khazzam lived and worked. The family’s foundation, which is supported by the family office, works to advance the fields of brain science, geroscience and longevity research, all of which Viviana was passionate about. The Viviana Goren Khazzam Communications Fellowship, established by the foundation in collaboration with the Academy for Health & Lifespan Research, supports graduate students in geroscience.
The family office also supports Brain Circle Italia, a nonprofit organization Viviana founded with the goal of disseminating groundbreaking research in and advancing public understanding of neuroscience. “Aging science is unique in that everyone, regardless of age, race or social status has a stake in it,” says Nico, who also serves as the foundation’s president. “This field isn’t just about living longer. It’s about ensuring that people enjoy the highest possible quality of life while they are on this earth. And I think that is something that everyone can relate to. So, for us, continuing her legacy aligns seamlessly with our broader philosophy of impact.”
Stella admits that the actual “impact” of investments and philanthropic giving can be difficult to measure and says the family is exploring ways to implement more structured reporting mechanisms to track both financial and societal impact returns. But, she adds, the work she’s done alongside her siblings and parents to transform Alexis’ holding company into a true family office has already led to an undeniably positive result: “Our family has never been more aligned towards a shared goal or purpose.”