What does it mean to be “All In”?
Ardent employees are united by the dedication to a single mission: deliver top-notch solutions to our customers’ most difficult problems. We out hustle the competition with our drive and competitive nature. We stop at nothing. Putting forth our strongest effort possible to get the mission accomplished enables us to deliver impressive innovations using pioneering technology. A collective service mindset underpins our work, a shared camaraderie to serve clients, colleagues and community sets us apart. A full commitment is to being “All In” is not just our approach, it is our standard.
Our Leadership Team
Richard Zareck II
Richard R. Zareck II is an accomplished executive with over 25 years of experience founding and leading complex technology projects and organizations. As President & CEO of Ardent, Richard sets the strategic direction, aligns the organization, rallies research toward a future vision, and advances the company toward new frontiers of innovation and growth to deliver unmatched value for our clients.
Zareck began his professional career as an active-duty Field Artillery officer in the U.S. Army, where he served in the combat arms leading and commanding troops. Highlights included a deployment to Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy and training a unit for mobilization to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. His commission spanned almost two decades and was recognized for distinction and valor.
Richard transitioned from military service to the private sector, where he founded a successful professional services firm. He later held several executive positions at large organizations in integration, information systems, and sales.
In 2004, Zareck founded Mission1st (www.mission1st.com), an expeditionary engineering and communications firm, on the desert sands of the Iraq War to resume serving his country in a different fashion. Mission1st spread globally over the next two decades and is now the parent company of Ardent.
Richard holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Computer Science & Economics (Mathematical) from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Nadine Choueiri
Nadine E. Choueiri is a business-savvy executive with over 15 years of experience in the government contracting industry that includes a deep understanding of how organizations are financed and operate. As CFO and COO of Ardent, Nadine ensures the company achieves its strategic and financial goals through day-to-day operational management. She champions a culture of process, innovation, and creativity, empowering employees to think outside the box and deliver breakthrough results.
Choueiri began her career as a leader in startups and established companies. After mastering functions in operations, she used her superior analytical skills to move into the financial realm as CFO of Mission1st (www.mission1st.com). During this time, Nadine notably advanced the multimillion-dollar global firm to 256% year-over-year growth through the span of five years.
At Mission1st, Nadine continues to lead M&A initiatives and the integration of a portfolio of subsidiary companies. She recently completed the successful acquisition of Ardent, playing a pivotal role in the negotiations and ensuring a smooth and seamless integration.
Nadine holds an MBA (Financial Management) and a BS in Business Management from George Mason University.
Mireille Estephan
Mireille Estephan is the Chief Technology Officer at Ardent, where she leads the company’s technology strategy, innovation (AI/ML), and determines technological advancements. She has over 20 years of experience in the tech industry specializing in software solutions, cloud architecture, data platforms, machine learning, and AI.
Prior to Ardent, Mireille was Head of Engineering at AWS Industrial Products, where she led software development using cutting edge technologies and cross-organizational collaboration. Before that, she was Head of Engineering for Capital One’s credit card tech division, shaping their technological strategy in Fraud detection.
Mireille has a B.S. in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Liverpool.
Ryan Jennings
Ryan Jennings is Ardent’s Chief Ventures Officer where he leverages his extensive two-decade expertise in strategic and operational management. Ryan is the key leader and executive change agent guiding Ardent through emerging business ventures, technological innovations, and strategic investments and partnerships with a focus on driving growth and expansion. He also leads and directs the company performance management programs to ensure they conform with Ardent’s corporate goals and objectives. Ryan will also lead Ardent’s future merger and acquisition activities.
An Iraq wartime veteran, Ryan served with distinction in the Persian Gulf aboard the U.S.S. George Washington and at the Pentagon. His post-military career has seen him hold various operational roles within nonprofit & privately held organizations as well as government consulting firms.
Ryan graduated from Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Rich Fowler
As Chief Delivery Officer for Ardent, Rich oversees all contract delivery activities to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, standardization of Ardent’s delivery practices across programs, and monitors project financial health. As an accomplished program, technology, and people manager with over 15 years of experience leading cross-functional teams to develop solutions for clients, Rich works with Ardent’s project managers and capability leads to deliver high-quality results for our clients.
Prior to joining Ardent’s leadership team, Rich started as a business analyst with Ardent in 2010 and has held various delivery-oriented positions within the company including managing multiple large value contracts.
Rich graduated from Winthrop University with a BS in business and received his MBA from The Citadel. Additionally, Rich holds PMP, ACP, Safe 5, Scrum Master, and HDI Support Center Manager
Rob Koppe
Rob is a senior IT leader at Ardent. He is an accomplished project, technology, and people manager with over 15 years of professional services experience. His focus has been on leading cross-functional teams to deliver software implementation, custom application development, and systems integration projects of varying size. He has extensive experience managing multiple, concurrent projects and have a diverse background of working across multiple industries including CPG, Government, Healthcare, Education, and Non-Profit/Associations.
Prior to Ardent, he held leadership roles at IRi as the Vice President of Program Management, Implementation Services, and at CAS Severn, Inc. as the Practice Lead for Application Development and Software Integration.