Kartik Chandar, Founder of Avant-Garde Ventures, Inc., is an accomplished IT leader with over 25 years of experience architecting, developing, and delivering enterprise-level, business-focused solutions across multiple industries. With more than 15 years in IT management, he has led high-performing teams that align closely with organizational vision and strategy while fostering a culture of collaboration with the business.

Throughout his career, Kartik has managed the delivery of solutions that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes. He has successfully delivered transformative technology initiatives for clients in the Finance, Manufacturing, Food Service, Health Care, Media & Entertainment, and Real Estate industries.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at REF Orange County.

Helen dos Santos is a dynamic innovator with a proven track record in business and technology. A former student athlete, two-time World Champion in darts, she successfully transitioned her competitive spirit into leadership roles across the automotive and real estate industry. With over two decades at Keller Williams Realty, Helen excelled as finance and operations, a regional leader, brokerage owner, consultant and advisor.

As the founder of Market Centric Leverage Systems, Helen now pioneers AI-driven solutions designed to bridge human potential and ethical, inclusive artificial intelligence. Innovating communication models and rewriting the future of business systems and technology.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at REF Orange County.

If you're looking for someone who blends the heart of a community advocate, the mind of a marketing strategist, and the soul of an 80s music lover—you’ve found her. Brandy Alvarado-Miranda isn’t just a name in the AV world—she’s a force of nature.

When she’s not courtside cheering on her kid’s basketball game (or the Lakers & Sparks), you’ll find her chasing waves at the beach, getting her hands dirty in the garden, or spoiling her adorable pug and corgi duo. A true SoCal spirit, she lives for tacos, margaritas, and the synth beats of Depeche Mode—preferably all at once.

Brandy dove into the AV industry in 2014 and never looked back. After gaining experience across engineering, manufacturing, and themed integration, she made the bold leap during the pandemic—launching BAM! Marketing & PR Agency in 2021. Since then, she’s helped dozens of Pro AV and Digital Signage brands find their voice and amplify it across the industry with strategic branding, impactful content, and fearless creativity. She’s dubbed her clients her #BAMily, and has created an ecosystem that not only connects them to work on projects together, but to team up to network.

But Brandy doesn’t stop at business. She’s a passionate advocate for women in tech, founding WAVIT in 2023—a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting women in AV/IT. From her leadership with the AVIXA Women’s Council to her mentorship and advisory roles, Brandy is determined to leave the AV industry better, stronger, and more inclusive than she found it.

With titles like Woman of the Year in AV, Pro AV Watch Lister, AV Living Legend, and DSE Advisory Board Member, her accolades are impressive—but her mission is simple: to empower others, create meaningful change, and rock out to some 80s jams while doing it.

Brandy Alvarado-Miranda: marketing superhero, AV trailblazer, taco connoisseur, and always tuned to WII-FM—What’s In It For the Mission.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at REF Orange County.