Ashwani Dhar

Ashwani (Ash) Dhar is a seasoned executive, board leader, and investor with more than three decades of experience building, advising, and governing growth-oriented organizations in the U.S. and internationally. His career spans operating leadership, venture investing, and board service, with a consistent focus on how strategy, culture, and human behavior intersect to drive long-term performance.

Ash currently serves as an independent board director at SeekWell, the parent company of 1-800-Contacts, a leading consumer health and e-commerce business backed by private equity. He has also served on boards across public and private companies, bringing expertise in growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions, digital transformation, and organizational effectiveness.

Previously, Ash was CEO of Adlucent, a marketing and analytics firm where he led the company through more than a decade of sustained growth, expanded its strategic capabilities, and guided it through multiple successful ownership transitions. During his tenure, Adlucent partnered closely with major global technology platforms including Google, Meta, and Microsoft, and became known for helping organizations translate data into actionable insight and measurable business impact.

Earlier in his career, Ash was a Managing Partner at Venio Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, where he invested in and worked alongside high-growth technology and media companies, several of which were acquired by global industry leaders including IBM and Qualcomm. This experience shaped his long-standing interest in innovation, leadership development, and the human dynamics that determine whether ideas scale successfully.

Beginning with his education at Wharton and continuing throughout his career, Ash has developed a deep interest in organizational psychology, leadership behavior, and the role of character in shaping individual and collective outcomes. Across his leadership roles, he has been committed to building inclusive cultures that support both performance and human dignity. His work with VIA represents a natural extension of this focus — applying rigorous, evidence-based insights on character strengths beyond the corporate setting and into education, health, and personal development. He is deeply motivated by VIA’s mission to help people and institutions flourish by understanding and cultivating what is best in human nature and flourishing.

Ash’s interest in organizational psychology, leadership behavior, and the role of character, first shaped during his education at Wharton and deepened throughout his career, has consistently informed how he leads and builds organizations. Across his leadership roles, he has been committed to fostering inclusive cultures that support both performance and human dignity. His work with VIA represents a natural extension of this focus, applying rigorous, evidence-based insights on character strengths beyond the corporate setting and into personal development, health, workplaces, coaching, and education. He is deeply motivated by VIA’s mission to help people and institutions flourish by cultivating what is best in human nature.

Ash holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and dual undergraduate degrees in Economics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Influenced by early life experiences in India, England, and Canada, and later shaped by his career in the United States and Argentina, he brings a global perspective to leadership grounded in humility, reflection, and continual learning. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his creatively talented wife, and is a proud father of three wonderful children. Ash’s approach to leadership reflects a deep commitment to advancing performance, purpose, and human well-being, guided by his signature strengths of Honesty, Spirituality, Fairness, Leadership, and Gratitude.