Arvo Advisory Provides Strategic Consulting With A Distinctly UVA Darden Flair

Following the “Great Resignation” period of post-Covid corporate America, the research firm Gallup in late 2024 identified an equally gloomy phase when American workers who wanted new jobs instead were “left feeling stuck with their discontent.”

Gallup called this the “Great Detachment” in a report exploring how chronic employee dissatisfaction and disengagement threatened business success through low productivity and lack of enthusiasm for corporate goals.

Steve Soltis and Stephen Reiff were already sensing the same things – and more. And they had an idea on how to help companies through it.

Combining Story and Strategy

The two strategy and communications professionals with ties to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in 2023 launched Arvo Advisory, a Dallas-based boutique consultancy that zeroes in on the importance of combining effective corporate strategy and storytelling, starting with the chief executive.

“Companies need both a winning strategy and a compelling story that is told consistently to all key audiences – done right, this drives valuation premiums,” Reiff said.

The opportunities weren’t just around employee engagement. Reiff said he and Soltis noticed that many companies dramatically shifted business models and strategies during the pandemic and then struggled to effectively link their communication strategy with the evolving situations.

“Many Chief Communication Officers were shown the door, too, and we saw an opportunity to help work with leaders to better link strategy and story,” he said.

Results Through Clear Communications

Reiff, co-founder and managing partner of Arvo, has extensive experience in leadership communications and strategy. His “ah-ha” moment for seeing the importance of more closely linking corporate strategy and communications to drive value came while heading those areas at MoneyGram a few years before Arvo’s launch.

The experience convinced Reiff that corporate performance and engagement can languish if employees don’t understand how to support the strategy, investors don’t see value in it, and the company’s leadership and board don’t have a clear understanding of how the strategy is getting results.

And it can soar when they do.

Across his three-decade career in communications, Soltis has led executive and employee communications at UPS and The Coca-Cola Company and has directly supported more than 15 CEOs on communication strategies and planning. He also serves as a Darden lecturer, teaching Leadership Communication in both the residential and part-time programs as well as an elective he created two years ago called “Writing for Impact and Influence.” In 2017 co-founded the Darden Leadership Communication Council with Professor June West, who also serves as a special advisor to Arvo.

Soltis teaches Leadership Communication in the residential and part-time programs at Darden as well as an elective he created two years ago called “Writing for Impact and Influence.” (Photo by Caroline Mackey)

Filling a Niche

Soltis and Reiff believe their experience and the company’s approach fill a niche that hasn’t quite been addressed by larger consultancies or firms that might specialize in strategy, communications or public relations – but perhaps not all three in an integrated, high-touch way. “Traditional approaches to communication no longer met the needs of today’s leaders,” Arvo’s site states. “Executives increasingly needed talent with hard and soft skills, yet this was incredibly hard to find – firms like this didn’t exist.”

Arvo’s clients to date have included Yum! Brands, Regions Bank, Colgate-Palmolive and Hilton in addition to private equity and venture capital firms.

The story of Arvo’s creation – and its evolution – features a Darden School plotline.

Reiff, who earned his Darden MBA in 2015, was deeply impressed by Professor Jean Liedtka’s “Design Thinking” course and the concept’s principles intended to facilitate innovation and solve problems. It continues to influence his thinking.

Several years ago, when he was asked to lead Corporate Communications for MoneyGram, Reiff came across a strategic communications-focused article published by Darden. That led to a cold call to the article’s author, Soltis, who was eager to help and mentor him in the new role. A business partnership soon followed.

In the consultancy, Arvo’s founders work with executive clients to identify strategy and communications gaps and to develop business strategy, executive communications plans and narratives, offer public relations and media relations advice. Once a company’s needs are identified, Reiff and Soltis staff the engagement with full-time team members in addition to pulling in resources from their advisory board of 25 experts who have experience across multiple industries in Arvo’s key service areas. For example, they recently brought in one expert to help structure a training session on how communicators can best incorporate AI.

More Darden Connections

Here again, the Darden connections flourish. The board includes at least five members with direct Darden connections, including faculty and MBA’s, recent graduates and Darden veterans.

“There is something about the values of the place,” Soltis said.

Arvo’s most recent hire continues the trend.

Molly Suttle (MBA ’25) just started full-time as account lead and chief of staff in October after doing some project work over the summer.

Arvo ended up being an ideal fit for Suttle, an Austin native who was looking for career options in her home state. On LinkedIn, she came across Reiff’s profile, discovering his Darden background, and then noticed that Soltis, who taught one her favorite electives at Darden, was co-founder of the company.

“Darden has such a strong alumni network, and those connections often extend far beyond graduation. The School also really encourages building real relationships with professors, many of whom become long-term mentors,” she said. “Arvo is a great example of that.”

The role includes communications work directly with clients, special projects and internal initiatives including a focus on integrating AI into Arvo’s business practices and client services.

“It’s a unique hybrid role that combines client delivery, internal operations, and strategic growth – exactly where I wanted to sit post-grad,” Suttle said.

A New AI Benchmark

One of Suttle’s projects has been to support the rollout of a proprietary AI model that Arvo developed to benchmark how effective companies articulate their strategy.

The idea for the model came after a publicly-traded company hired Arvo to help understand why their stock was trading at a discount to their peers.

“We’re finding that confusion behind a company’s strategy is a main driver of feeling undervalued. The ‘Strategy & Story Index’ highlights potential disconnects, and it quantifies a historically qualitative approach,” said Reiff.

The model analyzes a company’s external communications across earnings calls, CEO media interviews, investor presentations, press releases and other forums to gauge consistency and effectiveness in crafting a compelling strategy and communicating it well.

While the tool is helping benchmark performance for clients, Reiff and Soltis said what’s most important is the distinctly human element of authentically and effectively communicating from the C-suite through every potential audience.

“In today’s world, a great strategy is no longer enough. Winning companies are finding untapped value by combining strategy and story in an artful form that inspires, engages and builds momentum,” Soltis said.