ASCENT BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Meet the experts
that make it all work.

Dedication, expertise, and passion - all under one umbrella.

partnerships

+20

Collective Industry experience

100+ years

overall revenue impact

$10 mil +

Our Story

Experts in CCaaS and AI, pioneering operational transitions across the industry.

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Envisioning a future devoid of operational hurdles with the help of AI.

Ascent Business Partners leverages decades of experience in selection, implementation, and distribution of business-changing technologies.

Bringing diverse and experienced minds together.

We have a deeply vetted system through which we partner up with the right kind of companies to realize the best outcomes.

A team with a sharp intuition

Our team stays up to date on AI and machine learning services that drastically change business outcomes

Our Mission

We’re on a mission to bring the best of AI to the  best companies.

Our approach harnesses the power of AI to metamorphose manual, time-consuming processes into automated, streamlined operations.


We are not just about enhancing productivity; we are about elevating the customer experience.

A team of industry veterans

100+ years of collective experience to help you achieve your business goals.

Making it accessible and actionable

Revolutionizing solutions reach their impact potential with thoughtful partnerships.

Experience as a science

Bridging business gaps with experience - unifying intuition and science.

An eye on the future

An eagle eye out on the trends and the potential turns towards the future.

Meet the Team

Ascent Business Partners leverages decades of experience in selection, implementation,
and distribution of business-changing technologies.

Our team stays up to date on AI and machine learning services that drastically change business outcomes.

Marty Sarim
Co-Founder & Chairman
Marty has over 25 years of experience in contact centers and enterprises. He currently serves as a Board Member of multiple tech companies. Marty is also the co-founder of a venture fund called Carya Venture Partners which invests in early-stage deep tech companies. Over his career, he has built and sold numerous BPOs across the globe as well as served as an advisor to many startups in the Bay Area. Marty's experience and ability to accurately evaluate technology in real-world applications and design customer journey roadmaps gives Ascent the expertise to take multiple tech companies' features and implement them into enterprises in today's confusing landscape.
Jon Heaps
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
A senior communications and channel sales executive with a record of visionary leadership in bringing disruptive technology to market & driving sales through technology service distributors and alliance partners. Jon excels at rapidly building and motivating high-performance sales organizations, delivering dramatic revenue growth, and capturing new opportunities.
Kim Howell
Managing partner
Kim Howell, a seasoned C-level executive, boasts over 25 years in contact centers, emphasizing digital transformation and growth strategy. As the recent COO and Chief People Officer, she managed a global presence across 7 countries. Proficient in the full CX process, Kim excels in strategy, execution, and driving tech innovation. Renowned for navigating uncharted areas and collaborating with stakeholders, her hands-on approach and knack for integrating people and technology have consistently propelled company success.
Heather Riley
Head of Channel Marketing and Business Development
Heather Riley has a reputation for success in channel marketing and strategy and in building out channel programs from the ground up. Her experience at four market-leading CCaaS companies helped attract the top TSBs, agents/sub-agents, VARs, BPOs and ISVs in the industry and led to strengthening the company's market position and achieving business goals.
Brian Johnson
Investor and Strategic Advisor
Brian Johnson is a contact center leader demonstrated history of working in the outsourcing/offshoring industry. Brian spent over 16 years as the CEO of the Americas for Teleperformance, one of the world’s largest contact center outsourcers. He brings expertise in customer experience, management, operations, business development, and strategic planning.
Sharath Keshava
Investor and board member
With nearly two decades of contact center technology experience, Sharath is the Co-Founder and former CRO of Observe.AI and Co-Founder / General Partner of Carya Venture Partners. As an investor, Sharath is constantly vetting the newest contact center technology and ensuring that Carya Venture Partners is investing in the most cutting edge technology companies.

Board Members

Marty Sarim
Co-Founder & Chairman
Marty has over 25 years of experience in contact centers and enterprises. He currently serves as a Board Member of multiple tech companies. Marty is also the co-founder of a venture fund called Carya Venture Partners which invests in early-stage deep tech companies. Over his career, he has built and sold numerous BPOs across the globe as well as served as an advisor to many startups in the Bay Area. Marty's experience and ability to accurately evaluate technology in real-world applications and design customer journey roadmaps gives Ascent the expertise to take multiple tech companies' features and implement them into enterprises in today's confusing landscape.
Jon Heaps
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
A senior communications and channel sales executive with a record of visionary leadership in bringing disruptive technology to market & driving sales through technology service distributors and alliance partners. Jon excels at rapidly building and motivating high-performance sales organizations, delivering dramatic revenue growth, and capturing new opportunities.
Kim Howell
Managing partner
Kim Howell, a seasoned C-level executive, boasts over 25 years in contact centers, emphasizing digital transformation and growth strategy. As the recent COO and Chief People Officer, she managed a global presence across 7 countries. Proficient in the full CX process, Kim excels in strategy, execution, and driving tech innovation. Renowned for navigating uncharted areas and collaborating with stakeholders, her hands-on approach and knack for integrating people and technology have consistently propelled company success.
Heather Riley
Head of Channel Marketing and Business Development
Heather Riley has a reputation for success in channel marketing and strategy and in building out channel programs from the ground up. Her experience at four market-leading CCaaS companies helped attract the top TSBs, agents/sub-agents, VARs, BPOs and ISVs in the industry and led to strengthening the company's market position and achieving business goals.
Brian Johnson
Investor and Strategic Advisor
Brian Johnson is a contact center leader demonstrated history of working in the outsourcing/offshoring industry. Brian spent over 16 years as the CEO of the Americas for Teleperformance, one of the world’s largest contact center outsourcers. He brings expertise in customer experience, management, operations, business development, and strategic planning.
Sharath Keshava
Investor and board member
With nearly two decades of contact center technology experience, Sharath is the Co-Founder and former CRO of Observe.AI and Co-Founder / General Partner of Carya Venture Partners. As an investor, Sharath is constantly vetting the newest contact center technology and ensuring that Carya Venture Partners is investing in the most cutting edge technology companies.

The Ascent Business Partners Approach.

In the current business ecosystem, customer interaction stands as the cornerstone of a thriving enterprise. Ascent Business Partners is at the forefront of leveraging new-age technology to enrich the value derived from contact centers. Here’s a glimpse into how this transformation is taking shape, underscored by compelling statistics and insights:

Digital Transformation
Automation Acceleration
Human Touch
Omnichannel Customer Experience
Harmonizing Human and Machine Intelligence
Secure and Compliant Communications
Cost Efficiency and Scalability
The journey Ascent Business Partners is embarking on mirrors the global shift towards a more technologically driven, yet human-centric customer service paradigm.

As technologies continue to evolve, the blend of human and AI-driven interactions is setting a new standard in customer engagement, promising a future of enhanced customer satisfaction and business growth.