Nikiar Ahmadi

Finance Associate

 

Nikiar is passionate about using finance, strategy, and investment to empower community-driven ventures and foster sustainable food systems. With five years of experience as a financial consultant, he has provided valuation and financial modeling expertise to multinational corporations and government clients across a range of industries and five continents.

His role as Treasurer and Board Member for a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., ignited his commitment to supporting local communities through social enterprises. Over the past two years, he’s advised both for-profit and nonprofit organizations focused on workforce development, education, and health equity. During this time, he partnered with impact investing firms such as REDF and Ruthless for Good, supporting clients with growth strategy, impact measurement, and new venture development.

Through visits to his grandparent’s village in Iran and his family’s farm in Ohio, Nikiar developed a deep appreciation for the importance of local food systems in building resilient communities, which ultimately led him to New Venture Advisors. In addition to his work with NVA, Nikiar is co-founding a behavioral health startup and continues to advise social enterprise clients on revenue growth and new business lines.

Nikiar received an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.S. in Finance from Wake Forest University.

 

 

 

 Whatcom County Food System Plan

New Venture Advisors supported Whatcom County staff and the Food System Committee in developing the Whatcom County Food System Plan, a 10-year roadmap for a more equitable and resilient food system. NVA led plan development, community engagement, and cross-sector strategy, integrating agriculture, fisheries and marine harvest, processing, distribution, and access to strengthen the regional food economy. (2023)

 Whatcom Local Food Campus

Whatcom Community Foundation continues to partner with New Venture Advisors to guide the development of the Kitchens@Millworks —a bold project uniting health, equity, and market access. Building on previous work with the Farm to Freezer program, the team developed an operational model, financial analysis, and partner strategy. NVA is evaluating expansion of farm-to-institution efforts and their potential relocation to the new campus. Advanced financial models support a multi-operator facility encompassing production, aggregation, retail, and community programs. (2026)