StoriesHow PeopleFirst Leadership Powers Growth at Ascend
Ascend brings Alpine’s PeopleFirst leadership to life, showing how people-first private equity can drive growth while preserving integrity.
When Aspen Standard Wealth (Aspen) and Guardian Restoration Partners (Guardian) adopted the PeopleFirst Operating Rhythm, they each faced a different challenge. Aspen needed a solution to help RIA founders navigate one of the most complex transitions of their careers. Guardian needed to build a shared strategy across 15+ independently operating partner businesses, without sacrificing local autonomy.
Here’s how each Aspen and Guardian used Alpine’s PeopleFirst framework to their advantage.
Aspen’s Launch Pad
When a founder sells a business they’ve spent decades building, the transition that follows is rarely straightforward. For RIAs in particular, where client relationships are personal and the founder is often the face of the firm, that moment requires careful navigation. Aspen recognized this early.
Rather than deploying the PeopleFirst Operating Rhythm at the platform level alone, Aspen implements the full operating rhythm at every new partner firm acquisition, working directly alongside the founder and firm leadership through a process they call the Launch Pad. The Launch Pad has unlocked a growth mindset for Aspen founders who say the program has empowered their teams and improved accountability.
Guardian’s “Train-the-Trainer” Model
Guardian’s challenge was different: How do you create a shared strategy and common language across 15+ independently operating restoration businesses, each with its own local culture and leadership? Rather than centralizing the process, Guardian trained more than 30 General Managers and Market Area Presidents to run PeopleFirst sessions autonomously within their own organizations. The “train-the-trainer” model helped push ownership to the local level. “Our GMs have wholeheartedly embraced the One Page Plan,” says Kristin Thielking, Chief People Officer. “From our field technicians to our executive team, people can see exactly how their work ladders up to the company’s goals.”
“From our field technicians to our executive team, people can see exactly how their work ladders up to the company’s goals.” —Kristin Thielking, Chief People Officer, Guardian Restoration Partners
Real Results
At Aspen, founders who might otherwise have struggled to find their footing in a new structure are instead stepping into expanded roles and reporting high satisfaction with the outcomes. Founder net promoter scores are currently at 75 across Aspen.¹
At Guardian, 15 businesses that once operated in isolation are now running toward a shared goal: $2 billion in revenue by 2028. The company also saw revenue grow 9% in 2025.² Leadership attributes this in part to PeopleFirst: “Instead of simply communicating goals, our leaders get to help shape them,” says Nikki Steltenkamp, Market Area President at Guardian. “Now we’re all running in the same direction.”
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Endnotes
Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how employees feel about their company, and is based on customer NPS, a measure of loyalty, engagement, and experience pioneered by Bain & Co. Scores range from -100 to 100. Scores between 10 – 40 are considered “good,” and scores above 40 are considered “great”.
As of 12/31/2025, compared to 2024 revenue.
