Ken Chardos, Senior Manager

At AG Consulting Partners, we are honored to work with a diverse group of people with a variety of talents and interests. This month, we are highlighting Ken Chardos to learn more about his work and passions outside of the office.

What’s your background? Where did you grow up and go to school?

I was a bit of an “Air Force Brat” early on, moving from base to base for several years with my Dad’s deployments.  But we ended up settling in Chattanooga, TN which is where I would say I grew up.  I attended the University of Notre Dame and after four years of Midwest winters I moved back to the South and lived in Atlanta for 8 years before heading out here to Seattle.

Can you tell me about your current project?

I’m currently working with a global technology company’s customer advocacy group as they implement new processes for creating, managing, and utilizing various advocacy assets.  These assets range from case studies that feature a positive customer success story to individual customers who are willing to speak with potential new customers about their experience using the company’s products.  These assets are currently produced by several disparate teams and housed in several locations, so it can be difficult for employees across the organization to find and use these assets in sales and promotional activities.  I’m leading the effort to streamline the creation of these assets and make it much easier for stakeholders to not only find the assets but get the guidance they need on how to best use those assets in their work.

How are you staying motivated, productive, and sane during this extended period of remote work?

I’ve always had a passion for cooking, so one of my primary outlets has been trying out all kinds of new recipes – especially ones that use ingredients I might not be as familiar with. So knowing I’m going to be trying a new dish for dinner gives me something to look forward to during the day.

I’m also making a point to walk away from my laptop several times throughout the day just to give myself some short breaks. Now that we’re not moving from meeting to meeting I think it’s important to break the day up a bit.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why?

This is a tough one because I absolutely love to travel and have been fortunate to visit a lot of amazing spots.  If I had to pick one, it would be my trip to South Africa.  That trip included a lot of incredible experiences – safari, wine tasting, shark cage diving, visiting a small village/school. And Capetown (and the greater Cape coastline) is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

While I was at Notre Dame, I was a student manager with the football team and got to paint the helmets each week (yes, like they do in Rudy). The school doesn’t do this anymore, but it was a pretty cool thing to get to do.

Any favorite books, movies, or podcasts?

I could list a lot of books here, but a couple of recent favorites have been Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde. Another all-time favorite is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.

I could also go on and on about movies, but a couple of my favorites are The Godfather and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And now that I’m not commuting, I haven’t been listening to many podcasts. But I did listen to all the Michelle Obama podcast which I thought was excellent.