Douglas S. Austin, Managing Partner, founded Axxien in 2003 to provide high quality strategic advisory services to small and mid-size companies. After a successful fifteen year corporate career, he decided to pursue the challenge of operating and growing a small business.  He decided that buying an existing company - one with potential for growth - made the most sense.  Unfortunately, this approach proved to be significantly more challenging than expected.  Mr. Austin quickly found that the intermediaries, or business brokers, that traditionally represent the sellers in the small to mid-size markets are not very knowledgeable, and the companies which they represented were of low quality and rarely saleable. Essentially, the very marketplace itself was compromised because of the lack of quality advisory services. Amidst this situation, Mr. Austin sensed an opportunity - an opportunity to deliver the affordable, high quality strategic advisory services that small to mid-size companies so desperately needed; hence, the genesis of Axxien.

Mr. Austin's professional background involves corporate development, global mergers & acquisitions, corporate strategy, business management, operations, marketing, and sales. He has worked in the management consulting, system integration, telecom, and national security consulting industries. Mr. Austin has served at an executive level in both Fortune 50 and mid-size companies. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and co-founder, of Seurat Company, a $67 million private equity-backed professional services company.  Throughout his career, Mr. Austin has completed acquisitions valued at over $225 million.

Mr. Austin was born and raised in Colorado. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor's Degree in Russian Language & Literature, and from Colorado State University's Executive MBA Program. He is married and the proud father of three sons. In his free time, he enjoys time in the mountains hiking and fishing, travel, reading, and all activities relating to his sons, especially their participation in Little League football.

Kevin R. Blair, Managing Director.  Mr. Blair joined Axxien soon after its founding to lead the firm’s M&A Advisory Practice.  He brings valuable deal-making and leadership experience to the firm.  Mr. Blair’s experience covers numerous industries within the small and mid-market business environment.  His negotiating skills have brought numerous complex transactions through to a successful conclusion.

Prior to joining Axxien, Mr. Blair co-founded MBA Investments, LLC, a successful Colorado M&A advisory firm and merchant bank, where he served as the firm’s co- Managing Director.  Under Mr. Blair’s leadership, the firm successfully closed over fifty M&A transactions and he completed three multi-million dollar investor syndicates for portfolio acquisitions.  Under his leadership, the firm grew to three regional offices and professional staff tripled.  Currently, Mr. Blair serves as the Managing Member of five investment holding companies where he represents over twenty high net worth investors.

Mr. Blair graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, and from the University of Denver’s College of Law with a Juris Doctor.  He is licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado.  He is a member of the International Business Brokerage Association and the Association for Corporate Growth; he is also a surviving member of the Colorado School of Mines pyrotechnic team.  In his free time, he enjoys the great outdoors of Colorado – especially hiking and white water rafting.